Bathurst Community Climate Action Network

An expression of unknown origins to me, but I have always liked it - "chewing the fat". It brings to mind satisfying dinners and satisfying conversations during and after, where consulting adults enjoyed the fruits of intercourse - stimulating intellectual intercourse that is.
A convivial society is one which encourages its members to converse and discuss matters which concern those citizens. As we retreat into our "shells" at home and in the car, we often let that conversation be carried by experts we have no choice  but to passively listen to. It is a totally different experience to be actively engaged in  both listening and discussing the issues of the day.As the weather cools down, it takes a lot to get people to leave their own bubbles of comfort and warm fires to engage with others.
However, the experience of the first "Chewing the Fat at Cafe Kai" might herald a new attempt to do just that.
An encouraging attendance of 20 people turned up to eat a Chinese banquet and listen to two guests share their expertise with us. The guests were, Dr. Bruce Fell, a lecturer in Communications at Charles Sturt University and Dr. Andrew Rawson, a geomorphologise, employed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, who also lectures at the Orange campus of CSU. As it turned out, Andrew agreed to postpone his presentation to a later date due to the animated discussion which followed Bruce's presentation.
Hopefully Andrew will be available to be our guest at the May "Chew" as I know his expertise in carbon sequestration, ground water retention and the modelling behind climate predictions will be of interest to many in our community.
Bruce offered to share with us his research for his doctorate which culminated in the publishing of a book titled, "Television and Climate Change". I don' t think any of us expected the damning picture which television has played in shaping our values from the very first days of producing drama on television.
Perhaps in those early days if the viewing public could be induced to become consumers, then such consumption could be viewed in the national interest if that nation needed to expand business in a post war world. Now, that producers have witnessed the power of placing products within the drama itself and the commercial advantage of such placements, it has reached "plague" proportions. Bruce told us that often the script is not written for a drama series until the products placements are organised.
In a television commercial we are able to keep our antennae focussed and may be able to reduce the impact of the attack, but when it is intimately entwined in the plot, how many people will notice that they are being seduced?
For many people these drama series play an important part of their lives. Television has always been intimately in their lives from birth and the characters like members of their own families. If a chatacter espouses unsustainable behaviour then that behaviour is normalised. Converlely if a character models sustainable  behaviour then that behaviour is normalised.
Some activists have leaped onto this opportunity to influence public sentiment by an "adopt a soap star" campaigne to try and induce stars to model sustainable practices in their acting.
However this too is laced with ethical time bombs and sniffs suspiciously like socail engineering to me.
At our "Chew" we were fortunate to have a participant who was a wild outlier of the over 50 demographic of BCCAN members, in fact she was under 20! For our education it was explained that to go to school without intimate knowledge of the previous evenings adventures in "Big Brother" and home and away was to be an outsider in the social pecking order at school.
Perhaps because for most in the audience found this such a foreign concept that our own values were challenged and our "outsiderness" sharply contrasted. The questions and debate that followed was very lively and when it was finally time to head home, most of us felt we had participated in something very worthwhile.
In the months to come there are many such topics which will hopefully bring our fellow citizens out of their cozy "bubbles" to join with us in conversation. Topics to come will include  electric cars, renewable energy, sustainable housing, carbon farming, reclaiming viable waterways, making a cycle friendly city.
There are many possible topics, why don't you tell us what you would like to discuss and we can add that to our proposed "chews".  "Chewing the Cud and Cafe Kai", is for all sections of the community and not just for BCCAN members.
Lively comminity conversation adding up to a convivial society is the only aim of this project.