Interview: 'We've always been confronted by forces bigger than ourselves, but we've always survived - there's no reason why we can't still fall in love, laugh, play games and have fun' - Ben Pederick

Ben Pederick (pictured recording an interview post The Adaptation Game - TAG) is a big man with a big smile, a big heart and some equally big ideas about how we step up to the challenges we confront arising from the seriously different weather events being brought to us courtesy of a worsening climate.The City of Greater Shepparton has bought several sets of The Adaptation Game, and locals have been trained as facilitators to oversee and orchestrate the games, which will be available through local libraries.You can learn more about TAG by watching: "The Adaptation Game: a Community Climate Resilience Drill built on Stories"

Australia's Climate and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen (pictured), is attending climate talks in Belem, Brazil, at COP30. However, the talks have gone a little awry for Australia, as it has ceded COP31 to Turkey."Australia can win big international bids when it wants. This was an omnishambles";"Anger, questions over Albanese’s call to concede COP to Turkey";"‘Avoidable failures’: Government defies watchdog on compensation for flood victims";"The Accidental Activist, Madeleine Serle";"Australia beaten by the Turks. Don’t mention the war";"Victoria’s EV battle: Should non-drivers pay for roadside chargers?";"World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report finds".

California Governor Gavin Newsom (picture) steals the spotlight at COP30 in Brasil - "Newsom in the Spotlight at the Climate Conference That Trump Decided to Skip";"This widely used chart makes the clean energy switch seem much harder than it actually is";"Indigenous People, Long Sidelined at Climate Talks, Take the Stage in Brazil";"‘I didn’t agree to that’: The proposal that triggered uproar in the Coalition party room";"A Flood of Green Tech From China Is Upending Global Climate Politics";"Earth Nowhere Near Where It Needs to Be to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change";"COP30 Forges Ahead as World’s Biggest Emitter, the United States, Stays Absent";"How Monash Uni took a $43m moral stand and gave Building 94 its name back";"The comforting but dangerous fantasy of ‘normal’ climatic and political aberrations".

Liberal Party leader, Sussan Ley (pictured), is at the centre of discussions that mean little to what it is that Australians need to hear about addressing climate change."These numbers say net zero is doomed – and so is Sussan Ley";"Where the sky keeps bursting";"Greenwashing in the Evergreen State";"Ley’s job on the line as Liberals reject net zero";"Birrell advocates for coal, gas, and eventually nuclear";"The Liberal party’s betrayal of younger voters on net zero isn’t just a moral failure – it’s electoral stupidity";"The spectacular nonsense of the Coalition’s internal brawl over the 2050 net zero emissions target".

Marian Wilkinson has sliced through the fossil fuel companies, particularly Woodside, and our politicians, in her latest Quarterly Essay," Woodside vs The Planet: how a company captured a country".The Australian investigative journalist is interviewed here by the co-convenor from Climate 200, Kate Hook.It's long — more than an hour — but well worth your time.

Victorian Trades Hall Council assistant secretary, Danae Bosler (pictured), told those at the Saturday, November 8, launch of the Climate Safety Plan, that it was the workers who bore the brunt of the world's changing climate.She argued that they knew best what the problems were and how they should be confronted and resolved.Nurse practitioner and union member, Sigrid Pitkin, explained to those at the Millennium Building launch at Seddon, in Melbourne's west, how a thunderstorm asthma event impacted Melbourne's health services. Sigrid predicted that a warming climate would bring more similar and even worse events.The Climate Safety Plan will propose policies spanning eight key areas: built environment; health; insurance; emergency management; community resilience; food and agriculture; workers' rights; and income support.Speakers at the launch included:Kate Thwaites MP, Special Envoy for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience.Madeleine Serle, Maribyrnong Community Recovery Association.Danae Bosler, Assistant Secretary, Victorian Trades Hall Council Sigrid Pitkin, Nurse Practioner and union memberAngela Ashleigh-Chiew, Environment Victoria.Shweta Dakin, GenWest and;Emma Bacon, Sweltering Cities.

The new book, "Human Nature" by climate scientist Kate Marvel is, in a sense, a whole new genre, for in it Marvel explores the feelings of a climate scientist, and from it we learn that they are just like us with emotions ranging across the entire arc of human feelings.Marvel talks about her new book with Columbia University's Andre Revkin, who is one of America’s most honoured and experienced environmental journalists and the founding director of the new Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at Columbia University's Earth Institute. At Columbia, he is building programs, courses, tools and collaborations bridging communication gaps between science and society to cut climate risk and boost social and environmental resilience.Kate can also be found on TEDx talking about "Can clouds buy us more time to solve climate change?".Her book, to give it the full title is "Human Nature: nine ways to feel about our changing planet".

Melbourne's recent All Energy Conference was fascinating for many reasons, but left me flummoxed, as it was, at its essence, about limiting climate change, even though it seemed to be about growth. The exhibits were impressive, almost like social events with free coffee, lots of meetings, and the exchange of ideas (pictured)."The $4.1 million question: How did the BOM get its new website so wrong?";"‘If you ignore emissions, we did great’: Germany’s challenging fight to go green";"Backbench heat over Labor plans to ‘gut’ environment safeguards";"People trust podcasts more than social media. But is the trust warranted?";"‘We’re not going to streak ahead’: Nationals officially dump net zero climate target";"Hastie rebukes Liberals ‘living in Howard era’ as opposition weighs net zero rebrand";"View from The Hill: Nationals dump net zero – say Australia shouldn’t cut emissions faster than comparable countries";"Bill Gates Says Climate Change ‘Will Not Lead to Humanity’s Demise’";"Money to Help Nations Cope With Climate Disasters Is Declining, U.N. Says";"Deadly rivers in the sky".

Robin Bell (pictured), a Marie Tharp Lamont Research Professor with the Marine and Polar Geophysics department at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was one of three speakers at a webinar organised by The Columbia Climate School and chaired by the Professor and Senior Vice Dean, Columbia Climate School; Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Jeffrey Shaman.Experts from the Columbia Climate School and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory gathered for a candid conversation about what real climate responsibility looked like at the personal, local, and systemic levels. The panellists discussed the connection between individual actions and large-scale societal efforts, all within the context of the planet’s rapidly changing climate and the evolution of climate awareness and action. They explored the steps we could each take to expand our impact.

Geelong's Mik Aidt (pictured) has found a new connection through the Geelong Connection Cafe that meets for the first time this Friday at 3:00 pm.Mik, who has been deeply involved with climate activities in the city for about 15 years, mainly through "The Sustainable Hour", has worked with others from the city's former Climate Cafe to create this new body to reinvigorate connections in the southern Victorian city.Directly from the Geelong Connection Cafe website page, we hear:"At our September gathering, a small group of locals in Geelong made an important decision: our long-running Climate Café will now be known as the Geelong Connection Café.Why the change? Because words matter. While climate is central to our concerns, the word often carries a weight of crisis and disagreements. We wanted a name that points to what helps us move forward: togetherness, resilience, and the energy of being connected.Mel, who suggested the word, summed it up beautifully:“I think ‘connection’ is a good word because we have a global loneliness problem at the same time as having a climate crisis, and I think the thing that will move us through the climate crisis and make us more resilient is connection – the only thing that will actually get us through. If we are prepared to connect before that happens, then it means that we’re more likely to do better in the future. It also puts a more positive tint on things, because climate can feel a bit doom and gloom, but everyone wants connection – it’s intrinsic to us.”Anthony added that the word opens up many directions at once:“There are so many things we can connect with – connect with each other, talk about what’s important in life, connect with nature, connect with other people. That same connection can apply to all of those things. And that’s actually what’s missing in society as a whole.”For Adam, co-founder of the Geelong Climate Café, the new name also ties back to the history of The House, where our monthly café is hosted:“For the founding members of The House, it was actually that lack of community that drove us to put together The House. So it definitely fits with the theme of this place as well.”The move also reflects a broader shift. Around the world, people are experimenting with new language for community gatherings on climate and sustainability. Joseph Gelfer, who talks about replacing “climate” with concepts rooted in service to life, points out that words shape our expectations and our energy. By naming our café around connection, we are choosing to emphasise possibility, relationship, and resilience, rather than crisis alone.What to expect at the Connection CaféThe Geelong Connection Café will continue to meet monthly at The House. It will remain an open, informal space for:• Conversations about how we live well in times of change• Sharing personal experiences and practical ideas• Building supportive networks in Geelong and beyond• Exploring ways to strengthen community resilience and connectionMost of all, it will be a place to practise what the name promises: connection.