Posts Tagged ‘urban sprawl’

Episode 175: I’m Super, Thanks for Asking (About the Hidden Impacts of Ethical Super)

Posted: June 30, 2017 in Uncategorized
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Image from youthlobby.org

You can listen to this episode above and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on Archive.org (43mins, 34MB).

Nick is joined by environmental activist Mark Allen to discuss ethical Superannuation funds such as Cruelty Free Super. While these ethical Super funds are generally significantly better than “standard” Super funds and are worth switching to, we need to look critically into where they invest their money. For example, often there is just “one degree of separation”: while ethical Super funds don’t directly invest in fossil fuels (or animal exploitation as well in the case of Cruelty Free Super), they invest in companies who promote urban sprawl, which leads to harm to the environment and animals.

We also discuss the importance of divesting from unethical companies but the need to do more than just divest. Activists encouraging people to divest need to also push people to do more. On this topic, Sam Graham-Felsen’s article on encouraging supporters to ‘up the level of engagement’ is quite relevant – we discussed this on episode 118.

If you like what you hear, please support the show!

Clips:

Ouch My Face ‘Eaten by buildings’, Marianne Faithfull ‘Green Fields (Last Song)’.

Episode 127: Fighting Urban Sprawl by Building Little Boxes for the Real Housewives of Melbourne

Posted: February 23, 2016 in Uncategorized
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more of the same

You can listen to this episode above and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on Archive.org (43mins, 34MB).

This time we’re joined by town planner and environmental activist Mark Allen to discuss the issue of urban sprawl, where urban development takes over previously undeveloped areas. This has a variety of negative impacts, including on humans, other animals and the environment as a whole.

Mark advocates an alternative approach to planning, including urban villages and cohousing as responses to these problems. He also argues that high rise is not the (only) response required to address urban sprawl.

If you’re interested in finding out more about and discussing these issues, join Mark’s Facebook group Population, Permaculture and Planning. If you’d like more from us on similar issues, check out our 25th episode: Get Out of Your Car! and you can also hear Nick discussing urban planning, transportation, environment and social justice on episode 47 of Critical Transit podcast.

If you like what you hear, please support the show!

Clips:

Shock Octopus ‘In a Box’, Midnight Oil ‘Your Dream World’.

You can listen to a short (10 minute) version of this episode, which features our discussion on why urban sprawl is an important issue that needs to be addressed, below. You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

Episode 25: Get Out of Your Car!

Posted: March 5, 2013 in Uncategorized
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You can listen to this episode and/or download it through Archive.org here (37MB).

In this episode we encourage people to get out of their cars and move to alternative forms of transport like walking, cycling and public transport. Ben Rose, convenor of the Sustainable Transport Coalition of Western Australia, joins us to discuss this, the health benefits of getting out of your car, the alternative transport proposals from the various political parties at the upcoming election in Western Australia and an energy calculator to determine the impact of your car travel. On sustainable transport, we also discuss people overestimating public transport time and underestimating car travel time, financial benefits to moving away from car travel, the Critical Transit sustainable transport podcast, the Greens 2029 Bike Plan for Perth, transport and class issues, as well as mentioning that train use has doubled in Perth in the last 8 years – but car sales have also increased in Australia and particularly Western Australia, and Australian cities remain the most car-dependent outside the United States.

We also give some updates on feminism, the topic of our the last two episodes, including criticisms of One Billion Rising, Derrick Jensen’s CD ‘The Other Side of Darkness’ and progressive stand-up comedy from Tien Tran. Beyond sustainable transport and feminism, we play Nick’s talk on Occupy and Animal Rights from the Occupy Perth event Occupy Cottesloe – you can also listen to the package Nick has put together with a range of performances for the day on the 04/03/2013 episode of RTR 92.1FM Indymedia, we discuss Nick’s interview with Anita Creasey on universities running like businesses and how the Australian elections this year will effect students (from the 25/02/2013 episode of RTR 92.1FM Indymedia), Tame Iti (who we discussed on episode 15) has been released from prison…and has gone vegan?, Anti-Flag’s song to benefit Amnesty International, Team Earthling animal rights podcast, The Species Barrier’s episode on growth and the environment, and Katie rants about refugees and points out that asylum seekers living in the community are 46 times less likely to commit crimes than the general population and 24 times less likely than politicians – despite what Liberal party politician Scott Morrison might say.

Clips:

Peep Show (Series 8, episode 5), Holger Dalkmann ‘Sustainable Cities’, Rise Against ‘Collapse Post-Amerika’, Interview with Ben Rose on Perth Indymedia on RTR 92.1FM by Nick Pendergrast (18/02/2013 episode), Nick Pendergrast on Occupy and Animal Rights – at Occupy Cottesloe, Scrubs (Season 2, episode 14), The Office (UK) ‘Season 1, Episode 3’, Anti-Flag ‘Toast to Freedom’.