Founder of the Ebono Institute, Giovanni Ebono, is the nom-de-plum of Geoff Ebbs.
He was formed as a comic, working the club circuit in Byron Bay and the NSW Northern Rivers. In the tradition of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Mark Twain or Lewis Carroll, the character became more famous than the originator, and took on a life of his own.
Giovanni had his own radio show, comedy circuit and theatre following before I decided to legitimise him through a legal name change and run him for politics. He ran for the Federal seat of Richmond in 2007 and 2010, did much better than Geoff Ebbs in 2013 and 2014 and has his own Wikipedia page.
Among other mainstream positions he was the general manager of sewage and water engineering firm, Simmonds & Bristow. I am still asked to present as the character or comment on historical events that he was involved in. Most recently he was asked to contribute a chapter to a book on the history of the NSW Greens and the role of the socialist workers clique that took over the NSW Greens party in the mid nineties and have dominated it since.
rator is a news service that started life as a radio show in Byron Bay, northern NSW in 2005. The Generator News was broadcast via the Community Radio Network to 40 stations around the country from 2007 until 2010. Most recently it was broadcast on 4ZZZfm Brisbane at midday on Monday and Wednesday. The website, thegenerator.news. continues to provide a valuable historical record of environmental news from 2005 until the current day.
This book was commissioned by the Sydney Morning Herald based on the radio work I was doing with the Generator. It combined a directory of services, tips and hints for living sustainably with useful research into the relative impact of various activities on climate change. The foreword, written by Professor Ian Lowe, reminds us that “the future is something we are creating, not somewhere we are going.”
This project by Steve Falk at Birrarung Marr near the MCG on the banks of the Yarra in Melbourne is an inspiration to the ongoing CHIME project.
Accompany Steve every step of this 3,000 kilometre journey. Weigh up what he saw with what he was told. Experience the adventure with him; the highs, the lows and the occasional confusion. Enjoy the father and son relationship. Make up your own mind about the state of the rivers.
