The U3A (University of the Third Age) group that I’ve been facilitating since 2023, now called ‘Climate Change - Living Well and Sustainably’ has been looking for ways to develop and store resources.
We are trying to find systems aren’t owned by the ‘billionaire tech’ class. It’s pretty challenging, so I’ve decided to go back to using this blog for the time being, to keep some of the resources that members are finding and sharing, as well as ones we develop ourselves.
- We have talked about sustainable end of life.
This article from the Guardian may be of interest
- UN report acknowledges global warming will exceed 1.5C, calls for immediate deep cuts to emissions
The United Environment Programme report 'Limiting Overshoot' is out now
It accepts that global warming is going to exceed 1.5C in the next few years and calls for immediate and deep emissions cuts, including to short lived pollutants such as methane.
It also calls for adaptation measures especially for the poorest and most vulnerable.
For more information see the report below
- Here’s some information on bushfires, insurance and rebuilding:
Resilient Building Council
- includes a recently launched app for rating your home’s bushfire resilience
Green ReBuild Toolkit
- published by Renew: “resources to help … people rebuild their homes and increase resistance to future climate disasters”
Here’s an interesting article on the vexed issue of
flying (not really a vexed issue in my view, we need to cut down dramatically, but we’ve discussed in the group that there’s a lot of resistance to this)
- Broadcast on protecting biodiversity and a beloved bird species
- Investing in renewables and sustainability in the home is a good financial decision for seniors.
In this article they are talking about larger amounts of money than many of us could spend, but the argument still seems sound - financial planners should be advising people about this.
- New research highlights the dangers to seniors from increasing heat.
Here is more evidence why climate change and sustainability are important to seniors. Many of us are particularly concerned about the future for grandchildren and future generations, but this shows the present dangers to us. It's also another reason to make our homes sustainable - so they can cope better in extreme heat.
- Armed conflict and climate change
A new report from the Global Climate and Health Alliance looks at the relationship between armed conflict and climate change, and their impact on health. Both are increasing, and they are interacting with each other to worsen the impact on health and environment.
It’s grim reading but a wake-up call. One recommendation is that the climate impact of armed conflict (estimated to be greater than 5% of global emissions) be acknowledged in greenhouse gas reporting, which it currently is not
- Make Big Polluters Pay - Community Climate Compensation fund
There is a campaign in the climate movement to
make big fossil fuels companies pay for the damage they are causing through climate change. Currently these companies are making big profits, much of which goes overseas, while paying very little tax.
Part of the campaign is a specific campaign for local compensation because communities and local governments are actually bearing most of the costs of extreme climate events. Merri-Bek Council has started the process of supporting this campaign but is waiting on a report to decide whether to fully support it.
Reducing textile waste
Textile waste is a huge problem in our society, encouraged by fast fashion and synthetic textiles that don’t biodegrade. This article is about one woman’s experiment in the opposite of fast fashion
