A triumph of our civilisation are the things that go on under the covers without us even noticing. When you pour stuff down the sink or flush it down the toilet, where does it go? Luckily, we don't need to think about it...until somebody does the wrong thing.

That's when we should hail the invisible, unsung heroes of this story. That's right, these are the people that go down into the bowels - literally - of a city's plumbing to do what must be done.

We can do our bit, it's not difficult... think before you flush.

Here, Rod interviews Davina McCormick, General Manger Customer Engagement at ICON water.

If you're in Floriade this weekend (21-22 Sep), be sure to see their display. Gritty, but highly recommended.

A guest podcast from Valerie Albrecht.

This podcast offers reflective space to consider the relationship between sustainability and spirituality. Is there one? Could practising sustainability nurture spirituality? Could practising some form of spirituality help us to live more sustainably? Could spirituality help us to give right place to all that is losing sustainability? Contributors from a cross section of professions and viewpoints share their knowledge, perspectives and wisdoms: a Heritage Officer Anthropologist Activist; a gardener; a writer and artist; a priest; a physics teacher, and some Australian Aboriginal healers I have had the privilege of learning with. Share your sustainability and spirituality reflections at www.theoceansofenergy.com Thank you contributors. Music: Tony O’Connor Uluru.

The race to net-zero is accelerating.

Governments around the world are increasingly committing to achieve net-zero emission targets. But what does that mean and can clean energy help achieve this?

Join Broderick as he discusses the move to net zero in Australia with Dr Andrew Feitz, Director Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice and Dr Marcus Haynes, Computational Geoscientist.

Thanks to Geoscience Australia for this week's guests.

Happy National Science Week!

This episode Broderick talks to two event holders for National Science Week. Heather Massie shares her story in bringing the life of Hedy Lamar to the stage through her one-woman play HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. Then, Liz Lea and the Chameleon Collective share their experience telling a story of a reef through dance in the show Reef Up!

For more details on HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr and to book tickets head to www.HeatherMassie.com/Hedy

For more details on Reef UP! and to book tickets head to https://www.thestellarcompany.com/

More National Science Week events can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au

How far off 'sustainability' are we today? How did we get here, and where do we go next? These are questions tackled by Rod Taylor at a U3A event in June.

This wide ranging talk is based on the book co-authored with Mark Diesendorf, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation.

Other links: Sustainable Population Australia https://population.org.au Steady State ACT https://steadystateact.org Touching the Void https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHYwxoYsK0A&ab_channel=WackyWanderlust

If you know the term cognitive dissonance, it applies to ability of a person to hold entirely incompatible ideas in their head at the same time. If people can have it, so can a government. Take these two statements:

1) We will work towards a sustainable future

2) We will pursue economic growth

The evidence is overwhelming: we cannot do both of these things because economic growth is the antithesis of sustainability. Pasting a veneer over this chasm are terms such as green growth and weightless economy.

Jonathan Miller is the Director of Steady State ACT.

How do you cope with the dire trajectory of climate change? It's a tough question that we all now face. In this episode, ACT Greens MLA tells the story of her climate journey.

If there were a single invention of humanity that you remove, what would that be? In this episode we revisit a personal story broadcast on Radio National in 2006.

This is part of our series, Rethinking Sustainability.