Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 24 April 2019 are:         

Singer, songwriter and musician Andrea Robertson lives on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. She is a strong supporter of sustainability and sings her own composition ‘Beautiful World’. Andrea was the recipient of the 2017 Queenscliff Emerging Artists grant, and this has enabled her to complete an album which will launch on 17 May 2019.

Colin Mockett’s Global View this week includes Sir David Attenborough’s recent BBC documentary about climate change, ‘Climate Change – The Facts’, and Colin’s recent trip to the Canberra Folk Festival where he learned about a unique methodology of voting in the upcoming federal election.

As Labor promises to invest – we say waste – $1,500,000,000 of taxpayers money into new gas projects in the north of Australia, professor Melissa Haswell from Queensland University of Technology, who is also a member of Doctors for the Environment Australia, explains why this is such an incredibly bad idea, not only because of the climate implications but also because of the public health impacts, and this can be said about offshore gas processing just as much as the methane- and groundwater-polluting fracking for shale gas on land.

Fatima Kidwai from Climate Leaders explains how a group of young school strikers are supporting independent candidates with climate action policies. We talked with her during the Sustainable Living Festival in February 2019.

Sustainable People: Lene Foghsgaard continues her series on sustainable people she has met in Melbourne and who have started cutting down on meat, or live completely without it. She talks with Tina Zenou, whose family no longer eat meat. “My hope is to inspire us all to eat more green, which can reduce our individual carbon footprints by several tonnes per year,” says Lene.

Brian Paterson from Urban Systems in Vancouver,

Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 17 April 2019 are:   

Sienna – a Grade 6 student at Ocean Grove Primary School who is doing the Rotary Award 2019. Sienna joins us as part of her environmental segment of the award and for experience on radio. She is inspired by her schools actions on recycling and after attending The Sustainable Show at Queenscliff wants to speak about the actions we can do.

Michael Strickland, project manager at WM Waste, who are doing hard rubbish collection from 17 Councils in Victoria. Listen to the story of how WM Waste achieve a recycling rate of approximately 80 per cent. They are currently trialling the use of electric powered collection trucks, and Michael touches on the use of solar power for industry. This video helps demonstrate the procedure they take to achieve this recovery result from hardwaste.

Fiona Armstrong, founder of the Climate and Health Alliance, informs us about the alliance of health groups banding together to highlight the effects of health with climate breakdown. Their open letter to the federal election candidates can be found below on this page. 

Barry Mud, Irish designer and builder, comments and explains his observation on the typical Australian house.

“We need to let the government know climate change is not just about power prices and mining. It is about people’s fundamental right to good health and well-being and that the health and economic cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action…”~ Fiona Armstrong, Climate and Health Alliance

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 263 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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Fiona Armstrong

 #CLIMATECHANGE #HEALTH: 

Fiona Armstrong: Climate change is a health concern

The headlines and talking heads in The Sustainable Hour on 10 April 2019:

Colin Mockett: World viewThe United Nations invites the world’s leaders to a Climate Action Summit at its headquarters in New York on 23 September 2019. “Come with a plan,” says UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as increasing natural disasters kills more and more people around the planet. Will Bill Shorten, if elected as Australia’s next Prime Minister, turn up in New York with an action plan?, asks Colin who is frustrated about recent developments in Australian politics and media. “When feeling low, listen to The Sustainable Hour,” Tony says, because today’s program is yet again an hour full of examples of people and communities that actually have a plan and are already busy with the reduction of their carbon footprints, while the politicians fumble and fail their duties because they are manipulated by fossil money.

Hepburn community: Zero by 2029An exciting 10-year master plan for the Hepburn Shire’s community to transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity supply, zero-net energy and zero-net emissions already by 2029.

Shannon Loughnane: Walks for more action on climate emergencyShannon is getting ready for his extremely long walk. Starting out on 20 April 2019 from Coburg in Melbourne and ending in Canberra on 14 May. He is highlighting climate emergency and wants to break through all the noise on climate change. Are you ready to step up with Shannon and sign his petition that will be presented to the Federal Parliament? He is also looking for help with accommodation along the journey. Read more below.

Sustainable People: Eating less meatBy our roving reporter Lene Foghsgaard.

Anthony Gleeson: New Extinction Rebellion group in GeelongTony is a long time climate campaigner. Extinction Rebellion movement had its genesis in the UK. He is helping set up a chapter in Geelong. Tony is passionate and always reminds us he is doing it for his grandchildren.

Mik Aidt: My time has come to walk the talkMik discusses his home GreenItYourself project, refurbishing and ensuring he is improving the sustainability and amenity of the space, including adding solar panels on the roof, disconnecting from gas, and replacing windows with double glazing.

“It’s really the kind of action we need to be seeing right now: Push through all the confusion and refuse to be sidelined.”~ Shannon Loughnone, petitioning parliamentarians in Canberra

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 262 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 3 April 2019 are:

Colin Mockett, who highlights the Australian situation of the last few days of budget and the 2019 election. The Victorian Government has a score card that shows they are falling behind in their emissions targets.

Miho, April, Fabrizzio, Linn, and Jessica, overseas students studying English in the IELTS Course at Deakin University in Geelong. Today they do Colin’s job and tell us how their country views sustainability and the environment. More info below.

Alicia Crawford Bell tells us about the Bob Brown convoy from Tasmania to the proposed Adani coal mine lease in Queensland. She is the Stop Adani Convoy Rally Organiser in Melbourne. The convoy will come to Melbourne on Thursday 18 April 2019. The journey continues with stops on the way to the Mackay camp. Returning via Canberra, this convoy will emphasis that the 2019 federal election is a climate change election. 400 people have signed up so far, and they are still looking for more to join.

Sustainable People: Our roving reporter Lene Foghsgaard considers poetry to reflect on climate change. The Melbourne-born artist and cartoonist Michael Leunig has written a poem called ‘Mother Earth’. The poem is read aloud during the segment, and three people are asked to react and give their reflections. Could be a way to talk about our climate crises? Photo on podcast-‘cover’: Cassandra, 41, who is mum to two young children and is very concerned about the environment and the future for her girls.

We play an excerpt of an impassioned speech, which American congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave during a committee hearing in response to Republicans’ push-back on her climate change policy, the Green New Deal, and a short clip of Greta Thunberg‘s speech to the EU leaders.

Jackie tells about her first little sneaky civil disobedience Extinction Rebellion-inspired act at the supermarket, making a stance without being a loud protestor: taking the plastic wrapping off the vegetables she bought and leaving it in the bin at the supermarket. “If every person that came to the supermarket that day did the same thing, then those bins would be full, and the supermarket would look at those bins and think, “Oh, these people don’t want the plastic! Why are we using it then? Now we are left with getting rid of that plastic.”

And we play two songs: the new single ‘Sun & Moon ☉+◑’ from Singaporian singer iNCH, and one of our favourite classics in support of the #StopAdani campaign, New Zealander Ruth Mundy‘s ‘Love in the Time of Coral Reefs’. See their videos below.

“Climate change and environmental issues is a global problem. Everyone has the responsibility to do something.”~ Jessica, Chinese student at Deakin University in Geelong

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 261 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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History in making: The voice of a powerful future generation

The Sustainable Hour’s #FridaysForFuture special

What does the youth think are the issues in sustainability and what are their answers to what solutions to the climate crisis would be? Take notice of the new generation, who will become voters in just a few years, and who are fully immerged and engaged in the task of ensuring that humanity will have a livable and climatesafe future.

The Sustainable Hour is on the road, continuing our youth theme with this week’s program coming from Albert Park College (APC) in Melbourne. The program is recorded live from the drillhal at the APC Campus for Year 9 Students with more than 200 students in the audience on Friday 22 March 2019.

The future looks bright when we have the youth like this group speaking out about their concern for the future of our planet. In the mix today is passion and reflections and some practical action that the children and the school are involved with.

In today’s program we hear from several students who are involved in the school’s sustainability programs and groups at APC. We also have a Q&A with the students in the panel answering questions from fellow students.

Click on the player or download the audio file to hear for instance about the school’s DaVinci program and projects that were created due to that program. Listen to an original song composed and performed by Lily, a star in the making. Listen also to Oscars speech about fairness, and Jean-Pierre’s poetry slam.

The speakers and panel are: Eloisa, Milo, Isabelle, Zali, Melisand, Jean-Pierre, Lily and Oscar.Q&A Panel Youth Hosts are: Isabelle, Melisand, and Jean-Pierre. More info below.

“Thank you for giving us all this opportunity to share our opinions and our views, and give a platform for us to express ourselves. This has been a really incredible experience for all of us. I’ve certainly never been on a radio show before…”~ Eloisa, Year 11 student at APC

The content of the entire hour was delivered by a group of students

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 260 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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The Sustainable Hour co-hosts Jackie Matthews and Mik Aidt opening the #FridaysForFuture special

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Our guest in The Sustainable Studio on 20 March 2019 is 19-year-old Alex Marshall from CACE Surf Coast & Geelong who is calling for proper council action on the climate emergency, and leading the charge on the Surf Coast to follow the lead of over 400 other councils around the world that have declared a climate emergency – five of those in Victoria, 15 in Australia.

We also talk over the phone with the officer at Darebin City Council whose job it is to get the practical stuff of a climate emergency sorted and making the Council’s decisions work for the community and the officers: Samantha Green from the municipality’s Environmental Education & Promotions Office.

We visit Maribyrnong Councillor Simon Crawford in the fifth Victorian council to declare a climate emergency. And we visit Darebin Councillor Trent McCarthy who has been a strong supporter of Darebins climate emergency initiatives since his climate emergency motion – the first of its kind in the world – was carried in 2016.

Sustainable People: Lene Foghsgaard takes to the street again – this time to join the students’ climate strike in Melbourne on 15 March where she walks together with thousands of climate-concerned and sustainable people demanding policy change.

World View: What is New Zealand doing about climate change? Colin Mockett takes a look at New Zealand’s leadership after its Darkest Day, and on the so-called “independent” report from fossil fuel industry consultant Brian Fisher whose research on the economic cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is deeply flawed.

“There is support for declaring a climate emergency, taking action. It is seen as serious and urgent by a majority of people.”~ Common Cause Australia, network agency

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 259 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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THE YOUTH SPEAKS UP: Here’s what happened at Geelong City Hall

On their way to City Hall, the climate strikers passed the office of Richard Marles, Labor member of Parliament for Corio, whose speech is included in this video. Independent candidate in the federal election for Corangamite, Damien Cole, spoke at the city hall, where the microphone was open for anyone who wanted to say a few words. Heidi Fog spoke on behalf of the Victorian ResourceSmartSchool program. She can be contacted via www.heidifog.com.au

Two students from Kardinia International College organised this school strike for climate action in Geelong – a town of 230,000 residents, located 75 kilometres from Melbourne in Australia.

https://twitter.com/EnviroVic/status/1106697348900515840

The Guardian: It’s our time to rise up’: youth climate strikes held in 100 countries Think we should be at school? Today’s climate strike is the biggest lesson of all

Biggest climate action event ever

What started with one single student’s display of determination to make difference and call on the politicians’ inaction on climate change, has grown into a global youth movement. The co-ordinated global school strike on 15 March turned out historically as the biggest climate action event ever, with strikes taking place in around 2,000 cities in more than 100 countries.

BREAKING: 150,000 young Australians take to the streets in over 60 places across the country for #SchoolsStrike4Climate demanding our “leaders” take #ClimateActionNow 1) #StopAdani 2) No new/upgrades of coal or gas!3) 100% renewables by 2030 We are the generation of NOW! pic.twitter.com/et9u74x41h— Nicholas Fitzpatrick (@NickClimate) March 15, 2019

Sydney saw a massive participation of more than 30,000 students and parents. Across Australia organisers counted 150,000 people taking part in 55 strikes around the country.

 4 October 2018: Greta Thunberg in front of the coal power plant Moorburg in Hamburg, which is owned by the Swedish state-owned Vattenfall. On their website they call it “environmentally friendly”.

Greta’s amazing journey

In The Sustainable Hour, we have reported about 

Dispatching from the climate emergency bunker on 13 March 2019: Rebellion and risking arrest by protesting how industries and governments are wrecking our planet’s climate and ecosystems – with blood of our children spilling in the streets and a sermon in church about death… This does not turn into a Sustainable Hour of darkness and sadness, as it could maybe sound like, on the contrary we find ourselves uplifted and energised because our guests and speakers introduce us to what could turn out to be the only genuine solution to the climate crisis.

       

#ClimateElection: Time to tell the truth15:33  Psychologist Jane Morton, author of the booklet ‘Don’t mention the emergency?’, talks about how non-violent direct action can make more people aware of the urgency of the climate emergency.

From early involvement in the declaration of the climate emergency and the spreading of the extinction rebellion in Australia, the road of taking action has at times been a risk to her. ‘Don’t mention the emergency’ was penned from her knowledge of psychology and understanding that other campaigns, like smoking, told  how harmful the current situation is and urges the climate leaders and scientist not be afraid to state the truth about the dangers of climate change. The emergency is real with our planet.

23:00  Rev Chris Hedges from the pulpit talks about death of the individual and the collective death of humans.  He lifts up the issue of sixth great move of destruction due to our binge on fossil fuel.

48:00  An excerpt from David Wallace-Wells being interviewed by Tom Clarke in ITV News

#ClimateStrike: How we support the school strikers06:29   We play a recording from the Sustainable Living Festival, where four students presented the forum ‘Schooled’ about the school strikes for climate action.

32:17  Artists support the school striking kids:  Andrea Robertson, Dallas Holden and Ralph McTell

#ClimateBashing: How we talk with one another about climate change33:53  In a talk with Seda Moos, Lene Foghsgaard brings us her 12th ‘Sustainable People’ report, part two in her series about Climate Bashing. Seda Moos is studying to become a teacher and she is both very passioned about sustainability and acting in a more sustainable way. She explains how she acts in daily life where one of her goals about becoming a teacher is to help educate children to live caring, responsible and ressourceful lives.

#SustainableLiving: Down to earth01:09  Colin Mockett presents a toilet roll, produced by Pure Planet, in his World View, and as the news about

“We are going to change the fate of humanity.”~ Youth climate strikers, in an open letter

We open the hour with a clip with Greta Thunberg speaking at the school strike in Hamburg on Friday: “Yes we are angry. Because the older generation are continuing to stealing our future, right now. We will not let them do that anymore. We will continue to school-strike until they do something,” she says. Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 6 March 2019 are: [00:48] Geelong youth striker: Noemi Walton, student at Kardinia International College, who is organising the Geelong school strike on 15 March. Meet at 9am in Yarra Street at Richard Marles office, Member for Corio in Federal Parliament. [09:00] Colin Mockett‘s World View — about what you don’t see on the news: today it’s about Taiwan’s 75 per cent emissions reduction 2030 target, and the United Kingdom’s water policy. [16:42] Rod Lowther, president of Geelong Field Naturalists Club, promotes their Geelong and District Nature Forum as a follow-up to the school strike, taking place at Geelong Library on Saturday 16 March from 9am to 4pm – free entry. [32:50] Castlemaine youth strikers: Piper, Rachelle and Charlie talk about persistence: why their youth strike movement is not going to go away until the adults take action on the climate crisis.

[38:43] Noemi Walton reads an open letter from the global climate strike coordination group [44:31] Climate emergency competition idea: Zelly Been, 13, from Adelaide asks: which Australian state capital will be the first to declare a climate emergency? The race is on. [40:45] Climate bashing: In her Sustainable People series, Lene Outzen Foghsgaard tests the waters when it comes to how we talk with each other about the climate crisis without pushing anyone away. “We need to talk about our Mother Earth and the state of crisis she is in, but how do we do that?”, Lene asks Ariane and Emilie. Ariane is the mom of her boys friend, and Emilie is a receptionist at the Physio, where she comes. She knows them a bit and maybe that’s part of the recipe. Sustainable People next week is also about ‘climate bashing’.

Andrea Robertson

“Along with the Sustainable Hour crew, I support the Students for Climate strike. These kids are missing out on school so that they can tell our politicians to take their future seriously and treat climate change for what it is: a crisis. Support these kids as best you can. And as an adult who can vote,

Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 27 February 2019 are:

[20:50] Judy Hassel, organiser of the Sustainable Living Show in Queenscliffe on 23 March 2019.

[33:04] Brianne West, founder of the beauty products company Ethique, who talks about how we can reduce the use of plastic across all aspects in our lives.

[42:55] Nick McGrath and Emma Griffin, owners of OnStone, a shop that makes photos printed on stone and framed with recycled timber.

[00:47] At Geelong Council’s regular meeting Tuesday evening, Mik Aidt submitted a question for Question Time to welcome Geelong’s new Youth Council, the city’s official “faces of the future” – asking both the older and the young councillors whether they will be supporting the Global School Strike event on 15 March.

[14:07] We play an excerpt of a speech Greta Thunberg gave to the EU leaders, asking them to double their emissions reductions efforts and speed, at an event in Brussels. We round the hour off with a climate change song by Sustainable Soundtracks: ‘We Don’t Have Time’

“The steps of city hall are available for the youth on the 15th of March – as we would offer to any community group. As long as it is abiding by the law, we would encourage the Geelong community to be able to express their views and to grow, educate and communicate their position on issues…” ~ Anthony Aitken, Geelong Councillor – answering a question from Mik about Council’s response to the global school strike event on 15 March

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 256 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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“We are school striking because we have done our home work. Once you have done your home work, you realise that we need new politics.