The 61st edition of The Sustainable Hour is coloured by the Sustainable Living Festival which currently runs in Geelong and Melbourne with more than 80 events.
Dave Kerin gives us an update about the launch of the first Earthworker factory and their plans for starting one in Geelong as well, and we have a chat with the Leopold Men’s Shed at GPAC.
Jeremy Rifkin, advisor to the European Union for more than a decade and author of the bestseller ‘The Third Industrial Revolution’ talks about his vision of five ‘pillars’ for the clean energy future of the European Union, and investment advicer Bob Massie, president of The New Economy Coalition and initiator of The Investor Network on Climate Risk, talks about the recent success of the divestment movement.
Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 61:
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More information
More about the the topics we talked about in The Sustainable Hour
Sustainable Living Festival
The Sustainable Living Festival is on again this summer. In 2015, there’ll be 80+ events around Geelong and lots more in Melbourne and regional towns.
» www.slf.org.au/organizer/geelong
» www.facebook.com/SustainableLivingFestivalGeelong
» www.geelongsustainability.org.au/slf
Earthworker Co-operative
Earthworker project officer Dave Kerin spoke alongside US economist Bob Massie in Melbourne at the event ‘Just Transitions – Moving Australia Beyond Fossil Fuels Tour’.
» www.earthworkercooperative.com.au
» www.facebook.com/Earthworkercoop
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Bob Massie
Leading US economist Bob Massie’s presentation at University of Melbourne on 24 February 2015, published on Vimeo.
From 20 to 28 February, Bob Massie gave presentations in ACT, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
He addressed the rapid progress of change globally and the opportunities for Australia to create a strong and stable economic future with a just transition that supports jobs, communities and our environment. Moving beyond fossil fuels to an economy powered by clean energy has the potential to nurture our communities, create meaningful sustainable jobs, protect our land and water and safeguard our children’s future.
Bob Massie is the outgoing President and CEO of the New Economy Coalition, whose mission is to support a just transition to a new economy that enables both thriving communities and ecological health. Formerly he served as president of global investor network CERES, co-founder and first chair of the Global Reporting Initiative, the world’s leading standard for corporate sustainability. He also initiated the Investor Network on Climate Risk, which currently has over 100 members with combined assets exceeding $11 trillion. Bob has degrees from Princeton and Yale and a doctorate in business policy from Harvard University. In 2011, he was a US Senate candidate.
» More information: www.justtransitions.com.au
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Jeremy Rifkin
Jeremy Rifkin is a 70-year-old American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist.
In the 61st Sustainable Hour, we played a four-minute excerpt from this youtube video with Jeremy Rifkin:
Jeremy Rifkin – Leading the way to the third industrial revolution
If you liked this, then also watch:
» Home page: www.thethirdindustrialrevolution.com
» Twitter: @jeremyrifkin
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This is what energy democracy looks like
Published on youtube.com on 21 January 2015
With climate change looming, we are facing an energy emergency. How can unions fight for change? Great video from RLS–NYC and Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), energydemocracyinitiative.org.
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“Australia’s electricity sector is ageing, inefficient, unprepared and requires urgent reform”
In 2014, The Climate Council published a landmark report investigating the future of Australia’s electricity sector. Their key findings were:
1. Australia’s electricity sector is ageing, inefficient, unprepared and requires urgent reform
2. Coal-fired power will struggle to compete economically with other sources of electricity as the world moves to limit emissions
3. The shift to renewable energy is underway, including in some of the largest economies in the world
Internationally, the energy sector accounts for the largest proportion of greenhouse gas (gHg) emissions, which are the main drivers of climate change. Limiting temperature rise to a global average of 2°C, the internationally agreed level that may avoid dangerous climate change, requires large scale changes in the electricity sector and a tripling of low-carbon energy by 2050.
Yet, Australia’s electricity is largely generated by ageing, inefficient coal-fired power plants and there are currently no plans, nor a national discussion on the future of the electricity sector and options to significantly reduce its emissions. Delaying the shift to a low carbon future increases the likely risks and costs of transition to a low carbon future in the electricity sector, where it typically takes a decade or more to plan, permit, finance and build major new power infrastructure.
www.climatecouncil.org.au
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Climate change report from Australian Academy of Science
Australia’s leading science body has reissued its climate change booklet in a bid to improve public understanding of the contentious subject.
This publication from the Australian Academy of Science aims to address confusion created by contradictory information in the public domain. It sets out to explain the current situation in climate science, including where there is consensus in the scientific community and where uncertainties exist.
The document is structured around nine questions:
• What is climate change?
• How has climate changed?
• Are human activities causing climate change?
• How do we expect climate to evolve in the future?
• How are extreme events changing?
• How are sea levels changing?
• What are the impacts of climate change?
• What are the uncertainties and their implications?
• What does science say about options to address climate change?
» Read or download the new report here:
www.science.org.au/climatechange
See also:
» The Age – 15 February 2015:
Australian scientists make fresh attempt at explaining climate change
» ABC News – 15 February 2015:
Climate change booklet aims to dispel confusion, misinformation
Australia’s top scientific minds have released a new publication to dispel confusion and misinformation about climate change and warn of dire consequences if no action is taken now.
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Australian Youth Climate Coalition confronts Commonwealth Bank
On Valentine’s Day in front of Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne, Australia
Lucy and Kirsty from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition wrote:
“CommBank tried everything to stop our action, but when we arrived at their headquarters for Valentine’s Day, it was AYCCers who told them to stop… in the name of love.
Australian banks have the power to stop Adani’s disastrous Abbot Point project from going ahead. Together we’ve made this project a top issue for the banks – from their boards to local branch staff – but they are still refusing to rule it out.
It’s time to put our money where our mouth is. In the next two months, Australian banks will be asked to help fund this multi-billion dollar project. We have to make sure the banks know they stand to lose their customers over funding the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef and our climate.
Today we’re launching the Dump my Bank campaign. Share the video and pledge to dump your bank at our new campaign website.
The hundreds of young people in this video just wrapped up our national volunteer summit with a commitment to go back to their states and collect tens of thousands of pledges and hold weekly break-up actions at bank branches.
There is no other organisation better placed to take on the big 4 banks than the AYCC. Our powerful grassroots network has already made the big banks worried, now let them know you mean business by sharing this video and pledging to dump your bank.”
Podcasts and posts about climate change
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Hours and hours of sustainable podcasts
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“Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race.”
Pete Seeger, American singer