Via Greenpeace: Government support has removed Denmark’s dependence on fossil fuels – in just 20 years. Across the Danish countryside and coastal waters large wind turbines are whirling away in the North Sea breeze, feeding clean energy to households across the Scandinavian nation. Denmark has become one of the global heavyweights in the world’s fastest growing renewable energy market – wind.

The Danish wind energy industry has been a phenomenal success story since its implementation just 20 years ago. The national enterprise has an annual turnover of $2.6 billion (with a growth rate matching that of the Internet and mobile phones.) The spin-offs include employment for 20,000 Danes locally and a further 8000 jobs in component installation and supply around the world. And, of course, there’s the environmental benefits. (more…)

As the election fast approaches I wait in anticipation regarding what the key climate change policies are for each party. I am starting to think that the almost lack of news regarding this issue means they are both holding a card up their sleeves or nothing is changing! So I decided to go looking for the goverment’s policy on climate change and this is what I found – get ready to read the future… click on the following dot .

As I began to read the document I was amazed on page 5 in the Executive Summary by the following paragraph: (more…)

Tell friends to click today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on “donating a mammogram” for free. Your click on the “Click Here to Give – it’s FREE” button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. This doesn’t cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising. Each year, 182,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,300 die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 400 will die this year.

This morning I sat peacefully enjoying a coffee, day dreaming, listening to the sounds of community chatter, the smell of fresh espresso in the air, kids laughing and birds whistling. The amazing thing about this experience was that I was literally two feet away from the the road and the thundering traffic flying down Lwr LaTrobe Terrace. My head went into overdrive about the wonderful effect and subtlety of the beauty of nature and how it works its magnificent charm. You see I was enjoying a coffee from Urban Grind, Paddington in a park! That’s right a park! What park on Lwr LaTrobe Terrace? The park that Morgan created in a two-hour car parking space, in support of PARK(ing) Day, outside his cafe Urban Grind, Paddington. As I casually chatted to all those who joined us in the park, I realised that it didn’t take long before everyone was happy and peacefully engaged in conversation – unaware of the fact they were sitting on a main road! It is interesting how good design makes us feel comfortable and removes us from the very understanding of what may be taking place. (more…)

If you were to go to brisbanetimes.com.au and read the world headlines at 3:58PM today, this is how they would read…

• Fiji back under martial law
• ‘Massive’ terrorist attack foiled
• California heatwave kills 25
• Letter bomb wounds Nestle executive
• Hurricane Felix kills 21 in Nicaragua
• Endangered tigers killed for medicine
• Shaky Musharraf may cook up a crisis
• Judges split village in two
• Housekeeper to sue $14m dog
• China may be confronted over Cyber attacks

This sort of stuff is everywhere in our news. Do we have to constantly repeat day in day out? I sit in amazement! Trust me there is an wonderful world out there too, filled with loads of inspirational news just waiting to be told!

I can’t wait until the headlines read, ‘Scientists agree global warming has been reversed.’

It won’t be long until the next election is announced and one of the things I am still looking for is more information on how each government proposes to tackle the issue of climate change. Nuclear energy is obviously a hot topic at the moment and if you do not like the idea of nuclear fuel then I suggest you start speaking loudly about how we get renewable energy into the mainstream and drive the conversation. What is amazing is that we have the ability to buy 100% renewable green power right now. All you have to do is phone Jack Green and change energy providers. It’s that simple! I did it and it took no more that fifteen minutes (I researched the company heavily on the web before I chose to go with them). You do pay a premium of an extra $4.40 per week on top of your normal tariffs but I consider that to be nothing in the big scheme of things. (more…)

The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate with more loss of lives, with even more hardship to Iraqi civilians. The serious divisions within Iraq, unleashed by the war itself, have not been reduced. The Iraqi government has made no significant steps towards reconciliation and accommodation between the warring parties. This is a situation that cannot be controlled by military force. The troop surge, such as it was, failed. There were over half a million Americans in Vietnam. They failed. With only a fraction of that number in Iraq it should be no surprise that continued reliance on military means is not succeeding. More and more Americans are coming to accept that withdrawal must take place. Senior and highly respected Republican Senators are deserting President Bush on this issue. The original objectives are almost entirely forgotten. There is no talk of Iraq establishing a benign, American style democracy that will spread to the rest of the Middle East. Our withdrawal must be carefully planned, as a precipitous withdrawal in a week or a month would add to the chaos. And as the Baker-Hamilton Committee reported to Congress, all regional players, including Iran and Syria, must be drawn into discussions before we leave. Diplomacy now offers the only chance of a withdrawal accompanied by relative calm and peace. One of the things we should say to the Americans, quite simply, is that if the United States is not prepared to involve itself in high level diplomacy concerning Iraq and other Middle East questions, our forces will be withdrawn before Christmas.

I encourage you to support GetUp’s campaign for a change in policy. Add your voice below to the thousands who have spoken already. If enough speak, the Government has to listen.

Malcolm Fraser AC CH
Former Prime Minister of Australia

Today was cold. And I loved it. Every chill that penetrated my spine was relieved with a high pitch shriek of noise. Everywhere I look people are screwing their face up in pain – with a wondrous smile – looking each other in the eyes and calling out, “It’s sooooooo cold!” - emotions filling the air. The energy is alive. And really it wasn’t that cold! Consider our friends in Khanty Mansyisk, Siberia. That’s right Khanty Mansyisk. It’s a place where you can get berries. Forests and swamps support rich vegetation, including cranberries, cowberries, blueberries, currants and blackberries, as well as cloudberries, dog rose hips, bird cherry, rowan berries. If I’m beginning to sound like Forest Gump with Shrimp – I understand. The median temperature in Khanty Mansyisk in January is 18 to 24^oC. Winter with average temperatures below freezing last for up to seven months – October to April. Snow covers the region for about 6 months of the year. The warmest time in the area is July, the average daily high in July is 15.7 to 18.4^oC. I think that’s what we experience today. Well Foster + Partners has just released their plans today for the a new ecological tower in Khanty Mansyisk. Piercing the skyline the tower will create an elegant and crystalline landmark, providing crucial new amenities for its locals – a place for living, working and leisure, sheltered from the harsh Siberian climate. The design of the tower is follows strong principles of sustainable design and will be an example for future development. It maximises daylight and solar gain, reducing the reliance on artificial lighting and heating through the cold winter months.

Last night I watched The Great Global Warming Swindle hosted by Lateline presenter Tony Jones. The show started with a screening of Martin Durkin’s film that is a controversial film, to say the least, that argues against the scientific opinion that human activity is the main cause of global warming. The film showcases scientists, economists, politicians, writers, and others who are sceptical of the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming. Publicity for the programme states that global warming is “a lie” and “the biggest scam of modern times. The show was followed by a fascinating expert panel discussion with a studio audience and by the end of the program I was annoyed and frustrated but glad TV was engaging me. Did anyone see this film and what did they think? I do not need more evidence. I believe in global warming. Why? Because I do trust the global panel of IPCC scientists that action is needed immediately. I don’t care for the semantics of different hypothesis and angles.

Did anyone see this film and what did they think?

Via Jan Marton Art: This new series of work by Brisbane based contemporary Aboriginal artist, Tony Albert, unashamedly reclaims images of Aboriginal people in velvet painting prints by Martinus and others; relics from a period when Aboriginal people were thought of as unsophisticated and simple, so these romantic and sexualised representations were needed to enable an emotional connection from a wider society. Albert uses the languages of politics and pop to re-connect these pictures with reality and a contemporary context. Over-laid text reclaims the faces of the helpless, the sanitised and the sexualised – transforming them into complex characters who mischievously reinvent themselves and assert a modern identity. Slogans are derived from pop songs, jingoistic nursery rhymes, advertising, political speeches and life stories. An identity is finally given and we are able to connect with these characters beyond a romantic or stereotyped context. They have finally become personalised and empowered. Albert completed his degree in Visual Arts majoring in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art in 2004 and has since been a founding member of the Brisbane Indigenous collective – proppaNOW. Albert currently has works in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize and had be short listed as finalist for the 2007 TELSTRA awards. i’m bring’n sexy BLAK will be Tony’s first commercial solo show with Jan Manton Art Gallery and opens from 25 July – 18 August 2007.

A group of passionate and committed West End individuals have got together to try and solve their power problems by establishing sustainable power generation which is local and community owned. PV solar based electricity is one way that can help make this happen. Their first project is establishing a buying group for PV solar panels and interested south east Queensland home owners and community groups who would like to generate electricity by installing PV solar panels on their roof. They are hoping to get at least fifty homes in the buying group to achieve significant savings in the rebate price. All savings will be passed onto the buying group, apart from a modest administration fee to cover costs. PV (PhotoVoltaic) solar panels generate electricity directly from sunlight, which can then be used to power your electric appliances and lights. Excess electricity, which is not used at the time it’s generated, can be sold back to the electricity grid to be used by other homes and businesses. With a large PV solar panel system, a home can generate more electricity than it uses, effectively becoming self sufficient in electricity using renewable energy. If Local Power get enough people interested, the group will hold a tender process and get installations underway by 2008. Finding out more here.

Once upon a time people shunned at the idea of the eco product. Poorly designed objects were overlooked for the shinier, flashier product. Thankfully, over the past years creative bohemians from around the world have been working tirelessly at improving the cultural stigma attached to the eco product. The past year has seen an explosion of great new designs and brought me much delight whilst I have observed the new world of eco products and the amazing ranges being produced. Terra Plana is one of those companies that has managed to permeate the popular culture consciousness as one of the coolest eco shoe brands on the planet. These are luxury shoes with a real ethical policy.

Via Virgin: Virgin Blue Airlines is calling on the creative minds of Australians to help name its new International Airline or the aircraft it will operate, scheduled for take off next year. The new airline will initially operate flights between Australia and the United States of America and will offer a competitive, innovative and exciting air travel alternative in the same way Virgin Blue has done domestically. The airline is set to launch in late 2008 and Virgin Blue is putting the call out to the Australian public to help name the new carrier or the aircraft it will fly. The new airline with a new name will join Virgin Blue Australia Holdings’ diversifying airline group which now includes Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue. Chief Executive Brett Godfrey said, “This is the beginning of another exciting era for us and for Australian travellers who have been instrumental in the success of Virgin Blue. We have a few ideas of our own and we also want to show our appreciation by giving Australians the chance to name Australia’s newest international carrier or its aircraft.”

The competition will go live immediately and will be promoted through a national Australian Radio Network promotion. Entry is via the Virgin Blue website. The competition will close at noon on Friday 15 June 2007. Further information and terms and conditions of the competition can be found on the website.

I’m intrigued by the use of space especially when it comes to housing. I like the idea of living in one of these small homes but I wonder how long it would last. The micro compact home [m-ch] is a lightweight compact dwelling for one or two people. Its compact dimensions of 2.6m cube adapt it to a variety of sites and circumstances, and its functioning spaces of sleeping, working/dining, cooking make it suitable for everyday use. A team of researchers and designers based in London and at the Technical University in Munich developed the m-ch as an answer to an increasing demand for short stay living for students, business people, sports and leisure use and for weekenders.

kiss

I am constantly reminded of the significant beauty in the world both in life and death and yesterday was another one of those days. I celebrated a friend’s birthday with the wonderfully crazy idea of breakfast on top of Mt Warning. As we began the journey at 4am, the much-needed draw card to get to the top was stove-top espresso and fresh French Twist pastries. This incentive was much-needed as I was carrying my 15kg boy Jasper in a backpack and as we soon found out, a huge physical challenge! As we slowly stepped the muddy track in darkness with head torches, I was deep in thought and respect for our diggers and also, as painful as it was, the beauty and sheer joy of carrying my son on my back – strange dichotomy! The journey took about two and a half hours to the top and for all that time I got to share his baby space – a multitude of cute sounds. The highlight was as I listened to him copy the bird calls that began to sound as dusk broke. There was something incredibly peaceful in my pain knowing that I was going to get him to the top no matter what it took. It made me feel happy and alive. Beauty, pain, ANZACs, death, nature, the solar system, trees, climate change, war, love, forest, friends, love, life… so many thoughts ran through my head as I trekked to the top and back. (more…)

Donna Piacenza of Studio 1a.m., the creative genius behind eco-friendly jewellery like the Cork Cuff and Industrial Bloom, has just produced a new table concept that offers individualism for potential purchasers. Studio 1a.m. formed from a desire to question what is assumed, expected, and possible. They explore new ideas in materials and processes through projects like recycled jewellery and adaptable objects. Called ‘This table will self-destruct.‘ the table is structured as a grid of concrete pixels. Each time a new table is produced a pixel is removed from the design. Because material is taken away with each rendition, every table is unique. Following these set rules of self-destruction, the shape becomes more intricate as it diminishes. As a result, the project is a limited production, made only until the shape is no longer desirable. The table is made using sustainable materials – White portland cement, recycled white marble chips and silica sand and the base is made of salvaged sorghum plant branches collected after harvest. So far six pixels have been removed.

I certainly don’t mean to offend anyone with this idea… so I apologise in advance if I do. Is it possible that if all homes were fitted with waterless urinals, females could use them as well? I have done some research on a relatively small sample size of females in the map office and the vote is humorously split. Most of the issues coming down to the ergonomics of the design and the potential positions needed to use it. It seems to make sense that if most homes could be fitted with a waterless urinal, then the simple act of not having to flush the toilet in the household could potentially save huge amounts of water. And judged by the designs of San Francisco artist Clark Sorensen you could have a lot of fun with it. Recently, Elaine Gennard-Levy spent so much time one day looking for a public toilet in London that she decided to build her own. According to a London paper she opened a luxury ladies’ room on Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping area. Use of the toilet and powder room at the facility costs $10. It seems to make sense to me but I realise I am a male and may not totally be understanding of the potential difficulties. So, is their a brave female who can potentially solve the dilemma and start a revolution?

…according to Seth Godin – bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. Having emerged as one of the preeminent voices on marketing, Seth has established a massive web following amongst a new generation of marketers. Seven years ago, Seth wrote a book called Unleashing the Ideavirus. It’s about how ideas spread. In the book, he goes on and on about how free ideas spread faster than expensive ones. When he first created Unleashing the Ideasvirus he offered it to his publisher to give away on the web for free – they passed on the idea! Seth did it himself. The first few days, the book was downloaded 3,000 times. The next day, the number went up. And then up. Soon it was 100,000 and then eventually it past the 1,000,000 download mark. Seth is also the author of five books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. Permission Marketing was an Amazon.com Top 100 bestseller for a year, a Fortune Best Business Book and it spent four months on the Business Week bestseller list. It also appeared on the New York Times business book bestseller list. (more…)

With the news that British Airways are to launch internal UK flights from London to Newquay, Greenpeace ran this ad. I think this is such a great example of clever advertising and it is a pity we do not see more in the marketplace like it. Creativity offers everyone the opportunity communicate effectively without having to carry on too much. That’s what I love about it.