The Sustainable Hour no 383

How to live well: The annual event in Australia called ‘Sustainable House Day’ is all about how we get cheaper bills and live healthier, happier lives. As Geelong Sustainability prepares for its 13th flagship Sustainable House Day event on the weekend of 16 and 17 October, we thought it timely to devote the majority of time in The Tunnel this week to this.

[14:38] We start off with Geelong Sustainability president Vicki Perrett talking about the event which will all be online because of Covid, in general terms.

Vicki then introduces Jenny and Malcolm Knox who will be opening up their newly built home on 17 October to virtual tours. They will also be part of a panel addressing sustainable new builds during the weekend. They speak enthusiastically about the process and are very satisfied with the finished product. Financially they see their investment in sustainability as a way of “Paying forward your savings” – but first of all it is about living their lives connected to nature and with a sense of well-being.

In contrast to this, Vicki then introduces us to Andrea Pape who no less enthusiastically tells us how she has retrofitted lots of sustainable initiatives to both her 1960s home and garden.

→ More details can be found at: www.geelongsustainability.org.au/shd-2021

People Pedal Power – ride with Jessie[49:05] Vicki talks of a young English person who is cycling to Glasgow, while cycling teams match the miles from across the world. One team at least: The Bellarine Belles, a women’s cycle group, who were so impressed by Jessie’s plan and commitment and at the same time so frustrated that the Coalition Federal government in Australia has neither a policy, a plan nor commitment to combating climate change, that they decided to send a message of support by riding along with Jessie, collectively riding the equivalent of 570 miles around the Bellarine Peninsula.

“In the face of the Climate Emergency, we, the people, have power. Let’s cycle to COP26 to show this,” Vicki said.

Youth report – sustainable habits[52:35] Our youth correspondent Ben Pocock talks about “Sustainable habits” today. This time Ben introduces us to his younger brother Bobby. They have become an integral part of our team and we always look forward to their reports.

[50:38] Leading up to Ben’s and Bobby’s report, we play an excerpt of the song ‘Where’s The Money At’ by Youth Vs Apocalypse feauring Rudy Kalma, Destiny Arts Center, and Warriors4Justice.

Global outlook[02:40] Colin Mockett‘s World Roundup begins in Milan, Italy, the site of the pre-COP talks, the last and largest preparatory meeting before the COP26 conference, which starts on 31 October in Glasgow. The Milan talks focused on preparations for COP26 as well as input from youth participants, including Greta Thunberg, who opened the talks calling for major industrialised countries to “match their words with action”. Alok Sharma, president-designate of COP26,