All Episodes
Sept. 6, 2020
Migrating Climate Conversations to the Climactic Collective
After nearly two years with the American-based Buzzsprout, I (Robert McLean - pictured) have elected to migrate Climate Conversations to the Climatic Collective.
Sept. 4, 2020
Paddy Manning tells real stories about real people in 'Body Count' to help us understand the climate crisis
Concerned that the facts of climate change were alienating people and so distancing them from the real human tragedy of this existential threat, Sydney journalist Paddy Manning decided to write a book about what impact the crisis is having on real people and the outcome is " Body Count ". Manning takes us up close to about 15 personal tragedies, helping us understand how those events really happened and what role climate change played in the inevitable outcome. Adhering to journalistic ethics, …
Aug. 29, 2020
Lauren Rickards dreams of us all being climate crisis researchers
Lauren Rickards (pictured) is the co-leader of the Climate Change Transformations research program for the Centre of Urban Research at RMIT University and the co-director of the Climate Change Exchange, aimed at facilitating learning between researchers and practitioners. She has worked with the Birchip Cropping Group , where she was once the "Thinker in Residence", is presently working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , and has done, and is doing, detailed work on resilience …
Aug. 27, 2020
Drawing a long-bow: considering the conflation of power and ideology
Barack Obama (pictured) discussed America but leads us to consider what is, or what isn't happening here in Australia. The former U.S. president told the recent virtual Democratic Convention that it was the president's prime responsibility to care for the nation's people and so without any athletic thinking, that idea can easily be extrapolated to illustrate that Australia's PM, Scott Morrison, should be removing, eliminating or scrapping anything related to exploring for or excavating fossil f…
Aug. 26, 2020
Will helps us understand Market Forces and what it is doing to combat the climate crisis
Will van de Pol (pictured) joined Market Forces in 2015 with the aim of doing something positive for society and do what he could to help slow the impacts of climate change. He has legal and corporate skills and has been using them to create and establish research that enables Market Forces to engage with the custodians of the nation's funds to ensure that money is used for the preservation of the environment, not its destruction. Superannuation is among Will's particular interests.
Aug. 19, 2020
John Grimes talks about the Smart Energy Council and its 59th annual 'Smart Energy Conference'
John Grimes (pictured), the Smart Energy Council's CEO, talks about the council and its annual Smart Energy Conference , the 59th since being founded in 1954. The free two-day conference has, because of the Covid-19 crisis, become virtual, but in the view of Mr Grimes, is now accessible to anyone in Australia, and the world, at negligible cost. An impressive array of speakers and events have been lined up for the two-day conference and Mr Grimes encourages anyone interested energy and what woul…
Aug. 18, 2020
Australia's Climate and Health Alliance celebrates its 10th birthday
The Melbourne-based, national climate organization, the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) is a decade old. A former nurse, who re-trained to become a reporter, Fiona Armstrong (pictured), sensed an urgent need for an organization that put climate and health together and so founded what has become known colloquially as "CAHA". In this episode, she talks about her idea grew from being totally volunteer-based to now having the equivalent of about four full-time staff and an influence that stretch…
Aug. 15, 2020
Will, 13, has declared himself an environmentalist and talks with Climate Conversations
Will Howe (pictured) has taken a new interest in the environment. At just 13, Will is in his first year of secondary studies on Queensland's Sunshine Coast at the Mountain Creek High School and just recently declared himself an environmentalist. Being among the best in the state for his age at mathematics, Will is fascinated by statistics and so sees the state of the world's environment through that frame.
Aug. 15, 2020
Communications Professor considers the climate crisis and reporting
Matthew Ricketson (pictured) began his reporting career as a cadet journalist and is now the Professor of Communication at Deakin University . Discussing the responsibilities of reporters during these challenging times Professor Ricketson referred to The Junction project. Also, he pointed to an article in The New Yorker by climate activist, Bill McKibben, as an important read for all those interested in reporting and the climate crisis.
Aug. 11, 2020
Rebecca Huntley: 'How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference'
Rebecca Huntley (pictured), a Sydney-based social researcher, has written several books and her latest: " How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference " was the anchor for this episode on "Climate Conversations". Conscious that climate activists are wrestling with information overload and while they accept the science of what is happening to Earth, most don't want to read another depressing book full of scientific facts Huntley's book is an easy read, it is chatty, sometime…
Aug. 1, 2020
Eager to help farmers share their stories, Karin Stark organized Australia's first 'National Renewables in Agriculture' conference
Serendipity led me to talk with Karin Stark (pictured with her daughter) about her, and her partner's endeavours to reduce the energy costs of running their Narromine farm in central west New South Wales. Karin was one of two guests on a recent "Regional Horizons"' webinar staged by Farmers for Climate Action . Along with her partner, Karin has installed a 500-kilowatt solar-powered pumping system and it was through seminars she had been organizing that she got to know the company ReAqua , whic…
July 30, 2020
'We all need to do what we can' - Professor John Quiggin
Professor John Quiggin (pictured) is a professional economist, a self-declared socialist and a fellow who recognises the reality that most of us will never have a huge individual impact on national affairs but urges us to all do what we can to shape the national conversation. The professor, from the University of Queensland, advocates for a Liveable Income Guarantee, a similar but different version of the Universal Basic Income, both things I am eager to hear about and so if you have a view, p…
July 19, 2020
Chatting with the City of Greater Shepparton's new Climate change resource officer, Darren Tinker
Darren Tinker (pictured) has been appointed to work at the City of Greater Shepparton as its "Climate change resource officer". Darren, who has a regional Victorian background, but is presently in Melbourne and although he has visited the Northern Victoria city, is caught up in the lock-down brought on by the Covid-19 crisis and so is still in the Victorian capital. However, he will be virtually in Shepparton on Saturday, July 25, when he joins those who gather Beneath the Wisteria. Darren's pa…
July 12, 2020
Literally a life and death decision - do we opt to arm ourselves to the teeth or adapt to the climate crisis?
Australia's Liberal National Party is proposing it spend nearly $300 billion on machines and processes that equate with death while ignoring, comparatively, the climate crisis that is descending upon Australia, and the world. Conscious that Prime Minister Scott Morrison would pay little heed to anything I might say, or anyone not of his political stripe, I figured my next best option to raise it with my local member of parliament, Damian Drum, the Member for Nicholls, who is from different part…
July 6, 2020
Considering the climate crisis through the prism of socialism
Thea Riofrancos (pictured) was one of many speakers at the Socialism 2020 virtual conference and was alarming honest in her discussion about the complications arising from the move to using renewable energy and, of course, the benefits. She, and others, spoke at a session entitled, "Toward a Green New Future". The conference was organized the Democratic Socialists of America . Thea is from the Providence College in Massachusetts, America.
July 1, 2020
Paul Mahony talks about veganism and the climate crisis
Paul Mahony (pictured) is the man behind the website, " Planetary Vegan " and here he talks about the essential need for humanity to embrace veganism if it is to have any real chance of addressing the climate crisis. He talked about the importance in relation to the vegan conversation of "Animals Australia" and along with that endorsed " Edgar's Mission " and " Vegan Easy ", which he said was a wonderful place to find recipes for those living the life of a vegan.
June 28, 2020
A country girl leads and champions Farmers for Climate Action
Wendy Cohen (pictured) has the country life in her DNA, but took something of circuitous route to becoming the chief executive officer of Farmers for Climate Action (FCA). She was excited about the latest program to comer from and produced by the organization, " Regional Horizons ". Ironically, and fortunately, it was just the day after the chat with Wendy that the former CEO with FAC and now the "Stakeholders relations director", Verity Morgan-Schmidt, was one of two people on a Monash Univers…
June 26, 2020
Professor Judith Brett talks about her latest piece in the Quarterly Essay, 'The Coal Curse'
La Trobe University's Professor Judith Brett writes about "The Coal Curse" and in conversation about coal-seam gas alludes to those involved with the Lock the Gate Alliance as "heroes". Her latest piece in the Quarterly Essay helps readers better understand the unusual history of Australia's economy and the "resource curse" that has shaped our politics. This discussion on Climate Conversations will help you grasp Professor Brett's thinking where she writes in the essay that: "Politicians have …