Climate Shift: Recent Episodes

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Freelance writer and podcaster Rich Bowden interviews Dr Anika Molesworth, author, farmer, scientist, storyteller and renowned leader in spreading climate awareness.

Links mentioned in the episode

Our Sunburnt Country — Anika Molesworth (2021)

Farmers for Climate Action

The New Climate War — Michael E. Mann

Beyond Climate Grief — Jonica Newby

Thanks to:

Anika Molesworth

Bernadette Ryan — Central West Music and Video

Jon Moore — World Organic News

A special interview, we covered many topics covered in Anika's new book that are relevant to climate, food wastage, climate courage and making a difference. Here are just some of those topics. The IPCC report and the book Harnessing climate courage Anika’s deep connection to the land on her family farm in the far west of NSW The impact a changing climate is having on her farm How she seeks to educate, inform and motivate people to act on the climate issue How Australian farmers need to be innovative in a changing climate Farmers are first to notice climate change The growing farmers’ voice about action on climate change Reducing farm emissions Reducing food wastage The need for sensible conversations with political leaders It’s completely unacceptable to leave problems of climate to future generations Lack of political representation for farmers Shift in baseline over generations Contagion theory — learning from others in the climate movement Anika’s optimism — we can get out of this mess but it’s up to us

Like the book, the interview with Anika leaves one with a sense of hope and a definite but doable call to action on the climate emergency. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

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Rich Bowden talks with Chief Circular Economist for Circular NSW, Dr Kar Mei Tang, about fast-tracking circular systems to eliminate Australia’s carbon footprint.

NSW Circular

Rich Bowden Writing

Central West Music and Video

This week I talk to Dr Kar Mei Tang, Chief Circular Economist for NSW Circular. Dr Tang talks eloquently about the link between carbon emissions and our waste, stating that designing out waste in our economy will help us reach our net-zero carbon goals.

She also discusses how households can reduce their own waste as well as achieve goals by putting pressure on our elected representatives, circular agriculture, recycling tips, what more needs to be done from a government level and lots more!

A fascinating chat, please dive in for a listen!

Outline

I respectfully acknowledge that this podcast is produced on traditional Aboriginal Wiradjuri Nation lands. We pay respects to Elders both past and present and honour Wiradjuri connections to these lands, which they have nurtured for over 50,000 years. 

If you’re wondering what NSW government’s thinking for the climate emergency and how we can reach zero carbon emissions by 2050, then this interview is for you. 

Circular NSW,  a NSW government-funded body created by the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, has a mission to fast track transition to a circular economy for climate change.

Their work of an operational nature brings together researchers, industry, business, government, and individuals, to work together to create resilient circular systems. 

Kar Mei says, primary aims are eliminating waste and the continual use of virgin resources. The focus is on designing out waste and pollution and looking at keeping product materials in use. And planning for waste minimization, reusing what is consumed, and sharing with manufacturing and recycling to produce close-knit systems for our goods and products. She speaks on: - Why Australia needs a ramp up on its waste management awareness;  Potential opportunities emerging in circular systems areas of building materials, construction and operation, and waste recycling. Renewable energy – a correct focus for eliminating our carbon emissions, but we need to do more, since energy comprises only half our footprint. We need focus on the other half: how we consume our resources, our agricultural sector and the transport sector.  Building a resilient circular economy – what impact on climate change can we expect if we look at the best case scenario, implementing collective action over the next 10 years.  Energy consumption – half our footprint is energy used in our households, work place and industry processes. Transitioning to renewables is already happening quickly–where we can see the power of government policies at work. Industry processes & energy consumption – we need to do more, as they technology around industry processes is very new and possibilities such as, hydrogen power, are not yet at commercial levels. Drawbacks about natural gas as a transition energy source. The buildings we live in contribute 28% of our green house emissions – we need to design out use of virgin materials and reuse materials from demolitions sites to make new materials––concrete, steel and aluminium create a lot of emissions to produce and transport.  Recycling – a need to think about what we can reuse from our products when they fall apart: standards and labelling help recycling––it’s difficult to reuse unless we know what products are made of. Digital produces model enabling the geocode of construction materials provides information from the distributor of the materials so we will be able to find out what the materials are made of, and how to track down the source and recyclability of the materials.  The Federal Budget and what more needs to be done. Circular Agriculture – waste managers need to connect with communities to share learning. My Circular Community – a service for local governments to share information for opportunities for waste systems and recovery of materials.

Kar Mei tips: what we can do to fast track for climate change Make consumer decisions like consider the packaging; Plan for better organic shopping – only buy what you need; Make responsible decisions when throwing out rubbish by using the bins correctly to separate types of waste; Community organisations and schools can monitor what is consumed and what you waste; Kar Mei’s final tip: Write a letter – “Take advantage of our democratic system … let your voice be heard!” if you’re concerned about a problem, then write a letter to your local MP or council … it will make a difference!

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Thanks to:

Rohan Singh, owner of Graina.

Central West Music and Video (production)

Rich Bowden talks to Australians who are behind the shifting in thinking on climate change.

Welcome to episode 2 of this podcast where we talk about zero waste and the circular economy.

I respectfully acknowledge that this podcast is produced on traditional Aboriginal Wiradjuri Nation lands. We pay respects to Elders both past and present and honour Wiradjuri connections to these lands, which they have nurtured for over 50,000 years.

Zero Waste and Circular Economy are 2 concepts that have gained enormous currency in recent decades. They both aim to reduce the horrendous waste problem in our world, and both are inextricably linked to reducing our carbon emissions. In my research I have found that zero waste can be interpreted in different ways by different people and that it and the concept of circular economy are often concepts that are used interchangeably.

However while both systems are designed to increase sustainability, they use different models:

Zero Waste International Alliance define Zero Waste as:-

“Zero Waste”: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health (December 20th 2018)

If you want to go for a deeper dive on this subject visit Zero Waste International Alliance at, https://zwia.org/zwh/

So Zero Waste is a design model specifically to manage manufacturing and consumption in such a way as to reduce materials and reduce waste. Its stated aims are to reduce the levels of such things as plastics that cause so much destruction to the environment and detrimental health effects to all living inhabitants on the planet.

Zero Waste, as we know it, began in the 1980s and has since then tied in with the sustainability movement as people have become more aware of the devastating pollution problem in association with climate change.

The Circular Economy model, as defined on the highly respected Ellen Macarthur Foundation, has 3 key principles: -

Design out waste and pollution Keeping products and materials in use Regenerating natural systems

P.S. Refer further Ellen Macarthur Foundation Website at, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/the-circular-economy-in-detail

Both Zero Waste and Circular Economy are designed to move away from our present take, make, and waste model of consumption.

One Zero Waste model that is gaining in popularity with consumers is with business trading.

This podcast concentrates on owner Rohan Singh’s explanation of his Melbourne based zero waste business called Graina. I became aware of Rohan’s philosophy for a more sustainable future through my work for him as a free lance writer.

Rohan’s 3 aims to zero waste in his businesses are:  reduce, recycle and reuse.

His definition of a zero waste company is:  no waste from start to finish

A customer brings their own containers, it is weighted and deducted from the weight of the product they want, and with this system they only pay for the products they want, there’s no waste created, and hopefully no food wasted.

Rohan’s positive approach to reducing waste in his business is most welcoming as his system is helping us to reduce our own carbon footprint.

P.S. Visit Graina Website for more details of his products and shop locations in Melbourne at,  https://graina.com.au

At times we can feel overwhelmed at time over so much information on the climate emergency and what to do to help but Rohan shows us the simple act of shopping can help reduce our carbon footprint, minimise waste in the household and help us to do our bit to preserve the planet for future generations

With Rohan’s positive message, which we fully support at climate shift, lets backtrack a little –– lets look at the clear need to move towards zero waste.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that Australia produced 75. 8 million tonnes of solid waste, between 2018 and 2019.

This was a 10% increase on the previous 2 years.

Over half of this waste was sent to recycling = 37.9 million tonnes, while 27% was sent to land fill =20.5 million tonnes.

The sector producing the most waste was manufacturing (15.9%)

Construction (15.8%)

Households (16.3%)

Electricity and water services (14.4%)

In this podcast I ask Rohan for his comments on these figures about our waste production.

Rohan says,  our plastics waste has reduced – a small amount, as people are understanding more about how harmful it is. But

our organic (food) waste has increased and when this waste goes into land fill a lot of methane is produced and it has more impact on climate warming than CO2

Rohan says much more about these two forms of waste and the related problems they cause to the planet, but he recommends, it’s time we start examining the problems our organic waste is causing.

Rohan talks about what inspired him to change his business practices, essentially he recognised the contributing factors to the great waste surge in plastics and food waste in the 20th century.

I asked Rohan for his comments on how consumer knowledge of zero waste has influenced customer towards ethical shopping? He explains how zero waste and ethical shopping are 2 completely different concepts.

Those was the highlights of my interview with zero waste entrepreneur Rohan Singh. For those who’d like to hear more, I’ll have the full interview on the feed as a bonus episode in a week or two. 

Rohan was kind enough to share some important things about zero waste. And it’s his point about only buying what we need to reduce food waste that I’d like to look at in more detail. 

According to WWF Australia, [quote from their website] “Wasted food affects the environment but also our livelihoods and health. Environmentally, it accounts for about 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, 24% of the freshwater and 28 million tonnes of the fertilisers and pesticides used in agriculture. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has estimated the full cost of global food waste, including environmental, economic and social impacts, at US$2.6 trillion dollars annually.” [end quote]

This is an astonishing figure. We Australians are amongst the worst offenders. According to the Australian Government’s Dept of the Environment, we waste around 7.3 million tonnes of food, which equals about 300kg per person or one in five bags of groceries. Food waste accounts for more than five per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. And this costs our economy a huge $20 billion each year.

Not only is reducing food waste good for the planet, but it’ll also save us heaps of money. As well as reducing environmental damage, avoiding and minimising food waste will help us to feed the world's growing population and contribute to a sustainable future for agriculture in Australia. Sounds great don’t you think?

So if you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint, only buy the food that you need. 

Rohan also says it’s possible to change habits and points to the fact that we have changed our collective mindset on plastics. He says many people are changing their mindset around zero waste by linking to other habits such as ethical food buying.

This also feeds into the principles of the circular economy which aim to design out waste and pollution. Just like Rohan’s business ethos of zero waste. 

I’ll be talking more about the circular economy in the next full podcast.

But for now, to help the environment and reduce our grocery bill consider reducing food waste and shopping at zero waste stores such as Graina.com.au

Rohan is indeed an example of those helping to change the country’s thinking on the climate emergency. A real climate paradigm shifter. Thanks for listening everyone!

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Permaculture is based around three ethics: peoplecare, earthcare and fair share for all (also interpreted as future care). In this first episode of Climate Shift, I hope to show how these three ethics make permaculture a candidate for shaping our future in a global warming age. You'll hear excerpts from Bill Mollison, considered the father of permaculture, as well as an interview I did with permaculturalist, author and designer Meg McGowan.

The episode is in three parts: What is permaculture Permaculture and climate change Permaculture, Drawdown and system versatility

In Section One I discuss permaculture, its ethics and how it all began.

In Section Two I show, through Meg, permaculture's relevance to climate change. How the three ethics, earthcare, peoplecare and fair share for all (or as Meg describes it "futurecare") all link, hand in glove, to good environmental management and reducing carbon emissions.

In Section Three I talk about the remarkable book Drawdown, edited by author, activist Paul Hawken and show how the three ethics are applicable to the categories outlined by the Drawdown team of experts.

Paul Hawken was recorded live at the Seattle Town Hall

Bill Mollison clip from the documentary In Danger of Falling Food

Climate Shift is podcaster, freelance writer Rich Bowden