What are five sounds you liked today?

A lot of the time, we get through the day without listening much to the world around us. But if we pay a little more attention, what can we learn?

In this episode, we look at acoustic ecology, and how listening can be a tool to get us to care more about our planet.

Featuring:

Ingrid Neilson, musician

Dr Brent Keogh, Lecturer, School of Music and Sound Design, University of Technology Sydney

Producer/presenter: Josh Green

Music: Ingrid Neilson

What is ecological linguistics? How does the English language shape our perceptions of the environment? In this episode we discuss the different terms used to describe climate change and then highlight some more subtle ways language can shape our perceptions of the world around us.

Featuring:

Lee Joachim, Yorta Yorta man, Board Member of Living Languages Australia.

Professor Arran Stibbe, Professor of Ecological Linguistics, University of Gloucestershire

Dr Helen Bromhead, Linguist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Griffith Research Centre for Social and Cultural Research and Project Lead at the Griffith Climate Action Beacon, Griffith University

Dr Jeremy Walker, Co-director of the Climate Justice Research Centre, and Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Sciences Program, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of Technology Sydney

Producer/Presenter: Marlene Even

Music: Epidemic Sound

‘If It’s Flooded, Forget it’, public safety advertisement, 2021, ACT Emergency Services Agency

Coral reefs are under serious threat, an IPCC report predicts that even if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels it would result in a 70-90 percent decline of tropical coral reefs. In this episode we open our eyes, nose and ears to discuss the innovative ways coral reefs can be conserved. In the first half of this episode we learn about the sounds of coral reefs and in the second half the ‘smell’ of coral reefs.

Featuring:

Dr Miles Parsons, research scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science

Dr Caitlin Lawson, research associate at the Climate Change Cluster (C3), University of Technology Sydney and School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle

Producer/Presenter: Marlene Even

Music: Epidemic Sound

Ningaloo Reef lagoon area recording (credit: Reef Song Project, AIMS)

North West Australia Fish Choruses recording (credit: Curtin University)

With the most anticipated international cooperation on climate change this decade now over, in this episode we reflect on what the COP26 conference has achieved, Australia's contributions, and consider its impact on those most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Featuring:

Producer/Host: Sophie Ellis

Music: Epidemic Sound

What do you think of when you imagine a swamp?

They may not be regarded as postcard-perfect environments but swamps play really mportant roles ecologically, regulating water and storing carbon. But they’re at risk, and the problems mostly boil down to human causes. This episode looks at swamps, what’s threatening them, and what’s being done to keep them safe.

Featuring:

Producer/presenter: Josh Green

Music: Epidemic Sound

Shanes Park is destined to be western Sydney’s new national park. The project aims to attract tourists to western Sydney, with visitor facilities and an education centre planned for 2023. But those developments and others, have ecologists concerned about the health of the site going forward.

Featuring:

Wayne Olling, Manager of Flora and Fauna, Blacktown and District Environment Group

Leigh Martin, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

Producer/presenter: Julia Carr-Catzel

Assistant producer: Eamonn Culhane

Music: Epidemic Sound

Kids have come to represent the face of the environmental justice movement and for good reason. In this episode, we examine the work of young people fighting for a stable climate future, their ability to motivate change, and how they reckon with the pressure of being held as beacons of hope.

Featuring:

Thanks to the expertise of Dr. Laura Schuijers, research fellow at Melbourne University Law School for her substantial contribution to the analysis of the Sharma v Environment Minister case featured in this episode (15:30 - 18:15)

Producer/ Presenter: Sophie Ellis

Music: Epidemic Sound

Green roofs have a myriad of benefits including attracting biodiversity, reducing air pollution, storm water management and reducing the impact of the urban heat island effect. Did you know that green roofs can also improve the efficiency of solar panels? In this episode we explore how integrating a green roof with a solar photovoltaic system (known as a biosolar green roof) can boost the solar energy output. In the second half of this episode we look into some incentives that could increase the uptake of green roofs.

Featuring:

Dr. Peter Irga, Environmental Engineer at the University of Technology Sydney.

Robert Fleck, Research Engineer for the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and PhD Candidate at the University of Technology Sydney,

Jorge Chapa, Head of Market Transformation at the Green Building Council of Australia.

Producer/Presenter: Marlene Even

Music: Epidemic Sound

In a special World Food Day episode of Think: Sustainability we invite three guests to discuss what role short food supply chains have in supporting sustainable resilient food systems. How do we create contingency plans to build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress in our food systems? In this #WorldFoodDay discussion we hear about the resilience of food systems from Solomon Islands to Tropical North Queensland to North-East Victoria.

Featured:

Dr Federico Davila, Research Director & Senior Research Fellow (Food Systems) at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney.

Dr Kimberley Reis, Environmental & Social Planning Lecturer, Griffith University.

Serenity Hill, farmer, co-founder of the Open Food Network, and a Director of both Open Food Foundation and Open Food Network Australia.

Producer/Presenter: Marlene Even

Music: Epidemic Sound

Plastic pollution is an undeniable problem. One solution proposed to help solve our plastic woes is bioplastics. In this episode, we look at what bioplastics actually are, how algae is changing the industry, and whether they can deliver on the environmentally sound promises they make.

Featuring:

Producer/Host: Sophie Ellis

Music: Epidemic Sound