This recording will either work, or be the worst podcast I have ever recorded. This episode is a recording that I made on the journey home from Melbourne to Melton.
It is an observational piece where I prattle on about the unsustainable and sustainable features of the city. There are many unsustainable features on my journey home, which I just usually mentally note, but here is a chance for me to share the irony of city sprawl when pitted against issues like peak oil and climate change.
Listen to the Episode Below (00:42:33)
I hope you enjoy it, and even if you don’t, please leave me some feedback via comment so that I can improve this type of roving recording in the future.
Also, on the media front, this article titled “Worldwide Webber a hit was published in the Melton Weekly. Corny title, I know, but a nice read. I think the media frenzy is now coming to an end, so on with our regular posts from now on!
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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!
Actually Gavin, I found your running commentary on your drive home to be very interesting. And I couldn’t believe how long you had to wait (could hear your turn signal too) before crossing the bridge.
I live outside a much smaller city here in upstate New York. My commute of 7.5 miles in (about 12 km I think) only takes me 15 – 25 minutes, depending on the time of day (my schedule varies) and the weather. Still, I see many of the same dumb, unsustainable things along the way. One pet peeve are traffic lights that serve no discernible purpose. I call them “ghost crossings”. The light goes red, I and my fellow travelers have to stop, yet in 30 years I seen fewer than a half dozen cars have ever come through the intersection from the cross street. How much does that light cost the city in wasted electricity? How much gas have I wasted over the years as I waited while ghosts have crossed in front of me? Stupid, stupid, stupid – especially since the city is broke. And while we do have bus service of sorts, the schedule is so inconvenient for most people as to be completely useless. Sigh.
However, as bad as you think your politicians and policies are in Australia, it is so much worse here in the US. Tom Friedman had an interesting column in the NY Times today comparing politicians’ attitudes toward energy and climate change in the US with those in Australia and NZ. A number of comments are from your area too. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/opinion/friedman-elephants-down-under.html?_r=1&hp
At any rate, keep up the good work. Love the blog; I check it every day.
Hi Kathy. thanks for taking the time to provide feedback on the podcast. I read the NY times article, and it is fairly accurate, however I would say that because the Greens is a fairly active party in the Senate, that we are a little more left of centre than the article implied.
Gav x
Awesome podcast Gavin. Well done. I will admit hearing all the traffic around you and the distance you have to drive does make me really glad that I live in the country and I will admit to a certain amount of envy of your car – it sounds amazing – so little noise and so efficient.
Forty minutes drive for me takes me to the next town past paddocks, sheep and alpacas, a lovely lake and fruit farms galore. Another twenty minutes gets me to the next town where I am part of a Spinning and Weaving group where we share old and new skills with like minded people. Unfortunately there is no such group in my own town.
I should mention that I listened to your podcast while spinning alpaca fleece ready to knit myself a vest. The wheel (second hand bought at a bargain price) is human powered, the alpaca belongs to a friend who gave me the fleece and told me there was more where that came from ;-), the enjoyment of the task is immeasurable and the sense of satisfaction that I am making something without involving any corporations, retail giants and best of all not using any precious and finite resources is outstanding.
Please do more of these podcasts. It was a fascinating insight into what is happening in your area such as the farmer ploughing his field. Perhaps he hasn’t been in a Mallee dust storm where entire paddocks were blown away? He may change his farming practices then. I have driven from Melton to Melbourne along the route you took – many years ago I will admit – and the urban sprawl then was scary. To have an “ordinary bloke’s” commentary on it was very enlightening. Perhaps more drives (or even bike rides) around your local area describing what is happening might be considered. Ohh and the only thing I did find distracting in your podcast was the noise from the cars drowned out your voice a little when you were travelling at speed – the rest of the time it was fine. I was glued to my seat.
Thank you Calidore! I realise that the sound was a bit muffled when driving at speed, and will try and fix that up next time. Sounds like you have quite a cottage industry going with your spinning wheel. I bet that the vest will be very warm for winter.
Just so you know, I will be making a ‘walking tour’ of my neighbourhood over the weekend, discussing the good, the bad and the ugly of our suburb. It should be interesting!
Gav x