Tonight at the invitation of Beth Whitworth I attended the Bundaberg Business Women's Network dinner, where the guest speaker was Alison Rickert- the Bundaberg region's own Al Gore-trained climate change presenter. Even with all that SustainaBundy has been doing, this is the first opportunity I've had to meet Alison and see in person the slide presentation that was the basis for Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." Alison's presentation is tailored for the Australian audience with pertinent facts and figures relating to the effects of climate change here.

I'd estimate there were about 40 women in attendance, and the interest in the issue of climate change was very high- as was the interest in combating it. When Alison asked if anyone didn't believe climate change was happening, not a single person raised their hand. When she asked if anyone thought humans weren't contributing to it, surprisingly, the response was the same. I was impressed. Everyone in the room seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation, and the dinner conversation revolved around making progress towards sustainability.

After Alison spoke, I had an opportunity to talk about what SustainaBundy is doing right here in Bundaberg, mentioned the upcoming movie festival, the guidebook and World Environment Day. A steady stream of women pressed gold coins into my hand as guidebooks and movie fest flyers flew off the table, and several attendees talked to me through the course of the evening about SustainaBundy. It was an excellent opportunity to network, and it was great to see a room full of people with their eyes open.