Release your inner greenie at the Green Earth Festival on Saturday March 13, when the Brisbane City Botanic Garden opens its gates to a celebration of all things green and environmentally stimulating. The festival’s organiser, Green Earth Group Inc. is a non-for-profit environmental awareness group spreading its wings in Brisbane’s environmental circles. The group’s founder, Leigh-Chantelle Koch identified a need for green advocacy groups and animal rights groups to unite forces to spread the message that ‘it’s easy being green’. The festival will celebrate caring for the environment with live bands, ‘green’ cuisine, speakers, workshops, roving entertainment, art and fashion displays, and information stalls from companies promoting environmental awareness. The festival will help the wider community learn more about environmentalism, grass roots activism and how to promote greener ways of living.
Archive for the 'Green' Category
350
The 24th of October is an international day of climate action, with more than 4,220 events being held in 170 countries around the globe. The 350 day, calls for a fair and effective climate treaty to stabilise atmospheric CO2 at less than 350ppm (parts per million) and for everyone to play their part in reaching a safe climate and a just world. There are a number of Brisbane events happening. Continue reading ‘350′
To raise awareness of the plight of humpback whales, David Rastovich initiated an adventure for him and four of his friends on what has been dubbed as the Transparent Sea Voyage. Pro surfer Dave Rastovich will be joined by artist/surfer and co-director of Surfers for Cetaceans Chris Del Moro, water photographer Hilton Dawe, musician Will Conner and Surfrider Foundation Australia General Manager Kristy Theissling. The group started in Byron Bay and will make their way down the coast until they reach Sydney. Along the way, they will stop in at coastal communities to organise beach clean ups, create awareness for the humpback whales and go surfing. The crew will make this epic journey using single-seat Hobie trimaran kayaks and aim to complete the voyage in 36 days. This voyage can be tracked via the Transparent Sea Voyage blog, which already profiles a clean-up day in popular surfing town Yamba and a chance encounter with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ‘Steve Irwin’ ship. This is a great initiative, particularly at the start of the beach season, to create awareness for the upkeep of Australia’s beaches and the animals that call them home.
The climate-change meeting in Copenhagen will be the one of the most important meetings for everybody in this world. The decisions that the world’s political powers will make will have an effect on each and every one of us. Positive solutions will help world citizens tackle the biggest problems. Providing a unified voice for all those passionate about our future is TckTckTck – an unprecedented global alliance of civil-society groups, trade unions, faith groups and passionate people that are calling for an ambitious climate-change agreement. If enough people push for something, the politicians will listen. A revolution powered by passion, strength and support is what’s needed to turn the tables around and give back to the environment. Are you ready to build the world’s biggest mandate?
Via National Geographic: Most people think that once a plastic bottle has found its way into the ocean that it will remain there for the rest of its indestructible life. According to National Geographic, some plastics decompose rapidly in the ocean. And this isn’t a good thing. Degrading plastics are leaking toxic chemicals such as Bisphenol A, a chemical building block of plastics, into the ocean. Apparently this decomposition of plastics is occurring at cooler temperatures than expected and within a year of the rubbish hitting the water. A Japan-based team collecting samples in US, Europe and Indian waters discovered some astounding results. The water samples contained derivatives of polystyrene, a common plastic used in disposable cutlery, Styrofoam, and DVD cases. This plastic soup is just another thing our marine animals and plants have to fight. How can we prevent this? Stop using plastic water bottles and bags. You’ve heard this before, but with the state of the world’s oceans, it doesn’t hurt for you to hear it again. For the full article, visit National Geographic.
In this day and age, where businesses are realising their need to do justice to the environment in which they operate, it’s activists like Paul Hawken that you want at a boardroom meeting. Environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist and best-selling author, Paul Hawken moved to Boston at age 20 (he is now 63) to study macrobiotic philosophy. This sparked his dream to dedicate his life to changing the relationship between business and the environment, and between humans and living systems. Paul’s work includes starting and running ecological businesses and writing and teaching about the effect of trade on the environment. His latest book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came Into Being, and Why No One Saw it Coming profiles the ever-present green movement that largely goes unnoticed by political parties and world organisations. This book is yet another attempt by Paul to illustrate to businesses, politicians and the public to remember the environment when undertaking any venture.
The big wet
Southerners; avert your eyes and block your ears. This morning I awoke to find my boyfriend had left the sprinkler running overnight. In other states, this would generate extreme panic, the wrath of neighbours and possibly legal action. Initially I felt a wave of remorse and guilt; however, as we live in a city without water restrictions, we shrugged our shoulders and continued on with our lives. Eighteen months ago I moved from Brisbane to Darwin as a water conscious, frugal consumer of H20. I dutifully used a water timer while showering. I let my car become stained with dust and caked with mud in the name of water conservation. I even recycled the used water from my washing machine to use on the garden. Yet I am now a shadow of my former self. I have become acclimatised to the Territory’s ways. Continue reading ‘The big wet’
enviroweek
You don’t need to be a greenie to be green. It just makes good sense to take care of our life support system – our environment. It’s not about sacrifice – it’s about living smarter. Who wants to breathe foul air, swim in polluted water, and live on a poisoned planet? This is your chance to make a world of difference. Cool Australia – your essential website for all things environmental, is embarking on an exciting awareness, behaviour change and fundraising week of action from 11–17 October 2009. To raise funds for various environmental charities and organisations, Cool Australia is urging all Australians to get sponsored and take on an environmental challenge or dare for one week. Challenges will include everything from starting a compost bin, ditching the car and walking, showering with your pets and loved ones, going vegetarian and anything in between. You can register for your challenge from August 13.
It’s been a big 7 days in the planet’s history. While one of the most loved lies shrouded in mystery, another, as equally revered, is basking in bright, renewable sunlight. In a historic vote approving the Clean Energy and Security Act, Barak Obama has revealed a new America to the world. This bill sets the stage for the dawn of the clean energy future. While imperfect, it sets forth a set of goals America must achieve — and exceed. The bill’s most important achievement is setting the United States on a path to reduce carbon emissions some 80 percent by 2050, a signal accomplishment necessary to preserve the planet for future generations. But this event pales in comparison to the Obama’s vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt planted one in honour of America’s victory in World War II. It’s refreshing to see a leader, leading isn’t it?
Everyone’s making eco bag these days, but the environmental credentials of green bags aren’t very clear cut. TBWA’s tongue-in-cheek range of Eco Bags are a breath of fresh air and a reminder that appearing ‘green’ isn’t the same as acting green.
If you were lucky enough to see it, Earth from Above was the stirring, photographic installation project of Frenchman Yann Arthus-Bertrand that toured the world. A decade in the making, the collection of images taken from the air, documented both the World’s natural and man-made happenings. Not satisfied with either the exhibition, or DVD of the same images, in 2009, Yann, who was possibly inspired by Jehane Noujaim’s Pangea Day, is releasing Home. In partnership with French film director Luc Besson, and a global PR firm, Yann is simultaneously broadcasting the film on the same day in over 50 countries. That day, is World Environment Day, June 5. There’s no place like home. (Apologies, it’s late…;)
Via Treehugger: Do Uranus jokes ever get old? With a tagline ‘Help save planet earth, starting with Uranus’, Uranus Apparel instinctively appeals to our inner 12 year-old as well our mature and environmentally concerned activist side. Uranas Apparel is made from the byproducts of soy foods, which would otherwise be thrown away. The soy panties come in beige, black and moss green and are packaged in a biodegradable burlap drawstring sack.
green beans
be radical.
power to the people.
From: Fast Company by Anya Kamenetz
Think: did you leave a light on this morning? What if you could pull up your homepage and find out, right now?
As I wrote about last fall, companies from IBM and GE to startups are getting excited about green IT: Managing natural resources using computing intelligence. In the electricity industry, this means “smart grids” that distribute power more efficiently, avoiding peak loads, and home-based smart meters and software to help people measure and control demand in real-time. The Obama stimulus package would provide 40 million US Homes with the meters, but consumers still need a system to see and analyze the information. That’s where Google comes in.
Google PowerMeter, now in internal testing, hooks up with smart meters to provide simple, clear realtime graphs of electricity use. You can post the gadget on your iGoogle homepage and share with friends to encourage competition. Studies show that simply seeing your home energy use can lead to savings of 5 to 15 %.
Besides promoting environmental goodness, Google obviously sees an opportunity to enter new markets here. They’re investing with smart grid companies, and advocating with state and federal government for open standards and protocols to keep the market free for software solutions like PowerMeter, that are not controlled by utilities. They’ve partnered with GE and are holding a Smart Grid event together in DC on the 17 (GE ran a cute, if puzzling, Smart Grid ad as their first-ever Superbowl commercial).
By putting more information and thus power in the hands of consumers, the potential is to disrupt utilities’ monopoly over the energy industry, the same way the Internet disrupted telecom and media ten years ago. Which makes this a real power move for Google.
Climate change. Global warming. Climate crisis. Carbon footprint. These buzz words have the power to make us all feel a little bit overwhelmed, a little bit helpless. However, if Al Gore’s The Inconvenient Truth taught us anything, it’s that we can all make a difference, and small things make a big difference. For example, changing your household light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs will save up to 1/3 of your original household energy use. Now imagine if everyone did it – it would add up to a huge difference. Dr Peter Osman is an author and scientist who has devoted his time to helping people reduce their carbon footprints. His upcoming book, CSIRO’s Energy Saving Handbook, is full of helpful hints on living a low-carbon life. Dr Osman is holding a free presentation at the Brisbane Powerhouse and will offer clear, user-friendly advice on how we can individually reduce our carbon footprint, to make a collective difference. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions after the presentation and calculate their own carbon footprint, so bring along recent copies of your electricity and gas bills.
Indulging in one of my favourite Saturday morning pastimes, I can’t help but think of the well-worn phrase, ‘One man’s trash is another’s treasure’. The ritual of trawling garage sales, or lawn sales as they’re called up here, is a bit of an art in Darwin, and its transient population often means you can score a bargain if you’re willing to put in the effort. With a 20 percent population turnover annually, many people leaving town are keen to sell the excess they have accumulated during their time here, in preference to sending it back down south.
A good lawn sale forage is a bit of an adventure; waking up early to get the paper, tearing out the classified section, circling appealing listings, carefully plotting your course before heading out for the morning, armed with a street directory. Continue reading ‘Lawn or garage?’
As seen on thecoolhunter.com.au, Ogily Action’s clever public campaign for MTV Switch stirred a lot of attention in Amsterdam. The realistic inflatable arms that come out of the water and hold up signs marked ‘Global Warming. What’s all the fuss about’ and a website address are honestly quite shocking. I checked out mtv.switch.com to see what all the fuss was about. Switch is MTV Networks International’s Global Climate Change Campaign. With the website, MTV hope to encourage young people all over the world to submit ideas on how we can reinvent how we live in ways that are ‘cool for us and the planet’. With the slogan ‘Go Lo-Carb’, MTV’s Switch campaign is obviously directed at its young audience and even though the website is still in its early stages, it does have some valuable content including news feeds from popular green blogs, a carbon calculator and videos profiling young green achievers and their stories. One of these young achievers is Monash University and Australian Young Designer of the Year winner Harsha Ravi. He won this award for his ultra-lightweight, solar-powered plastic car the Globetrotter. Ravi’s car is built for 2017 and is independent of fossil fuels, packed with eco-friendly technologies and cuts back the weight and bulk of today’s petrol guzzlers. There’s more to this car though – it even has a nano-paper battery, airless tires, nanopaints to absorb solar energy while parked to charge its batteries and woven seat material. It’s really assuring to see such vision from young designers such as Harsha. Now, all we need is more designers like him. It’s also good to see an organisation like MTV using its position in the media to influence young people to better the way we live. Here is another impressive campaign raising awareness of the effects of climate change.
via Ecogeek: Bikes generally have a very awkward shape. If there is no bike rack, or if you want to go somewhere with your bike, you’re reduced to lugging a very cumbersome package around with you. Well what if there was a bike you could fit in your trunk, that was the size of a briefcase, or that you could take on the subway. That sure would be nice. Thus, the concept of the folding bike. You might be surprised to learn that there are actually quite a lot of these guys out there. It is quite stunning to see them unfold in real life. This is a new find for me, but apparently it is not a hugely new idea and you can get some at Epic Cycles, Paddington.
