PODCAST

Climate Conversations

Robert McLean

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

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

00:34:54

Climate News: Woodside attibute blame for Spain's...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/27

The lights recently went out across Spain, and the Australian oil and gas giant, Woodside, was quick to seize on the consequences of the disruption to drive home the importance of ensuring reliable energy supplies: "Spain’s crippling blackout shows need for gas in a greener world: Woodside CEO";"What we lose when weather balloons don’t fly";"5 huge climate opportunities await the next parliament – and it has the numbers to deliver";"'A war zone': Desperate

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00:45:41

Climate News: Australia's PM, Anthony Albanese,...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/26

Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, claims he cares about climate change, but then supports his Environment Minister, Murray Watt, in his moves to quickly advance a major gas project off the Western Australian coast: "Murray Watt knocks back objections to Woodside’s North West Shelf extension and clears way for final decision";"‘Desolate’: farmers in NSW’s west battle drought as east coast mops up after floods";"Reliable energy or ‘carbon bomb’? What’s at stake in

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01:09:21

Climate News: 'The Nationals are idiots,' he said....

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/25

Australia's National Party was successful in recent Federal elections and subsequently has been beating its chest in celebratory joy, but not everyone feels the same way, according to this opinion piece in the Melbourne Age: "Denial is hard to grasp in the city. In flooded Taree, it’s bewildering"."The True Cost of Pretending Climate Change Doesn’t Exist";"Trump administration plans to end greenhouse gas limits on power plants";"This town was wiped out by

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00:39:17

Climate News: Melbourne's CBD should be car-free...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/20

Salvador Rueda (pictured) envisages a car-free CBD for Melbourne, arguing during an event ar the city's RMIT University that Melbourne’s grid design and tram network made it suited to superblocks, and land close to train stations could be their starting point because “you don’t need the car, practically”: "Car-free superblock pioneer’s vision for Melbourne – and the one thing he forbids";"Humanity is compressing millions of years of natural change into just a

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00:12:25

Climate News: Violet Coco is a chameleon-like climate...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/17

Violet Coco (pictured) has the innate ability to reach into people, touch their hearts, make them feel something, make them angry, and yet comfort them with the thought that someone is doing something about alerting the world to the terrors of climate change.Violet, a woman with the seeming innocence of a young girl, was taken to lunch by Angus Delaney, and here you can hear the audio of a story he wrote for the Melbourne Age: "There’s no bridge too far for this climate activist’s

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00:25:15

Event: Sharon Brettkelly goes to the top of a wind...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/14

Sharon Brettkelly (pictured) will go to extreme lengths, in this case, heights, to get to the bottom of a good story.Sharon, who writes for The Newsroom in New Zealand, tells the story this time on The Detail: "Powering New Zealand from a Wellington wind farm".She writes: "When rain poured into our South Island hydro lakes last week, electricity bosses heaved a huge sigh of relief."They’re still wincing from the memories of last winter’s energy crunch, when power became dangerously scarce and

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01:01:34

Webinar: 'It's an enornmous sense of relief, can you...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/13

Professor Tim Flannery (pictured) was one of three speakers on a Climate Council webinar tonight (May 13), facilitated by the Council's CEO, Amanda McKenzie.The webinar, which attracted hundreds of people, was entitled "After the Vote: What Australia's new parliament means for climate - and how we can make the most of it".The webinar discussed:What kind of progress should we expect under the new Albanese Government? What are the best opportunities in the new Parliament? And what might the handbrakes

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01:11:03

Climate News: Chinese electric car manufacturers...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/12

Chinese electric car companies are building vehicles that are both nimble and fast, and denting the sales of traditional manufacturers: " This luxury car can use ‘leap mode’ for potholes – but it’s not a Ferrari";"‘Getting barer by the day’: drought conditions in SA and Victoria worsen, leaving rural communities in the dust";"Govt mulled, then scratched, home solar incentive";"It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot?";"Climate Justice Organizers

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00:20:05

Climate News: Rebecca Huntley appears on Q&A...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/09

Rebecca Huntley (pictured) appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television program Q&A, questioning the viability and value of Australia's National Party."Even as emissions level off, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is growing faster than ever. Here’s why";"These 3 climate misinformation campaigns are operating during the election run-up. Here’s how to spot them";"How to talk about climate change";"The Women’s Climate

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01:09:48

Webinar: 'Hazard reduction burning is so last century...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/07

Professor David Lindenmayer (pictured). from The Fenner School of Environment & Society at the Australian National University, was the guest on a May 1 webinar organised by the "Victorian Forest Alliance".Professor Lindenmayer discussed "Disturbance and flamability: how logging and burning makes forests more flammable".His understanding of Australian forests, their history and how our interference with them, along with the challenges with the quickly unfolding dilemma of

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00:27:44

Interview: Sue Inches says: 'Like you, I want to...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/05

Sue B. Inches (pictured) wants to build a better world, so she is doing what she can in that she has written a book about "Environmental Advocacy", she teaches on that topic, and also has been giving sermons about hope in challenging times, and beyond, that she advocates for people, corporations and governments at all levels to take action on the mitigation of climate change.Sue's thoughts about climate change can be found on her weekly Substack.She admires the University of Maine, which she says is

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00:41:41

Keynote address: Simon Molesworth wants to bring back...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/03

Simon Molesworth (pictured far from the austerity of a courtroom, working on his far western New South Wales property) sees the exhibitions of old ("fun fares" as he describes them) as a means to bring an understanding of climate change to as many people as possible.The Melbourne-based barrister, who has long been involved with climate and environmental movements throughout Australia, was the keynote speaker on Wednesday, April 30, at the Australian Cleantech Showcase 2025.

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00:11:44

Interview: Covid-19 gave us the 'Power-Droid' and now...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/05/01

A kitchen table discussion, during Victoria's 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, resulted in the design and construction of the first Frankenstein-like "Power-Droid" by former film and television stuntman, Purven Pather, aided by his business partner and wife, Jessica Gower.The arrival of the Power-Droid was followed by the creation of the company, Equoria, which is about "Powering your production with portable, renewable power sources".The Power-Droid, a mobile box of just over 80

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01:28:08

Climate News: Treating an 'emergency' as a real...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/26

The City of Greater Shepparton followed the earlier lead of other municipalities, declaring a "climate emergency" in 2020, passing the motion on the casting vote of the then mayor, Cr Seema Adullah.Shepparton climate activists are concerned that the new council, elected last year and whose climate credentials are unknown, will move to see that 2020 reversed, just as has been the case at Mornington: "Mornington Peninsula council scraps climate emergency plan".On April 22, the

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00:33:51

Interview: 'The only thing we've got left now is one...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/21

Rob Bakes from Vote Climate One, which includes the Traffic Light Election Guide, says, "The only thing we've got left is one another; we can't rely on government."He also says, "When you look at the science, we are in real troubles, We're buggered".Rob, whose passion is as wide as it is deep, finds comfort in talking with Geelong's Mik Aidt, who runs the bay City's "The Sustainable Hour".The Traffic Light Election Guide has already proved its worth, and Rob has urged people to take the advice it

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00:15:37

Interview: Daniel Lancefield explains the April 30...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/18

Daniel Lancefield (pictured), who manages the "Victorian Clean Tech Cluster", worked in community organisations and not-for-profits for more than 15 years in sport and the arts before joining the Victorian Cleantech Cluster as Manager in 2022. Since then, Daniel has developed a deep passion and appreciation for all things clean and green, and has an extensive network of people across clean technology, climate technology, circular economy and sustainability. He's now overseeing the

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00:20:04

ClimateNews: Have your say on nuclear power;...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/15

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

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00:45:15

Climate News: Democracy and the Online Citizen...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/13

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

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01:04:23

Climate News: Cathy Oke at TEDx talks about climate's...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/10

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,

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00:59:11

Webinar: Maugean Skate, TX-Rex, salmon farming,...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/04/08

Glenn Connley (pictured), moderator for the "Climate Academy" webinar organised by The Australia Institute.Industrial Atlantic salmon farming near Tasmania is a story that needs to be told and understood, and this "Climate Academy" webinar moderated by Glenn Connley and featuring Leanne Minshull and Eloise Carr is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn more about what's happening in this southern Australian State.Also, it's an equally wonderful chance to learn more about what's happening to

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