Interview: Marian Wilkson takes to the fossil fuel companies, and our politicians, like a chainsaw to a daisy patch

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.

A Treaty with Victoria's indigenous people brings benefits to all, and our environment."Here comes the sun! The solar energy revolution – podcast";"Extreme weather costs Australia more than any other rich country, bar one";"Gondwana Link - connecting people, connecting nature";"Man arrested, accused of starting deadly Palisades Fire in California";"‘Vanish in a puff of smoke’: Monash plans to close climate crisis institute";"Extreme weather now costs Australians $4.5b a year. Better insurance options and loans would help us adapt".

Richard Denniss (pictured) was one of a trio of speakers at an event at Melbourne's Royal Society of Victoria to consider: "What is Australia Risking? Future Impacts of Climate Change".The event was convened by Climate Communications Australia and hosted by The Royal Society of Victoria, and offered a unique chance to discuss the report with Risk Assessment experts. The event focused on how climate change would affect Australia, and the scenarios for the 'cascading, compounding and concurrent disasters' that are emerging across the country.  The social and developmental implications of these impacts for future generations were discussed, along with what policies were needed to adapt to and mitigate the risks.The speakers were:Dr Andrew Watkins is a climate scientist in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University. He was previously at the Australian Climate Service, where he was a Lead Author of the National Climate Risk Assessment. For more than 10 years, he was the Head of Climate Prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology. Andrew is a Research Fellow at Climate Communications Australia. Dr Richard Denniss is the Executive Director of The Australia Institute and is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator, and has spent the last twenty years moving between policy-focused roles in academia, federal politics and think-tanks.He was also a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Newcastle and former Associate Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU. He is a regular contributor to The Monthly and the author of several books,a including Econobabble, Curing Affluenza and Dead Right: How Neoliberalism Ate Itself and What Comes Next? Professor Lucas Walsh is the director of the Monash Centre for Youth Policy & Education Practice (CYPEP) within the Faculty of Education at Monash University and was a member of the National Climate Risk Assessment Expert Advisory Committee. 

Bill McKibben (pictured), a climate activist, author, and occasional newspaper columnist, has encouraged people to be less individualistic and join groups.He was among those on a panel organised by The New York Times as a part of its annual "Climate Forward" conference assembled to discuss "The future of climate activism in the Trump era"Mik Aidt has a special guest on his "The Climate Revolution" show - British sustainability strategist Joseph Gelfer calls time on weak incrementalism. He argues that the urgency of planetary collapse, combined with rising public frustration and disillusionment, will soon push even moderate citizens to demand bold, transformative change. When that moment comes, we must be ready. A peaceful political revolution for a pollution-free society is possible – but only if we dare to think big and act boldly on a planetary scale.And from The Guardian we read "Wildfires tore through central Chile last year, killing 133 people. In California, 18,000 buildings were destroyed in 2018 causing US$16bn (A$24bn, £12bn) in damage. Portugal, Greece, Algeria and Australia have all felt the grief and the economic pain in recent years.The story is: "Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming unstoppable".