Climate Conversations

Robert McLean
Climate Conversations

A continuous conversation about climate change - news, views and interviews.

  1. ClimateNews: Have your say on nuclear power; disillusioned with Nicholls candidates; flood insurance issues in Shepparton

    3D AGO

    ClimateNews: Have your say on nuclear power; disillusioned with Nicholls candidates; flood insurance issues in Shepparton

    Taking the nuclear conversation to the people: "Online Citizen Assembly"; "The Climate Council's Climate Risk Map of Australia"; "Weather tracker: north-west Italy braces for thunderstorms and snow"; "One brick higher"; "Victorian Liberal leader distances state party from Peter Dutton’s nuclear proposal: ‘Our focus is gas"; "Coalition scores just 1/100 points for environment and climate policies from conservation organisation"; "How climate change could disrupt the construction and operations of US nuclear submarines"; "Ten things we learned from Peter Dutton’s speech at the Liberal party campaign launch"; "Can climate scientists save the world?"; "Sudden closure of Story Bridge to cyclists shows ‘car is still king in Brisbane’"; "Peter Dutton’s climate policy backslide threatens Australia’s clout in the Pacific – right when we need it most"; "Most bike lanes in inner Melbourne have less than 40% tree cover – that’ll get worse, new maps show"; "Outback publican finds hostelry coated in mud as residents return to tiny Queensland outpost after flooding"; "Layoffs at NOAA Signal Setback for Climate Research and National Security"; "Big Oil Seeks to Shield Itself From Climate Liability While Trump Is in Power"; "Deadly floods and storms affected more than 400,000 people in Europe in 2024"; "Climate Change Is Helping Heartworm Spread to Pets in the Mountain West"; "Is AUKUS a priority when climate change - which should be the focus - is about to upend our region?".

    20 min
  2. Climate News: Democracy and the Online Citizen Assembly will play its part in resolving the climate crisis

    5D AGO

    Climate News: Democracy and the Online Citizen Assembly will play its part in resolving the climate crisis

    Democracy, that's democracy as envisaged by Emeritus Professor Joseph Camilleri and his Online Citizen Assembly he writes about in Pearls and Irritations. He argues, " Australia’s fading democracy calls for radical rethinking"; "Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change."; "The Australien Government has made an ad for the coming election, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative!"; "Trump plan would eliminate NOAA climate research, slash agency budget"; "Trump’s new reason for canceling grants: ‘Climate anxiety’"; "World Expo 2025 opens in Osaka themed 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives'"; "Fresh details emerge on Australia’s new climate migration visa for Tuvalu residents. An expert explains"; "Scottish wildfire risk increases after lack of spring showers"; "UK weather: wildfire warning as hottest day of the year expected"; "Some good news on the climate transition"; "Pollen peril: how heat, thunder and smog are creating deadly hay fever seasons"; " California’s $59bn agriculture industry reels under Trump’s wavering tariffs"; "Beyond anxiety: Teens’ mental health suffers on Africa’s climate frontlines"; "Fire smoke tied to thousands of premature deaths in 2017 alone"; "Trump Guts Agency Critical to Worker Safety as Temperatures Rise"; "‘Waste Wars’: A Conflict With No End in Sight"; "The Home of Natural Sequence Farming"; "A Natural Sequence Farm."; "Victoria wants to burn more waste for energy – in someone else’s electorate"; "March 2025: Earth’s 3rd-warmest March on record"; "Some good news on the climate transition"; "New Trump Administration Directives to Repeal Environmental Regulations En Masse Make ‘No Sense,’ Legal Experts Say"; "Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers"; "NOAA Scientists Are Cleaning Bathrooms and Reconsidering Lab Experiments After Contracts for Basic Services Expire"; "Meet a Family That’s Betting the Farm on a Wild Idea. Literally"; "Bridges and Tunnels in Colorado Are Helping Animals Commute"; "Governments agree green shipping targets and fees for missing them"; "Renewable and Low-Carbon Sources Accounted for Over 40% of Global Electricity Production in 2024: Report"; "Friday essay: in an uncertain world, ‘green relief’ offers respite, healing and beauty"; "Australian voters are left in the dark on climate targets as they head to the ballot box"; "‘Endearing and fascinating’ yellow-bellied glider faces ‘inexorable slide’ into extinction"; "Green activist group is pausing work after backlash by investors"; "The unusual inspiration for this energy-free cooling system is elephant skin"; "‘Deep Change Theory’ Could Pull Us Out of a Global Climate and Pollution Crisis, Scientists Say"; "Trump Orders a U.S. Exit From the World’s Main Climate Pact"; "‘Everyone is breathing this’: how just trying to stay warm is killing thousands a year in the world’s coldest capital"; "Energy demands from AI datacentres to quadruple by 2030, says report"; "Bigger than Texas: the true size of Australia’s devastating floods"; "Not enough water available for Coalition’s nuclear proposal to run safely, report finds"; "Trump’s EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data From Most Polluters"; "The Coalition prepares to soften Australia’s 2030 climate target, while reaffirming its commitment to the Paris Agreement"; "How Capitalism Crashes Democracy"; "Livestock producer speaks with SBS about impacts of floods in south-west Queensland"; "a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/04/03/ev-factories-canceled/

    45 min
  3. Climate News: Cathy Oke at TEDx talks about climate's 'anti-heroes"; Bowen on Labor's new home battery scheme

    APR 10

    Climate News: Cathy Oke at TEDx talks about climate's 'anti-heroes"; Bowen on Labor's new home battery scheme

    Dr Cathy OPke (pictured) was at TEDx Bendigo talking about our Cities: Our Climate Change Antiheroes’ and challenging us to reimagine cities as robust climate solutions rather than just sources of emissions. She explained that while national governments debate, cities are becoming command centers for climate action - a role so crucial that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing its first-ever special report focused on cities. Through examples from Bendigo to Singapore, Cathy Oke shows how 13,000 local governments worldwide are already leading bold climate initiatives, often outpacing national action. The future of our climate will be decided in our cities, she argues, and every citizen has a role in this transformation. Dr Cathy Oke OAM is a leading voice in urban sustainability and city leadership, combining 25 years of practical and academic expertise. She serves as Associate Professor in Informed Cities in the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning and Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, while advising the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy on research and innovation. "Understanding climate change"; "A UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute report shows Australia’s fossil fuel exports are a significant contributor to global warming"; "The Rise and Fall of Degrowth"; "Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy – but there’s no sign of that in the election campaign"; "Reality check: coral restoration won’t save the world’s reefs"; "Nations debate historic first global carbon tax as shipping faces pressure to cut emissions"; "NYC and Long Island Could Lose 80,000 Homes to Flooding by 2040, Exacerbating Housing Crisis: Report"; "Meet Zen, the border collie teaching rescue dogs as climate change compounds avalanche risks"; "Scientists say human-caused pollution may be masking the true extent of climate warming"; "‘Their determination is heroic’: Portuguese youth mount fresh climate lawsuit against government"; "‘Society is at a crossroads’: 5 deep changes experts say will turn us away from the climate abyss"; "In the rain-soaked South, storms portend future ‘generational’ floods"; "These recycling techniques could help keep clothes out of landfills"; "Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds"; "Why California and the West could face a ‘big fire season’ later this year"; "Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Their Industry"; "Coalition nuclear plan will plough $58bn wrecking ball through renewable energy projects, analysis warns"; "Pipis, octopi, starfish and more have died en masse in South Australia, but it's not clear why"; "Climate Change is even worse than we thought, but this might be good news."; "Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer"; "Beyond the Threshold: The Urgency of Climate Change"; "Labor’s home batteries policy could help people who will never take it up. Here’s how"; "Here’s who topped the rankings in this year’s scorecard for sustainable chocolate – and which confectionery giant refused to participate"; "In Florida, Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Test Resolve of Homeowners in Risky Areas"; "I’m a disaster reporter. But I was not prepared to watch my city burn."; "Trump administration orders half of national forests open for logging"; "Antarctica’s hidden threat: meltwater under the ice sheet amplifies sea-level rise"; "Batteries for all, not just the rich? Labor’s home battery plan must be properly targeted to be fair"; "98% of Queensland prawn areas at risk of inundation by rising seas this century"; "‘Same shit, different year’: Australia records hottest 12 months and warmest March on record"; "It’s not easy being a street tree, but this heroic eucalypt withstands everything we throw at it"; "a href="https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/04/08/minister-was-involved-in-carbon-price-decision-despite-owning-carbon-forestry-block/?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=c8849d3dc0-Daily_Briefing+09.04.2025&utm_medium=email&ut

    1h 4m

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    A continuous conversation about climate change - news, views and interviews.

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