Climate Change and Sustainable Living - some resources

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. 

• Here’s a couple 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”

• Flying

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)

Pilot who quit flying due to climate change now living life as a baker

• Broadcast on protecting biodiversity and a beloved bird species

Changing Australia: Michael Mulvaney and protecting Red Hill and the Gang-Gang Cockatoo 

• 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.

Sustainability as a good financial decision for seniors

• 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.

Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought

• 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

Climate change, armed conflict and global public health: a reinforcing cycle of harm

• 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. 

Merri-Bek for Climate Compensation is working to get full council support

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

‘I wanted to find the slowest fashion imaginable’: the woman growing her own dress