On 18 March 2020, female artists once again take The Sustainable Hour forward. In a world dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, we hear of two art exhibitions, one that is currently on display at the Eastern Hub in Geelong, and one coming our way later in the year.

Our studio guest is Diane Spicer [at 18:25 min]. She is one of the 31 female artists contributing to the ‘What Do You Have To Lose? (Vulnerability and the Threat of Extinction)‘ mixed media exhibition currently on display at the Rachinger Gallery in East Geelong. This exhibition runs till the end of March. It aims to celebrate women who walk gently on the land, rally against environmental vandalism, or work to remedy the damage done. Diane tells of the spiritual experience her art is for her – a way for her to get in touch with her god.

The second exhibition is described by Zahida Zeytoun Millie [at 32:25]. Her upcoming exhibition ‘Mangroves from the Sea’ will start, if corona allows, on the very appropriate International Mangroves Day on 26 July and go until the first day of Science Week, 15 August 2020. Those three weeks are also going to use various art media to highlight the natural capital and eco-system services which mangroves provide us and the important role they have in helping us to survive the climate emergency we face.

Natalie Loussade-Long, Vice-President of Journeys for Climate Justice [at 31:15] – an non-governmental organisation which supports people in their journeys to become environmental leaders.

We talk about the coronavirus and its horrific impact unfolding day by day all over the planet we inhabit, and the importance of self-isolating to restrict its spread. We question the wisdom of our Federal Government in bailing out highly carbon emitting industries like our airlines. This crisis could serve as a “dress rehearsal” for the transition we need to make to a cleaner, more just and healthy post-carbon future.

We then hear the voice of global health expert Alanna Shaikh [at 16:25] who warns us that “as long as we keep making our remote places less remote, the outbreaks are going to keep coming.” She pleads with us all to walk much more gently on the Earth. And we listen to Canadian author Naomi Klein [at 25:20] who in 2007 wrote the book ‘The Shock Doctrine’ and now argues that during this corona crisis it is vital for people to fight for the kind of transformative change that can not only curb the worst effects of this current crisis but also set society on a more just path.

We play Ianna’s song ‘On Fire’ [at 28:50] which she decicated to all those animals who are losing their territories because of human activity.

As usual the hour starts off with Colin Mockett’s world report – today a Global Climate Report, where he reveals the results of his research into the land and ocean average temperature increases in the month of January. As expected the results are worrying.

This will be our last podcast of our live FM radio studio show till Covid-19 looses its grip on us. We hope to be able to continue the weekly podcast via technology. We wish everyone well in their isolation over the coming weeks and months. We will continue, determined to focus on people who are working on solutions to enable us to transition to the better world we all yearn for.

Till next Wednesday – be the difference!