Melbourne’s Eco-city

Melbourne is supposed to be one of the world’s most liveable cities but it will have to work hard to make sure it has a truly sustainable future.

As Melbourne City councillors, the two main candidates in the Melbourne State parliament by-election on 21 July 2012 are key players in its program to be an Eco-city.

Please see my post for ThinkBrigade Melbourne’s Eco-city: Working for a Sustainable Future for more.

What Would Change Your Mind on Climate?

My latest roundup for Global Voices Online: Australia: What Would Change Your Mind on Climate?

The scenario is simple. A wily conservative ex-politician and a young climate activist visit their ‘experts’ around the globe together. It’s a futile and inevitably failed attempt to change each other’s mind.

...The ABC, as our national broadcaster, is supposed to help us to form our views by presenting competing ideas. Many feel that giving equal time to the small percentage of scientists and commentators who are climate sceptics, delayers or deniers provides unwarranted weight to their arguments not true balance.

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You and me and everyone we know: Rio+20

Giedre Steikunaite, one of the ThinkBrigade team, is a finalist in the TckTckTck Rio Blogger prize.

Her post You and me and everyone we know is a must read for anyone interested in the Rio+20 Earth Summit, plus all those who should be:

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible – Stanisław Lec

Whoever still doubts that our planet is in crisis has their eyes wide shut. The avalanche that is approaching us at a seemingly unstoppable speed presents perhaps the most challenging confrontation of them all, the confrontation with oneself: how far am I ready to go to make future possible again? What am I willing to sacrifice? And just how honest are my replies?

We the snowflakes are rebels with a cause. Our mission is to atone the crimes we’ve committed against our planet – to right the wrongs and never repeat them again. The ways to do it are as diverse as life itself.

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Road to Rio +20

The Earth Summit Rio +20, a United Nations conference on Sustainable Development & Green Economy, takes place in June 2012.

This video is an introduction that raises some of the issues.

It will be part of the ThinkBrigade online magazine that starts on Tuesday 10 April.

Thanks to Mark Manney's Remix Abscondo for the instrumental, and the UN photo library for some images. With a lick of irony the music is called 'I'll Die Smiling'

State of the Planet Declaration

Debategraph's dynamic map for the Planet Under Pressure



The State of the Planet Declaration from the Planet Under Pressure conference is now available online:

Society is taking substantial risks by delaying urgent and large-scale action. We must show leadership at all levels. We must all play our parts. A strong contribution from all stakeholders should make the UN’s Rio+20 conference a defining moment that sparks global innovation to move us towards a sustainable future. We urge the world to grasp this moment and make history.

...let’s be honest. While some progress has been made in addressing global environmental issues, poverty alleviation and food, water, energy and human security, the scale of actions has not been commensurate with the scale of the problems. The issues to be debated at Rio+20 are the same as those identified 20 years ago, but it is now even more urgent to address them.

Connecting the Dots: Climate Change & Extreme Weather

Climate campaigners 350.org are organising events for 5 May 2012.

Details at CONNECT THE DOTS:

Across the planet now we see ever more flood, ever more drought, ever more storms. People are dying, communities are being wrecked — the impacts we’re already witnessing from climate change are unlike anything we have seen before.

But because the globe is so big, it’s hard for most people to see that it’s all connected. That’s why, on May 5, we will Connect the Dots.

If you're wondering why we should bother, a careful reading of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) latest report MANAGING THE RISKS OF EXTREME EVENTS AND DISASTERS TO ADVANCE CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION might fuel your interest:

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales.

Planet Under Pressure: Welcome to the Anthropocene

Welcome to the Anthropocene

Video produced for Planet Under Pressure conference: Welcome to the Anthropocene.