Dirt Radio

This is a big day tomorrow for Foe and the Lock the Gate campaign. The 1st day of the Parliament in 2016. A great opportunity send a strong message to your MP. After years of campaigning to protect our renewable energy target and stop the invasion of CSG we know at a critical point of our campaign. I have Leigh Ewbank with me today, Leigh is the campaign coordinator for Yes 2 Renewable. He has been working hard all over Victoria to help and promote renewable and a fair energy transition. Kate is from Healthy Future and we will chat about the health impact of fossil fuel on community and divestment of Super Annuations from Fossil Fuel.

In the early hours of January 25th, three citizen scientist surveyors from GECO, Goongerah Environment Centre Office, conducted a survey for Greater Gliders in old growth forest on the Errinundra Plateau. Logging machinery had just moved in and logging was about to commence. The survey was conducted to determine if the species was present in high enough densities to trigger legal protection. Fifteen Greater Gliders were found in about 800m. This is a huge population - legal protection and a 100 hectare protected area are the regulatory requirement be created.The survey was finished at 3am, the data compiled and a report written. Submission to the state government was made just before 9am. One hour later, VicForests were forced to stop logging.This week on Dirt Radio GECO's Ed Hill talks about the survey, citizen science and acting to protect high conservation value forests from logging.GECO is a grass roots community group based in the small town of Goongerah in far East Gippsland, Victoria. Since 1993 they have campaigned for protection of East Gippsland’s forests.

So much is going on in the early 2016! Quit Coal on front line is calling for a ban on Unconventional Gas in Victoria. Will they listen to the community?The Bats Return to save the Leard State forest at Maules Creek with FLAC.The Melbourne Mob is getting ready to hit the streets of the CBD during Invasion Day.Colin also launches his new rubric 'How to make trouble and Influence people' Short story from Australia!

Reflections, by two campaigners who were there, on environmental activism over two weeks in Paris during COP21, the 2015 global climate summit, from a FoE perspective.

On Saturday, after 2 weeks of negotiation at the climate conference in Paris, about 190 countries around the world signed onto an agreement to work towards keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. It's being hailed as a history making moment, as a global turning point, in the fight against climate change.The Earth International's online multilingual radio service run by Friends of the Earth in Uruguay by Jose Eloseguis is much more sober and realistic in his assessment of the potential outcomes of COP21. The Flood the System Direct Action on Thursday the 10th of December connected the dots between the multinationals big polluters like BHP Billiton and the banking system who finance the beast and the destruction of our planet, Westpac for example. The people response!

Brief summary of yesterday's fascist march in Melton and the counter rally, the reasons, the vibe, the numbers, the techniques. After a quick break we engaged the talk about the Climate Change summit in Paris. Fossil Fuel multinationals are in the tent and as usual opposing the real social and environemental change the planet needs.Stand Up for a better future, walk the streets on Friday 27th, 5.30pm State Librairy, Melbourne.

We talked about the new Alliance formed at the Liverpool Plains between antimining groups like FLAC and 350.org, the local farming community and the traditional custodians, the Gomoroi people to resist the construction of a new dirty and inhumaine coal mine named Shenhua, check out the actions on www.landwaterfuture.org.au. We followed by the impact of Direct Action in protests with Nicola and CounterAct. Direct Actions have been used for now a long time in australia, it's time to skilled up to make every protest as efficient as possible, for help with your next direct action look at counteract.org.au. see you next week!

This week we talk to Mark Parshin about a new campaign, "Less Meat, Less Heat". He speaks about the meat industry in Australia and around the globle and the impact of eating meat on a daily basis on the climate. He also talks about the ways we can wean ourselves off a meat diet, and how this helps counteract global warming and our health.

Direct Action Melbourne is rebranding the Australian Minister for the Environement, Greg Hunt as the Minister for Coal after his reapproval of the gigantic, destructive, inhumane Carmichael Coal mine project in Queensland. Adani, the infamous Indian corporation is celabrating the victory of the Dark Side while 4 braves are locking on in Greg's office. This show is a prerocorded interview. Check out all the pictures of the action and get in touch with the collectif on the DAM Facebook.

George Bender was a farmer, part of the Queensland community. He spent his life resisting the bullying of the infamous Origin energy company who brought him to the extreme of giving his life away. As a tribute for his cause, we are playing a prerecorded interview we made in 2014 with John Fenton, a farmer from Wyoming in the USA who is currently fighting against  destructive fracking in his community. The fossil fuel companies are a threat against humanity - they are using lobbying, media and intimidation to make dollars from people's lives. It's time to stop them. It's time to say NO! Go on this link to learn more about George's story.