WOMADelaide - The Planet Talks

Off the grid game changers - WOMADelaide 2016

Speakers: Simon Hackett | Dan Spencer | Felicia Whiting

Host: Robyn Williams

Three South Australian leaders of 'off the grid innovation and activism' look at what the near future could hold in powering homes, business, streets and cities. Will there be any place for coal fired power stations in that future?

What's Love Got To Do With It - WOMADelaide 2016

Speakers: David Suzuki | Indira Naidoo | Amelia Telford

Host: Robyn Williams

Is winning the battle for our hearts more important than the economy, politics and carbon numbers? As we increasingly live in cities is our society losing its connection with nature? If so, how might we change this? Our panel looks at cultivating love for the environment and how this helps bring about positive change at the human rather than political level.

David Suzuki - Keynote - WOMADelaide 2016

Speaker: David Suzuki

MC: Robyn Williams

For four decades Canadian David Suzuki has been one of the most prominent, articulate, passionate and effective advocates for our planet and its environment. At 79 he shows no sign of slowing down. Spend an hour with one of the greatest eco-warriors of our time.

Creating Hope - WOMADelaide 2015

Simran Sethi in conversation with Sylvia Earle

Host: Bernie Hobbs

Simran Sethi and Sylvia Earle are two of the world’s most inspiring environmental messengers. Their mission is both clear and hopeful - to inspire us all to take responsibility for, and play a role in creating a better future for the earth for all generations to come. Listen to two of the world’s foremost eco-heroes discuss their hopes and dreams for the planet.

Repairing the Blue Heart of our Planet - WOMADelaide 2015

Speakers: Sylvia Earle, Charlie Veron, Bronwyn Gillanders

Host: Bernie Hobbs

Marine experts have warned that we are in the middle of an unprecedented high-risk period of marine species extinction. On our watch the world’s oceans and natural wonders like The Great Barrier Reef have borne the brunt of a potent combination of over-fishing, pollution, unparalleled mining and farming run-offs, the acidification of the seas caused by increasing carbon dioxide emissions and the disruptive results of rising water temperatures. Our panel, three highly regarded marine scientists, discuss the vast challenge ahead to reverse these dire predictions for our blue heart. As Sylvia Earle herself said - “life depends on the ocean, and to save it we must love it.”

Can Human Beings Be Well When The Planet Is Sick? - WOMADelaide 2015

Speakers: Paul Willis, Emily Johnston, Ingo Weber

Host: Bernie Hobbs

Is health the forgotten latecomer to climate change? The change in global temperatures is already causing significant stresses on human populations and we'll need to adapt to a hotter climate regardless of successful emissions reductions. What is the impact likely to be and how might we mitigate it? Our panel of health and science experts discuss what climate change means to our health and well-being.

I'm Not A Climate Scientist But... - WOMADelaide 2015

Speakers: Andrew Denton, Rod Quantock, Hannah Gadsby

Host: Robyn Williams

Climate change is no laughing matter … or is it? Science or satire - how do we best communicate climate science and the urgency to act on the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced? Do more people turn to Will Ferrell’s climate change YouTube clips or Al Gore pie charts and PowerPoints for the truth? Are people more likely to share on social media Leigh Sales’ 7.30 interview with the world’s leading climate scientists or US political satirist John Oliver’s interviews with them? Who makes more sense of carbon politics, Andrew Bolt or Shaun Micallef? All will be revealed. Sit back and listen to the (comedy) experts.

Valuing Our Planet - WOMADelaide 2015

Speakers: Vandana Shiva, Paul Sutton, Tim Jarvis 

Host: Robyn Williams

A famous native American proverb says 'Only when the last tree has died, and the last river been poisoned, and the last fish been caught, will we realise we cannot eat money.' The panel's three leaders challenge this pessimistic prediction by discussing values - financial and what we love and care about - that we place on our land, food and water. They will range across themes including seed democracy, urbanisation and land management and what this means for the health of the planet and ourselves.

The Silver Lining in the Cloud of Climate Change - WOMADelaide 2015

Speakers: Cecilia Woolford, Peter Langridge, Bob Brown

Host: Robyn Williams

Are our climate-altering activities hurtling us towards a bleak fate or is this the catalyst for a new era of environmentally sustainable ideas and innovation? Are we witnessing the dawning of an unstoppable wave of action and leadership? According to our panelists we do have the ideas, innovation, motivation and people to give us the hope that we can and will respond to the challenge. Listen to our visionary panel discuss the optimistic future they have seen emerging in business, agriculture, politics and society.

Three Great Threats to Biodiversity: Climate Change, People and Habitat Loss - WOMADelaide 2014

Speakers: Peter Ward, Chris Daniels, Peter Owen

Hosted by: Robyn Williams

Life on this planet is under extreme duress. The three pressures, whilst being interlinked and ultimately originating with humans all affect ecosystems in different ways.  A warming earth affects the water cycle which ultimately determines the susceptibility of terrestrial landscapes to support life.  Cities across the world are growing dramatically over the best land, and habitat clearance to support human needs eliminates biodiversity. What will the term biodiversity mean in 2100?

Peter, Chris and Peter talk about how great these three threats are, and how the earth can survive.