Energy Futures Conference at Bendigo

"Er, Annie, can you just check that this spider on my washroom mirror is one of the safe ones?"

"No problem. That's a Huntsman. They can get a lot bigger than that."

* * *

Today ended the two and a third day Energy Futures Conference in Bendigo. What a treasury of knowledge about the state of the world, evidence of the scale and depth of the problem we face as a species and upon which many of us have turned their backs in denial, and what a range of technical and social carbon-free solutions promising some mitigation of the impact of climate change. Finally I hear over and over again that what was once an asset - coal and oil - are now liabilities. John and Cameron Fraser from Sustainability Victoria chat to Dave Lennon on ABC Victoria. They refer towards the end to Oz PM Kevin Rudd's recent speech introduced by Micheal Wesley, Exec Director of the right-wing think-tank, The Lowy Institute, in Sydney in the 31 day run-up to Copenhagen 2009 on the challenges facing Australia and the world and different ways some are gambling with the future. (An optimistic prognosis for COP-15 from Alex Steffen at World Changing - one of my favoured on-line mags)

Visiting a new solar farm outside Bendigo

* * *

From England I get the delightful news that Amy's not only passed the WM Police fitness test, which she failed by a second a few months back, but that she was 20 seconds inside the 3'45" time limit, beating all the others taking the test with her and passing with four others, out of the 9 women who took the test with her - the same for women as for men. I skyped to congratulate her the other evening and chatted to Lin. Skype's great but doesn't make up for the vast distance between us - especially as between work days I'm basking in the sun, dipping in the pool, cycling and walking in shirt sleeves beneath a blue spring sky.

* * *

"Here's a bigger one, Simon, on the sitting room curtain."