Fuzzy Logic Science Show

The word "community" has a slightly soft appeal to it, as if it's something nice to have, something we do for a bit of socialising. But that undervalues the vast importance of community and there's no doubt humans would not be remotely as successful without it. Our ability to cooperate is central to our existence. Now the world is facing threats from multiple directions and, if we don't solve them soon, the future will be bleak. That makes community is a critical part of the solution. On Australia Day, the Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra held a forum invited Rod who spoke about this question.

Business-as-usual will result in collapse of the global system midway through the 21st century. That's the stark warning issued by Graham Turner in 2008 when he reviewed modelling by the Club of Rome in the early 1970s. Can we avoid that in the short time we have left? Professor Ian Lowe and Rod discuss how we might avert a looming crisis. Ian Lowe is a contributing author of Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022), edited by Stephen Williams and Rod Taylor.

What does it denial mean? We're sad to hear that Dr Haydn Washington died this week and, in his honour, we post this interview recorded in 2013. It's interesting and sobering to reflect on how the world looks now, nearly ten years later. Dr Jane O'Sullivan provides a few eloquent words for Haydn: "Haydn was a prolific and passionate writer and speaker on sustainability, degrowth, the need for population stabilisation and denialism against both climate and population realities. He wrote or edited many books. He was active in CASSE and the Ecological Economics community. And he was a generous, humble colleague who supported others to raise their voices. I worked with him over the past couple of months to get a paper published on population denialism. Thankfully it was published a week before he died. Here is the link to the paper (it is open access): https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/4/57 Martin Tye from Sustainable Population Australia has placed tributes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=5191717

We begin today's interview by asking our expert guest Prof David Lindenmayer: if the Australian environment were a medical patient, what score would he give it? It's a plot spoiler to say his answer is an "F". But he goes on to say, not just why it matters, but what are some of the positive steps we can do to fix it. He offers some surprisingly upbeat, optimistic and practical things that can be done. The cost? Minimal. The gain? Enormous. Interview by Rod, Camille and Eamon. Prof David Lindenmayer is from the ANU Fenner School and contributing author of Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). Find us on @FuzzyLogicSci

Yesterday we caught up with Dr Paul Collins who was launching Sustainable Population Australia's discussion paper “How many Australians?” With his theology background Dr Collins offers a lively philosphical view on our diminished connection with nature. And...traffic jams in a national park? Interview by Rod who is a member of SPA. The discussion paper is on this link: https://population.org.au/discussion-papers/how-many-australians-the-need-for-earth-centric-ethics/

At the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a contradiction: by assuming the Ever Bigger Pie economic model, everybody will be better off. But can that really happen? We explore how the SDGs got this way and the thinking behind them. Dr Kerryn Higgs who is writer and historian, Associate Member Club of Rome (speaking here on her own behalf), and author of Collision Course: Endless Growth on a Finite Planet (MIT Press, 2014). She's also author of two chapters in Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). Interview by Rod who is co-editor of the Springer book.  @FuzzyLogicSci

As the cliche goes, you are what you eat. But did you know it might be linked to rheumatoid arthritis? Honours student Shweta Venkataraman and supervisor Dr Chloe Goldsmith have been investigating the link between diet, the immune system's T-cells and rheumatoid arthritis. For this research they recruited Fuzzy host Rod, who agreed to provide a detailed account of his weekly diet. From that, they derived a detailed nutrition analysis. They used a blood sample to measure T-cells and later will investigate his epigenetic profile. Join Shweta, Chloe, Camille and Rod for a fascinating conversation. Find out more at www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/faculties/health/research/participate-in-a-research-study  

This week Fuzzy Logic celebrates Earth Science Week as Broderick talks to Nick Brown and Anna Riddell both geodetic scientists from Geoscience Australia. They explain and explore the world of geodesy and the role it plays in helping us track the movements across our planet and the movements of our planet to make sure our GPS is accurate for our journeys, along with many other applications. Thanks to Geoscience Australia for providing these two amazing scientists for this week's episode.

What are the causes of our environmental crisis and how do we fix it? Jonathan Miller argues that we should address the fundamental issue, which is the addiction to growth. That means a transition to a steady state economy. But what does that look like and how do we get there? Interview by Eamon and Rod.

What happens when a species goes extinct? Obviously the best course is to avoid it in the first place, but there are plans to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth. We talk about a few projects that are creating safe havens for species, helping them to recover from bushfires and cats. Brought to you by Millie, Camille and Rod.

From melting ice sheets to endless floods and extreme storms, the news lately has been a bit bleak. But science is fighting back and giving us hope for better world.  From up in space to deep beneath the Earth’s surface, scientists at Geoscience Australia in Canberra are working to make our planet more sustainable - through satellites whizzing above our heads to uncovering the low-emission fuels of the future underneath our feet.   Dr Andrew Feitz and Dr Aleks Kalinowski are part of a team of hydrogen and low carbon gurus at Geoscience Australia, while Dr David Hudson is the Director, Satellite Programs at Geoscience Australia. Tune in to this episode to hear these amazing geoscientists talk to Broderick about how they're helping to save the world!

This week Broderick discusses the many events happening across the ACT for National Science Week 2022. He's joined in the studio by Heidi from Kids Securiday, Peter from FungiCo and Prof Lara Malins from the Australian National University who each share some of the interesting science being showcased at their events. National Science Week is from August 13 to 21 and event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au

Is the climate crisis a science problem? Not according to our speaker. Climate change is caused by people - us - and must be resolved by people. We have the tools if only we can use them. In this talk with the Canberra Jung Society, Fuzzy Logic's Rod Taylor discusses the psychology of climate change and the other environmental problems. What does it mean to have 'hope' and how do we convert despair into action? These stories are inspired by his book Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet. With thanks to our friends at the Canberra Jung Society.

Tilman Ruff is one of the founders of the movement that has led to the creation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Here he speaks about how the world's nuclear weapons have the continuation of our civilisation balancing on a knifes edge and the treaty trying to bring an end to these weapons. Recorded on 17 June Interviewed by Tom

This week Broderick talks to local Canberra cartoonist Stuart McMillen. Stuart uses intriguing real-life historical events, such as published science experiments, as the basis of his non-fiction comics. This episode talks about comics as a form of science communication and explores "Rat Park" and Stuart's newest release "The Town Without Television". Find all of Stuart's work at www.stuartmcmillen.com

Ben Shaw is an archaeologist and  senior lecturer in the School of Culture History and Language at the ANU (Australian National University).  We talk about his work in Papua New Guinea. Interviewed by Tom

Tony Irwin is an Engineer that spent 30 years building nuclear power plants in the UK.  He now runs Australia's nuclear research reactor which he was in charge of building.  He also lecturers in nuclear science at the ANU.  I question him about my fears of nuclear power based on my very fuzzy understanding of the topic.  We also touch on the economics of nuclear power in a world moving away carbon dioxide polluting power generation.   Interview by Tom Links shared by Tony  https://electricitymap.org  Interactive map of countries worldwide and Australian States. See emissions/source of generation by technology/imports & exports. Carbon intensity/origin/cost for last 24 hrs. Good for comparing the approach of different countries to reducing emissions. https://opennem.org.au/energy/nem/?range=3d&interval=30m Chart and data for the east coast National Electricity Market (NEM). Can see individual States over time intervals from 1 day to 1 year, output of different technologies and prices. Good for looking

Your body's immune system is a finely tuned and immensely complicated system to hunt down and destroy bad cells. No wonder it gets wrong sometimes! And when it does, you might end up with a condition like rheumatoid arthritis. While exactly how it works, is still not known, it is clear that your lifestyle - diet, exercise etc plays a part. A healthy body seems less likely to attack itself. Honours student Shweta Venkataraman and her supervisor Dr Chloe Goldsmith are investigating the link between diet, the immune system's T-cells and rheumatoid arthritis. In this conversation we learn how they're doing that, and the role of epigenetics. If you want a look at how a lab study works, plus things about your own diet, you can be part of their research. Email: Shweta Venkataraman   Shweta.Venkataraman@canberra.edu.au Chloe Goldsmith   Chloe.Goldsmith@canberra.edu.au Learn more here www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/faculties/health/research/participate-in-a-research-study   Interview by Rod.  

Tim Hollo is veteran climate campaigner and running as a Green for the seat of Canberra in the Australian Federal Election.  Tom discusses with Tim some aspects of Greens Party policy related to science and tech.  Amongst other things we talk about funding for scientific research, Australia's clean energy transition, nuclear energy, GMOs and patenting of living things.   

Traditional economics treats our planet as an infinitely exploitable resource. Clearly that is impossible and already there are disturbing signs of a planet in distress. But even if we ignore that, is endless growth really good for us? Where does it end? When we talk briefly about MMT (Modern Monetary Theory), we refer to 'monetary sovereign' nations - for a definitionn, see Wikipedia.   Associate Professor Philip Lawn is a Research Scholar at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (University of Newcastle) and Visitor at the School of Economics (University of Adelaide). Interview by Rod as part of the series with authors in our book Sustainability and the New Economics.