Sustainability/Stock & Land

Reading for Friday 6 March...

4/3/2026

We meet again this Friday, 6 March at 10:00am. Following are links to articles we can discuss at our session. Slim pickings this fortnight, for obvious reasons.

ABC News 19 Feb 26 - Australian solar forecasting technology shapes energy prices and keeps grids stable Link

The Conversation 20 Feb 26 - Dramatic changes in upper atmosphere are responsible for recent droughts and bushfires: new research Link

The Conversation 19 Feb 26 - ‘Blood cobalt’ is disappearing from batteries – and cheaper, cleaner batteries are arriving Link

The Conversation 25 Feb 26 - Climate change is drying out the ‘forgotten rivers’ that keep the Murray-Darling alive. We need a new plan Link

The Conversation 26 Feb 26 - How Australia’s new fuel efficiency scheme quietly created a carbon currency for cars - and it’s working Link

However, I have been able to load in Noel B's diagram that we couldn't manage to load at our last session. Perhaps, Noel, we could start off discussing this.

Noel B's graph.avif

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday.

John Lane

February - '...climate change and the energy transition dominated discussions...'

26/2/2026

We have kicked off 2026 with some new members and plenty to discuss. As we hadn't met since November 2025, there was a long list of topics to choose from. Inevitably, climate change and the energy transition dominated discussions.

The world is now further from being united on tackling these issues than probably ever before. At the extremes there is China close to being at 'peak' carbon emissions and the USA going the other way, at least at the federal level. Debate too, continues here in Australia about the impacts of renewable and transmission projects in rural ares, on one hand, and the apparent slow speed of the transition on the other.

Some of this discussion rolled over into our second meeting where we discussed our expectations that change now happens quickly; think about the internet, the development of smart phones and social media. This expectation of 'instant' change is colouring attitudes to the speed of the energy transition. We compared this to the time it took for steam power to dominate industry, transport and energy; about 200 years from the first rudimentary use of steam to when it became fully imbedded in society (late 1600s to late 1800s).

Another issue of note that was a discussed was how, in the face of well proven scientific facts, some people refuse to accept these and yet take as fact views put out on social media that have no scientific basis. Can the views of these people be changed, and if so, how? One for the Psychology group, perhaps.

John Lane

Missed this week's session? Reading for 20 January...

20/2/2026

Following are John;s links to articles of interest for discussion in class on Friday 20 January. .

Article links 20 Feb 26.docx
NS 24 Jan 26 - Batteries.pdf
NS 24 Jan 26 - Climate impacts could cost trillions.pdf
What happened to happiness.jpg

Welcome to Sustainability/Stock & Land 2026!

2/2/2026

Welcome to the combined sustainability and stock & land group for 2026. I hope everyone had a good festive season.

Our first session for the year will be in this Friday, 6 February, commencing at 10:00 am. We meet in the main U3A room at the senior citizens centre.

As in past years, you'll see below a number of links to articles, as well as a link to a document full of other links to yet more articles! Don't feel the need to read them all. But I would like it if you could pick one or two on topics of your choice, read them in full (perhaps even do a little further research on the issue) with a view to help me steer a conversation at the session.

Article Links for Friday 6 February - Download PDF

On another note, as most of you already know, I'm not a farmer's boot lace and also not a 'local', so I would like your help to conjure up some real farmers who may like to talk to us, or host us at their property so as to add a bit more stock & land meat to our sessions this year.

I look forward to catching up with you all on Friday.

John Lane

November - Reports on Household, income and labour dynamics in Australia, waste, global warming and more..

29/11/2025

At our first meeting in November, we took a deepish dive into the latest HILDA report (Household, income and labour dynamics in Australia). This is a longitudinal survey of Australian households that has collected data annually since 2001. It looks at changes in household size and type, amount spent on childcare, changes in income (economic wellbeing), poverty, jobs and much more.

Leaving aside the COVID 'blip', most indicators are showing broad social and economic improvement, except for significant standout being housing stress, which has been gradually rising through the entire time-series but with a significant up-tick since COVID.

At our second and last session for 2025 we returned to discussing a range of issues from articles that were pre-circulated. Of interest was one where the author argued that the plastics industry has waged a successful campaign of transferring responsibility for plastic waste to consumers and taxpayers since the 1950s.

While some waste sectors are moving towards industry waste product 'stewardship' schemes, the vast bulk of plastic waste remains the responsibility of everyone else, except the industry.

We also looked briefly at a new interactive map of relative flammability across Australia. This type of tool is particularly important given our warming climate - in fact, another article explained that 2025 is set to be the second or third warmest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It reports the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest individual years in the 176-year observational record.

John Lane

Links to reading for our last session for 2025 on 21 November

20/11/2025

Our last session for 2025 will be held this Friday (tomorrow) commencing at 10:00 am.

Please find following links to articles you may find of interest.

John Lane

Links to recommended reading for Friday 7 November...

7/11/2025

Our next Stock and Land & Sustainability session will be held this Friday, 7 November commencing at 10:00am. Links to articles you may find of interest follow.

I look forward to catching up with you on Friday.

John Lane

Reading Recommendations for Friday 7 November

October - Government's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target ...

2/10/2025

The big news discussed in the sustainability and stock and land session on 3 October was the government's recently announced greenhouse gas emissions target for 2035. The 60% to 70% below 2005 emission levels was hotly debated in the media. Commentary ranged from it being too 'brave', too costly or not ambitious enough. One consideration was the less than great progress in reaching the 2030 target of 43% below 2005 levels; currently our emissions are just 28% below 2005 levels (and the low hanging fruit has already been picked).

John Lane

Article links 3 Oct 25.docx (PDF version below)
NS 13 Sep 25 - Shock to the system.pdf
Sat Paper 21 Sep 25 - Sheep article.jpg

Article Links for Friday 3 October - Download PDF

September - environmental changes in Antarctica and the southern ocean, the Federal Governments release of reports on Climate Change, and much more ...

24/9/2025

The Stock and Land & Sustainability group had two indoor sessions in September. Due to computer problems at our first session we had to squeeze into the small room. Very cosy! Still we had a good session discussing a range of issues that had appeared in the media since we last met. Of particular interest was the issue of environmental changes in Antartica and the southern ocean (Link) We also discussed the recent international conference on dealing with plastics which failed to achieve any real agreement due to countries who are 'addicted' to petroleum not wanting to make any significant concessions (Link). On the up-side, some degree of domestic soft plastic recycling is about to resume in Australia with the three big supermarkets agreeing to contribute. 500 supermarkets will be part of the initial set-up.

At our second session we were back in the "big" room and had another session of discussions on current issues. The buzz at this session was the Federal Government's release of several reports looking at the likely impacts of climate change on economic, social and environmental sectors, together with the release of a CC impact mitigation strategy. Additionally, the Government released its greenhouse gas emissions reductions target out to 2035 of between 62% and 70% on 2005 levels. A big range but probably still ambitious. We also discussed a New type of ‘sieve’ that detects the smallest pieces of plastic in the environment more easily than ever before, including particles so small that they can cross the 'brain-blood' barrier (Link).

John Lane

Inspired to lead a discussion on one of these articles?

17/9/2025

We meet again this Friday, 19 September at 10:00 am.

Please check out the following document containing links to articles of interest. If any take your fancy, it would be great if you could lead discussion on the topic.

Reading for Friday 19 September - PDF with Links

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday.

John Lane

August - An excursion to a Lima East Valley property & more ...

26/8/2025

For our first session we visited the delightful property of Christine and Peter Holmes in the Lima East Valley. The property is beautifully located towards the end of the valley up against the forests of the Strathbogie Ranges. Over the decades Christine and Peter have worked to create vegetation corridors and manage stock movement to protect sensitive areas. They are also committed to recycling and reuse, this point clearly demonstrated with materials used in their house.

Our second session involved discussion around issues raised in articles that had been pre-circulated. These included the recently released Victorian Government's Circular Economy Risk, Consequences and Contingency Plan, the extraordinary rate of expansion of China's renewable energy generation capacity and its associated industry, and changing rules in Victoria allowing farmers to establish small-scale abattoirs as the larger facilities no longer take on small volumes.

John Lane

Media Links - recommended reading for 15 August, 2025

15/8/2025

ABC Rural Roundup 1 Aug 25 -  Link

ABC News 2 Aug 25 - Red tape cut for farmers looking to build small on-farm abattoirs in Victoria   Link

The Conversation 4 Aug 25 - Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage?   Link

ABC News 4 Aug 25 - EV batteries are fit to run a home or even power the grid – but some car brands say 'no'   Link

The Conversation 4 Aug 25 - Foot-and-mouth disease would devastate Australia’s graziers if it got in. Here’s how a new vaccine might help  Link

ABC News 5 Aug 25 - Solstice Energy to cut gas supply to 10 regional Victorian towns Link

ABC News 5 Aug 25 - Waratah Super Battery connected to NSW power grid and switched on   Link

ABC News 6 Aug 25 - Cotality warns building industry can not keep pace with building approvals in race to fix housing crisis   Link

ABC Rural Roundup 8 Aug 25   Link

ABC News 9 Aug 25 - Australia's rooftop solar and batteries now the main game as large-scale transition flounders   Link

ABC News 10 Aug 25 - Wind turbine prototype helps power Main South Road construction site   Link

The Conversation 11 Aug 25 - Triple whammy: how 3 types of drought crippled southern Australia this year Link

ABC News 11 Aug 25 - NSW councils and farmers call for halt to renewable energy developments Link

ABC News 13 Aug 25 - Why China is becoming the world’s first electrostate Link

John Lane

July - 'Winton Wetlands, Tatong/Tolmie Forestry & more...'

25/7/2025

At our first session in July, we discussed the resignation of the management committee for Winton Wetlands, a place we visited during an earlier session. Concern was expressed for the loss of jobs, closing of research and restoration programs and closure of the Hub centre.

Discussion raised the question of how difficult it is to run conservation reserves based on a commercial business model. We also discussed an unexpected consequence of the closure of hardwood forestry on public land in that vital seed collection associated with the industry may not occur, particularly in ash forests.

At our second session, group member Les Maclean gave a very informative presentation about the forestry industry in the early 1900s in the Tatong - Tolmie district; the mill settlements, tramways, artifacts left behind and much more. He presented plenty of related photos and copies of old documents.

We also viewed a video of Amsterdam's aim to have a 'circular' city by 2050, meaning that all materials used in the city are reused or recycled. It looked like a very ambitious plan.

John Lane

Coming up on Friday - Les McLean on Tatong forestry tramway

18/7/2025

We meet again this coming Friday 18th July at 10:00. Winter will be officially past its half-life for 2025. So, enjoy it while it lasts!

Following are links to some articles you may find of interest. Les mentioned last time we met that he had some material about the Tatong forestry and its railway and he will be presenting this.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday.

John Lane

Article links 18 July 25.docx - plus:
Aus Geo Jul-Aug 25 - Bringing in the sea.pdf
NS - 28 June 25 - World Faces Huge Crop Shortages.pdf
NS 14 June 25 - Europes Forests are in Crisis.pdf

Can't get to class? Here's the reading list for July 4...

2/7/2025

We meet again this Friday, 4 July commencing at 10:00am. Please find attached a list of links to articles I've collected since last we met.

See you on Friday

John Lane

Sustainability/Stock & Land Reading--4 July 2025

June - Federal Government's Greenhouse Gas Inventory & more

30/6/2025

At our first session in June we discussed the Federal Government's recently released Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This regular report tracks Australia's emissions from various sectors, such as electricity production, industry, agriculture, transport and land use. Apart from the Land Use sector (which is a negative emitter - meaning it is a carbon sink), our overall level of emissions have plateaued. However, emissions from the electricity sector continues to fall as a result of increasing development of renewable electricity projects.

At our second session we discussed the Victorian Government's 'Plan for Victoria' which had been released earlier this year and sets the scene for the next 30 years. This plan is primarily a land use and housing policy that, amongst other things, sets targets for new dwellings in Melbourne and regional centres, aims to protect areas of agricultural and environmental significance from development and reduce local government 'red tape' in relation to achieving the plan's objectives and targets. It also includes policies to ensure traditional owners of Aboriginal land can use and develop their land without the burden of unnecessary local government restrictions.

John Lane

Pre-reading for class on Friday 20 June

19/6/2025

We meet again this Friday, 20 June, at 10:00 am. Following are links to articles you may find of interest.

Looking forward to seeing you.

John

The Conversation 5 June 25 - Unprecedented heat in the North Atlantic Ocean kickstarted Europe’s hellish 2023 summer. Now we know what caused it.

ABC News 5 June 25m - Gippsland communities fear erosion protection not coping with rising tides

ABC News 5 June 25 - Forestry companies shift focus to pine to meet demand for housing timber

ABC News 6 June 25 - Landmark trial to enable energy trading between solar homes and those without

ABC Rural Roundup – 6 Jun 25

The Conversation 9 Jun 25 - How Trump’s trade war is supercharging the fast fashion industry

ABC News 9 June 25 - Even Australia's EV owners believe misinformation about cars, study finds

The Conversation 11 June 25 - Jacaranda, black locust and London plane: common street trees show surprising resilience to growing heat in Australia

ABC News 12 June 25 - Solar waste problem looms following rooftop panel boom, with batteries to add to the pile

ABC Rural Roundup 13 June 25

ABC News 15 June 25  Australia is set to embrace energy from waste, but should it?

The Conversation 16 June 25 - A solar panel recycling scheme would help reduce waste, but please repair and reuse first

ABC News 16 June 25 - Plan to manufacture aviation fuel from Australian canola well underway

The Conversation 18 June 25 - Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels – here’s how

Also, class members can check their email for John's reading recommendations from recent New Scientist Magazines..

Media links for '1st Friday' session on 6 June

5/6/2025

We meet again this Friday at 10:00am in the U3A room. It seems a long time since we last met given our excursion in early May (report with photos in previous post) plus the extra Friday.

So I hope you can all come along and discuss topics of interest. As usual, attached is a document containing links to articles you might find interesting.

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday.

John

ABC News 16 May 25 - The truth behind the accuracy of weather forecasts -  Link

ABC News 16 May 25 - Victorian government announces extra $15.9m in drought support for farmers -  Link

ABC Rural Round up 16 May 25. Link

ABC News 18 May 25 - Secret life of Australia's ants, the hardest workers in any backyard
Link

The Conversation 19 May 25 - Why is southern Australia in drought – and when will it end?  Link

The Conversation 16 May 25 - Waste-to-energy in Australia: how it works, where new incinerators could go, and how they stack up  Link

The Conversation 19 may 25 - Climate scientists are trusted globally, just not as much as other scientists – here’s why  -  Link

The Conversation 22 May 25 - Drivers of SUVs and pick-ups should pay more to be on our roads. Here’s how to make the system fairer  -  Link

ABC News 22 May 25 - Camels help eradicate invasive prickly acacia in outback Queensland trial Link

ABC Rural Round Up 23 May 25   Link

ABC News 24 May 25 - lllawarra named as NSW's first urban renewable energy zone in push for local power solutions   Link

ABC News 26 May 25 - How King Valley became Australia's home of Italian wine varieties
Link

ABC News 26 May 25 - Farmers set to plant a record crop equivalent to the entire UK
Link

The Conversation 27 May 25 - As Australia’s carbon offset industry grapples with integrity concerns, how can companies genuinely tackle climate change?  Link

ABC News 27 May 25 - Small businesses are making building homes more expensive, CEDA report warns Link

ABC News 27 May 25 - Volunteer firefighters fear renewable energy projects will put bushfire-prone town at 'risk'   Link

The Conversation 27 May 25 - Earth is heading for 2.7°C warming this century. We may avoid the worst climate scenarios – but the outlook is still dire   Link

CSIRO Snap Shot May 25   Link

The Conversation 28 May 25 Green light for gas: North West Shelf gas plant cleared to run until 2070   Link

Energy Science and Engineering 3 Oct 24 - The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States   Link

The Conversation 30 May - NSW is again cleaning up after major floods. Are we veering towards the collapse of insurability?   Link

The Conversation 2 Jun 25 - Will surging sea levels kill the Great Barrier Reef? Ancient coral fossils may hold the answer   Link

The Conversation 2 Jun 25 - Decades of searching and a chance discovery: why finding Leadbeater’s possum in NSW is such big news     Link

The Conversation 2 Jun 25 - Australia’s latest emissions data reveal we still have a giant fossil fuel problem     Link

May - Many newsworthy topics & an excursion to Yin Barun farm

18/5/2025

'At our first meeting in May we initially discussed some good news from a CSIRO study that found Australia's beaches had less plastic waste than studies from a previous time; in fact 39% less than 10 years ago. We also discussed a range of other news worthy topics such as; a blend of science with heritage grapevines to future proof Australian wines; a world-first sustainability certification for Australian southern bluefin tuna; the debate over a push to declare buffel grass, an exotic and invasive pasture grass of the rangelands, a weed of national significance, and; a new study that brings vehicle-to-grid technology a step closer in Australia.

We had an excursion to Yin Barun farm on the Broken River for our second meeting. Mark Foletta is known (and awarded) for his commitment to sustainability, diversification and innovation. He spoke about his farm and how diversification (wine grapes, cherries, pumpkins, mushrooms, sheep and cattle) and innovation (such specially blended bio- fertilisers and composts) bring positive results to his commodities and business.'

John Lane
May 2025

Excursion this Friday (16th May) to Yin Barun farm...

16/5/2025

We have an excursion planned for this coming Friday to Yin Barun farm. We will be hosted by Mark Foletta. Mark is acclaimed for his sustainable practices and innovation.

I'll be meeting you there. Mark is expecting us at his place at 10:00 am. You will therefore need to gather at the carpark behind the Senior Citizens Building by 9:30; Tom has promised to get everyone organised.

Instructions to the property have been sent in email...

Please wear clothing and footwear suitable for a farm visit.

In the meantime following are some links to articles I have collected over the last couple of weeks.

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday.

John Lane

16 May 25.docx
News Corp Ag Journal Apr 25 - EuroVision - Contest of ideas.pdf
NS 19 Apr 25 - Should we give up on recycling plastics.pdf

Some pre-reading for class, Friday 2 May

1/5/2025

We have a session this Friday commencing at 10:00 am at the U3A room. Following are links to various articles you may find interesting.

John

CSIRO Snapshot Apr 25 - Good news, beach lovers: our research found 39% less plastic waste around Australian coastal cities than a decade ago: - Link

CSIRO Snapshot Apr 25 (video) – What’s missing from this picture? Link

CSIRO Snapshot Apr 25 - A fine blend of science with heritage grapevines to future proof Australian wines  Link

CSIRO Snapshot Apr 25 - New study brings vehicle-to-grid technology a step closer in Australia Link

ABC News 20 Apr 25 - Debate rages over push to declare buffel grass a weed of national significance Link

ABC News 13 Apr 25 - WA designer goes against industry slump to create wool athleisure brand Link

ABC News 14 Apr 35 - World-first sustainability certification for Australian southern bluefin tuna  Link

ABC News 12 Apr 25 - Could this Aussie purple plum hold the key to preventing dementia? Link

ABC News 21 Apr 25 - Farmer Fred Perry's 30-year conservation project creates bird haven after years of 'bashing and burning' Link

ABC News 22 Apr 25 - DNA study shows feral cats killing more reintroduced native species than estimated Link

The Conversation 23 Apr 25 - Sniping koalas from helicopters: here’s what’s wrong with Victoria’s unprecedented cull  Link

ABC News 27 Apr 25 - The six things you should know about gas and if it can make power cheaper  Link

The Conversation 28 Apr 25 - Used EV batteries could power vehicles, houses or even towns – if their manufacturers share vital data  Link

There is also a link to a pdf document in the email sent with these links.

Australia's Environment Report 2024 "reasonably positive"; coming up, excursion to Yin Barun farm on Broken River

25/4/2025

Due to the Good Friday holiday, the Stock and Land & Sustainability group met only once in April. We discussed a wide range of issues based on articles circulated to group members prior, but our focus was on the recently published Australia's Environment Report 2024. This was published by the Australian National University (Fenner School) and the Australian and Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). The report can be found at this Link . The topics covered are shown in the following diagram

The key 'take out' of the report was reasonably positive. The National Environmental Condition Score (ECS) rose by 0.6 points out of ten to reach 7.7 points, completing the first sequence of four above-average years since records started in 2000. ECS scores increased from 2023 in most states and territories, except South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The greatest declines were in South Australia, from 6.7 to 3.8, and in Victoria, from 8.8 to 6.1. The greatest increase was in NSW, from 5.8 to 7.0. Conditions in WA improved from just below average to just above average. This overall improvement can be largely put down to good weather conditions (especially rainfall) over much of the continent for several seasons.

Just a plug for our upcoming session scheduled for Friday 16 May. We will be having an excursion to Yin Barun, a mixed product farm on the Broken River near Swanpool. Mark Foletta will be our host. In 2023, Mark won a national award for excellence for diversification and sustainability.

John Lane

Links to articles for Easter reading ...

17/4/2025

As this Friday 18 April is a public holiday, there is no session. The next Sustainability/Stock and Land session will be on May 2.

Links to articles for Easter reading have been sent to class members in an email, including three excellent articles from the New Scientist in the email. The fortnightly list of media links is included below.

U3A Benalla Stock & Land and Sustainability Group
Media links for 18 April 25 session

ABC Rural Newsletter 4 Apr 25
Link

SBS Dateline – modular housing 10 Apr (SBS on demand?)

ABC News 7 Apr 25 - Expert says Labor must ensure battery subsides don’t entrench inequality
Link

The Conversation 8 Apr 25 - Reality check: coral restoration won’t save the world’s reefs
Link

The Conversation 8 Apr 25 - The latest update on NZ’s state of the environment is sobering – but there are glimmers of progress
Link

ABC News 8 Apr 25 - Why Australian governments no longer make drought declarations
Link

The Conversation 11 Apr 25 - Extinctions of Australian mammals have long been blamed on foxes and cats – but where’s the evidence?
Link

The Conversation 11 Apr 25 - As more communities have to consider relocation, we explore what happens to the land after people leave
Link

The Conversation 14 Apr 25 - Most bike lanes in inner Melbourne have less than 40% tree cover – that’ll get worse, new maps show
Link

ABC News 14 Apr 25 - Wind farms need to be set back further from homes, landholders say
Link

ABC News 15 Apr 25 - One brick higher (locations under insurance risk)
Link

The Conversation 16 Apr 25 - Allowing forests to regrow and regenerate is a great way to restore habitat
Link

John Lane

Upcoming session - Friday 4 April

2/4/2025

Our next session will be on this Friday, 4 April, commencing at 10:00 am.

Recently, the Fenner School (part of the Australian National University) and the Australian Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, published a report on the state of Australia's environment in 2024. There is some interesting information published in this report and I'd like to spend a little time going through it - it's not just 'doom and gloom'.

I've attached the usual document containing links to various articles that I found interesting over the last couple of weeks. Happy reading!

Reading Recommendations for Friday 4 April 2025

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday.

John Lane

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Stock & Land

Sustainability (& Stock and Land)

Full sustainability is only achieved when our society achieves this in three spheres of our activity: Social, Economic and Environmental. Sustainability in each of these three spheres is far from being achieved. This has become the concern of governments and ordinary people world-wide and has resulted in many questions about the sustainability of our present lifestyle.

This course aims to explore topics such as global warming and climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy options, the challenge associated with population change, sustainable agricultural practices, water use, natural resource use, energy efficient building design, improving the social condition of people, wealth distribution and various economic issues. No prior knowledge of these topics is required, just a general interest in the issues around sustainability.

Note: In 2026 the Sustainability Group will continue to be combined with the Stock and Land Group. Some sessions will be devoted to Stock and Land issues.

Convenors and contact details

John Lane
0474 936 460

Meeting Times

1st and 3rd Friday
10 am to 12 midday
U3A Meeting Room 1

Convenor 2008-2021

John Lloyd - Thank you John!

Local Links

Benalla Sustainable Future Group:

Renewable Energy Benalla - website