CLIMATE ACTION SHOW

JUNE 5TH 2023

Produced by Vivien Langford

WORLD   ENVIRONMENT   DAY- FOCUS ON PLASTIC

Stories - Environment Day | United Nations

Guests :

Song :Warrior // Meraki Mae – The Environmental Music Prize : WATCH the video of Lismore floods.

Tero Mustonen - Winner of the Goldman prize for Climate and Energy 2023.

He is featured in this weeks episode of Fear and Wonder produced by Michael Green and Joelle Gergis for The Conversation

Tero Mustonen, a Finnish scholar, fisherman and president of the NGO Snowchange Cooperative, brought together Sámi Indigenous knowledge holders, Western science, and community members to preserve culture and protect and restore massive areas of carbon-capturing peatlands.

About 30% of the country’s surface is composed of peatland. Peat bogs have a layer of decomposed plant material that traps water and carbon dioxide due to the lack of oxygen. As a result, peatlands store a significant amount of carbon, making them crucial for regulating the Earth’s climate. However, peatlands grow slowly, about 1 meter (3 feet) every 1,000 years.

In Finland, peat is burned to create energy, releasing these hard-won carbon stores into the atmosphere. Due to peat burning, Finland generates 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the largest peat burner in the EU. And despite its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, the country only intends to reduce peat use by half during that time frame.

Meet the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners (mongabay.com)

FEAR AND WONDER - LIFE ON THE MOVE

In this episode, hosts Michael Green and Joelle Gergis speak to Finnish fisherman and IPCC scientist Dr Tero Mustonen about the changes he has observed on the lake ice in his village of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland, and how his community has led a successful rewilding project.

We also speak to Australian marine ecologist Professor Gretta Pecl, whose research has helped map the rapid redistribution of life on Earth. Through her dives off the Tasmanian coast, we learn that plants and animals are moving faster in the ocean than they are on land – with a little help from Nemo.