I find it hard to fit so many thoughts into this blog. My days have been filled with great conversations and presentations about levels of government, local government long range planning, climate change adaptation and mitigation, emergency management and civil defense, earthquakes, infrastructure and so much more. Today I went to the US embassy and met with the deputy ambassador. I was able to rave about the experience, the benefits of the exchange and the value of relationships built.
Nicci is the perfect host, filling my days with information and my weekend with fun sightseeing!

I'm off to battle the cold, wet wind in Welly now...

What a pleasure it has been to come to Townsville and meet all of the talented staff in the Integrated Sustainability Systems department! the thing that's struck me most me most is the passion the staff have for the work they are doing, the pride they take in each project making a difference and their loyalty and hometown pride - all of which is well deserved. I have had FULL days learning about the many projects Greg and his team have helped touch. We started our journey with a tour of Townsville and I am amazed at the sheer magnitude, size and diverse Eco-systems that exist in this area and all that has to be considered as they go about the day to day operations of making sustainability work in their community. We then had a wonderful overview about climate change in Australia from LGMA President Wayne Wescott who very much helped us understand these issues from a national perspective. more extreme weather events are presenting themselves and Australian communities are starting to adopt climate mitigation strategies as a form of self preservation. There is a huge awareness of the real cost of energy for citizens and it's Impact on the environment and the Australian Govt has set an admirable target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. it seems to be a target that Greg and his team have personally championed as they seek out ways to support projects to include the installation of solar energy systems. it boggles the mind how many units they have helped install on projects (industry, downtown streets ape projects etc). Even residences are getting in the game in a big way as they have solar put on their home as a way to curb large quarterly electric bills. What is refreshing is the relationships Greg and his team have nurtured with the local representatives of Ergon Energy who seem to have a huge respect for Greg and his work and willing to think outside the box to deliver great solar projects.mIn the end they know it will help them as they work in cities across Australia - they really get it and want to be responsive. I think that's a direct cause and effect from Greg's natural passion for his work and focus on building local relationships. There is so much more to write about the businesses and NGOs that we met "get it" and how easy it is to be inspired by their work. Will try to summarize soon in a future post.

What a pleasure to meet Rong's son and all of the other young environmental leaders at the environmental middle school in Xi'an. Gives me hope for future progress in relations and environmental progress.

Good to know it finally worked. It hasn't been easy to find wifi here. I an thoroughly enjoying the experience and the exchange of ideas. My days are full of meeting very talented and passionate professional public administrators.

Good morning fellow fellows

Not sure if my last post went through, so this is a test...

Greetings All: We would love to see some more pictures when you get a chance! Thanks for writing some initial blogs! Great to hear everyone has arrived and has been thrown right in!

Greetings All: Have you arrived safe and sound in your host communities? Thanks to those I've heard from!

Be sure to blog when you land and tell us how your long flight went! Click "new blog post" and select Climate Change from the drop down list in the category "blog" field : http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/blogs/blog/18/Climate_Change_Fellows

I hope everyone is excited to travel out to their communities tomorrow! Let us know when everyone arrives! I'm sad to hear it's going to be raining in Indonesia!

Starting the countdown to my exchange in Australia and seeing my dear friend Greg! Greg Bruce and the team have an incredible roster planned for us! Also looking forward to meeting exchange Fellow Michael Scanlon and learning more of his work in Mission, Kansas. Thanks ICMA, Lauren and Tad for this incredible opportunity.