Interview: Five things our councils can do to keep our cities cooler - Dr Timonthy Welch, urban planner

Auckland University's Dr Timothy Welch has applied his urban design skills to help local councils better understand what they need to do to keep their towns and cities cooler in a warming world.Dr Welch recently wrote about this on The Conversation in the story: "NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes".His story begins: "Stand on any car park on a sunny day in February and the heat will radiate through your shoes. At 30°C air temperature, that asphalt hits 50–55°C – hot enough to cause second-degree burns to skin in seconds."

Climate scientist Professor Michael Mann is critical of podcaster Joe Rogan, whom he says was one hundred and eight per cent wrong in his interpretation of a story - listen to that on Truthout - "Europe Sees Dangerous Heat Wave as North America Sets 3,000 Temperature Records";"Spain records highs of 46C and France under alert as Europe swelters in heatwave";"Trump’s True Colors, Revealed";"A Special ‘Climate’ Visa? People in Tuvalu Are Applying Fast.";"The World Is Warming Up. And It’s Happening Faster.";"Trump’s Attack on CA Environmental Law Brings Us Closer to Climate Catastrophe";"Italy and Spain bake in heatwave as cities issue red alerts and regions mull work bans";"1 in 3 Tuvaluans is bidding for a new ‘climate visa’ to Australia – here’s why everyone may ultimately end up applying";"Earth is trapping much more heat than climate models forecast – and the rate has doubled in 20 years".

David Spratt (pictured) points to Australia's commitments to other crises to illustrate his arguments on how and why we should respond to the unfolding emergency of climate change.He wrote about that in an article published recently in The Canberra Times, available now on his website, "Climate Code Red".The article asks the question: "How bad can climate damage get?" And then answers that "Worse than you imagine".David, working with the late Phillip Sutton, co-wrote, in 2008, the prescient book "Climate Code Red". In the final paragraph on his latest piece, David writes: "All of this leads to one conclusion: we are on the edge of a precipice and humanity now needs to throw everything at the climate threat, literally “all hands on deck”.  The late Prof. Will Steffen’s call to make climate the primary target of policy and economics is now a survival imperative. The business-as-usual delusion embraced by policymakers that climate is just another issue is laid bare by the 1.5°C time-bomb."David is an Australian climate policy analyst and advocate, and Research Director at the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration. Spratt co-authored the 2008 book Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action, which argued for urgent, large-scale action to address the climate crisis. He co-authored 2018’s What Lies Beneath: The Understatement of Existential Climate Risk with Ian Dunlop, which called for a reframing of climate science within an existential risk management framework. His work explores climate threats and human security, risk methods, and the need for restorative action.

Melbourne Age reporter, Caitlin Fitzsimmons, takes us into the deniers' playbook to help us understand the motives: "How to get the best bang for your climate buck";"Woodside’s North West Shelf gas extension is being challenged in the courts. Could it be stopped?";"How bad can climate damage get? Worse than you imagine";"Global warming is changing cloud patterns. That means more global warming";"A Heat Wave Leaves Britons Looking for Ways to Stay Cool";"Bees are collapsing in the U.S. A key to their secrets might vanish";"Trump to strip protections from millions of acres of national forests";"Repeal of Clean Energy Law Will Mean a Hotter Planet, Scientists Warn";"Freak wind gusts made worse by climate change threaten airline passenger safety";"West Australian miners flexed their muscle to block a federal EPA last year. Will it be different this time?";"Beneath a ‘heat dome,’ the Washington monument closes and a region girds itself";"Figuring Out a Battery Storage System to Fit New York’s Wind and Solar Ambitions Has Not Been Easy";"Insect Numbers Are Plummeting: Here Are Eight Easy Ways to Help";"Are Sharks and Rays Using Offshore Wind Farms as Habitats?";"How to feel about climate change? A scientist reflects on anger, hope and love.";"The Fossil Fuel Industry Hasn't Come Up With a New Story in 100 Years, Why Do Climate Folks Find It So Hard to Keep Up?";"Revealed: the astonishing greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the North West Shelf project";"Only two years left of world’s carbon budget to meet 1.5C target, scientists warn";"Federal Labor ministers at odds over contentious NT gas pipeline decision, internal document shows";"Oil Companies Fight Climate Lawsuits by Citing Free Speech";"War, Inflation and Now Drought Are Hitting Global Food Supplies";"How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points?".

Donald Trump's order to have the U.S. military attack uranium enrichment sites in Iran refreshes our understanding of the "tyranny of the immediate".From The New York Times, we hear about "Pentagon Details Multipronged Attack on Iranian Nuclear Sites".The military is not included in the 2019 Paris emissions targets due to pressure and agitation from the U.S., and this bombing raid clearly illustrates the reasons for that, as the emissions would have been equal to those of a small country.However, the Iranian assaults are a clear reminder of the tyranny of the immediate and why we need to rise above that and remember that climate change remains, all the time, in the background as an existential threat.And here is that earlier episode of Climate Conversations - "Press briefing: Covering Climate Now helps us understand the tyranny of the immediate in global conflicts".

Climate change regularly falls victim to the tyranny of the immediate, meaning it is pushed out of major media outlets by news perceived as more urgent or immediate.Beyond that, for some years, articles covering climate issues were rarely seen in national media and, in a few instances, almost prohibited.That is changing as it is now a topic frequently covered, as illustrated in recent episodes of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television show, "Landline".Data scientist, Hannah Ritchie, writes about "How much biofuel would we need to decarbonise aviation?";And here you can hear her discussing "Heikki Malinen: Does sustainable aviation fuel work?" on her podcast, "Solving for Climate';And should you be eager to know more about "Hannah Ritchie";"Discarded clothes from UK brands found in protected Ghana wetlands – Greenpeace";"The desalination plant is running, but these Victorian towns are on water restrictions";"Climate Change Will Bankrupt the Country";"Sustainable Aviation Fuels Are Struggling to Take Off Amid Greenwashing Claims";"Biofuels Policy, a Mainstay of American Agriculture, Has Been a Failure for the Climate, a New Report Claims";"Government to consider changes to gas appliance ban";"Indicators of Global Climate Change";"Brazil: Let’s deliver on our old climate promises before making new ones";"How ‘sophisticated’ climate misinformation gets to the heart of power";"Current heatwave ‘likely to kill almost 600 people in England and Wales’";"England’s rivers ‘under threat’ as water extraction surges to record levels";"Fuel firms can challenge California’s emission limits, supreme court rules";"Here's how climate change is affecting your home insurance";"As anti-tourism protests grow in Europe, we need a rethink – but that’s no reason to stop travelling";"Do solar farms make good neighbors? New study challenges NIMBY assumptions.";"Don’t expect rooftop solar to power NZ’s future, says new Meridian boss";"The rise of the Anthropocene can be tracked in hummingbirds’ beaks";"Labor’s new environment laws won’t be ‘credible’ unless new projects consider climate change, advocates warn";"Can Solar and Geothermal Energy Help a Church and Its Neighbors Wean Off Fossil Fuels?";"Predicting current and future habitat of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) under climate change";"Cleanup underway after storms topple trees, power lines across D.C. region";"Trump says he plans to phase out FEMA after 2025 hurricane season";"Bribe or community benefit? Sweeteners smoothing the way for renewables projects need to be done right";"As the federal government fumbles on nature law reform, the states are forging ahead";"Overhead power lines kill millions of birds a year. Scientists found a way to help cut the devastating toll";"UK Plans to Ban Destructive Activities Like Bottom Trawling in Marine Protected Areas";"Protected Bike Lanes Lead to Nearly Twice as Many Bicycle Commuters: Study";"Oil Prices Drop, but Iran-Israel Conflict Raises Many Risks";"xAI Data Center Emits Plumes of Pollution, New Video Shows";"Climate crisis could hit yields of key crops even if farmers adapt, study finds";"The world's shrinking cloud cover is driving record temperatures, new research finds";"Trump is undermining U.S. science. Here’s why that’s dangerous.";"Net zero’s a bit under the weather in Barnaby land";"How big is the generational divide on climate change?';"Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe, report says";"Attenborough’s Ocean is the film I’ve been waiting my whole career for – now the world must act on its message";"UK temperatures of 45C may be possible in current climate, Met Office says".

Covering Climate Now takes us into the world's war zones to help us understand how the tyranny of the immediate distracts us from the hard realities of climate change.The group, an organisation set up by journalists, for journalists, most recent "press briefing' was entitled: "War and Climate Change".The group says: "War and climate change are intertwined in ways that journalists need to understand. Violent conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere are not only causing terrible human suffering, they are feeding the climate crisis."War — and military operations in general — have a massive carbon footprint that is often overlooked, partly because militaries’ emissions are excluded from limits imposed under UN climate agreements. Not only does conflict contribute emissions, but extreme weather and other climate impacts can kindle armed conflict — both within nations as people from drought-stricken rural communities migrate to cities and between nations. Perhaps most challenging for journalists is that, when guns and bombs are killing people, that necessarily grabs headlines, but also edges out climate change on the news agenda."

Guardian reporters, Josh Nicholas and Nick Evershed, alert readers to the frightening impact of a Western Australia gas project: "Revealed: the astonishing greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the North West Shelf project"

Geoff Rose (pictured), a Professor in Transport Engineering, Monash Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University, discusses the trials, challenges and opportunities of E-bikes and E-scooters in his article on The Conversation: "E-bikes and e-scooters are popular – but dangerous. A transport expert explains how to make them safer".Geoff delves into history to tell us of an early interview about e-bikes in which a woman in Portland, Oregon, in the U.S., told him how an e-bike had enabled her to recover her life.He urges authorities to abandon their fixation with the power of e-bikes and e-scooters and allow law enforcement to administer comparatively simple speed restrictions.

Dr Philip Lawn (pictured at COP 23, where he dared mention population and was almost thrown out of the room) was the preeminent speaker at the June 14 Swanpool Environmental Film Festival.Dr Lawn's address followed the screening of the movie "Climate Extreme: At the abyss?"The small country at Swanpool (about 20 km south of Euroa) was booked out for the annual festival.