24,000 Australian teachers have signed up to ‘Cool Australia’, a non-profit website that provides inspirational material to schools and caters the students’ thirst for knowledge about how to be smart, clean and efficient. Close to 20,000 teachers are regular users of the site, representing 45 per cent of all Australian schools and the 3.7 million kids in them, from prep to grade 10.

In the 68th Sustainable Hour, Jason Kimberley who started Cool Australia eight years ago shares his insights with us – about the balance of nature and smarter ways we can be doing things. In education, he says, the key to creating engagement is to break the mountain of available information down into smaller bits.

The hour also contains audio clips about the new book ‘Demystifying Sustainability’ and the American movement TheNextSystem.org. More info below.

Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 68:

» To open or download this programme in mp3-format, right-click here (Mac: CTRL + click)

» Subscribe to ‘The Sustainable Hour’ podcast — via iTunes or via your own podcast/RSS software

Guest in the studio:
• Jason Kimberley, Cool Australia

Audio clips:
• Haydn Washington from the University of New South Wales, author of the new book: ‘Demystifying Sustainabilty’
• The new American movement TheNextSystem.org

Excerpts from the hour

Jason Kimberley excerpts

1) Cool Australia – Jason Kimberley explains about the idea:

Duration: 3:54 minutes
» Rightclick here to download the mp3-file

2) “Let’s think of our planet and our school as our bedroom”:

Duration: 5:43 minutes
» Rightclick here to download the mp3-file

3) About politics and renewable energy:

Duration: 1:53 minutes
» Rightclick here to download the mp3-file

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No one is waiting for government directives or subsidies. People are doing things for themselves. –@JasonKimberley on the @SustainableHour

— Cool Australia (@coolaustralia) April 15, 2015

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The Next System Project

Climate disruption prompt an important insight. When the old ways no longer produce the outcomes we are looking for, something deeper is occurring. It is time to explore genuine alternatives and new models – “the next system”:

Published on www.youtube.com on 30 March 2015.

» Read the statement and add your signature at: www.thenextsystem.org

» See also: track0.org

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Demystifying Sustainability

Haydn Washington in ABC Radio (transcript): “Sustainability – we all talk about it, but what exactly is it? There are hundreds of definitions. Is it like the weather, where everyone talks about it – but nobody does anything? Is it the key concept of our Age, or has it become what Robert Engelman of the Worldwatch Institute has called ‘sustainababble’? This talk is based on my new book Demystifying Sustainability.

Now ‘Our Common Future’ came out from WCED in 1987 and made the terms sustainable development and sustainability famous. Yet the environmental crisis – and the entwined social and economic crises – have become worse since then. What is going on?
Do we have a problem?

This is worth answering, as some commentators seem to think everything is just rosy.

During the 20th century:
• Human population up 4-fold.
• Industrial pollution up 40-fold.
• CO2 emissions up 17-fold.
• Fish catches up 35-fold.
• Mining of ores and minerals up 27-fold
• One quarter of coral reefs, a third of mangroves and half of all wetlands were destroyed.

Today:
• 60% of ecosystem services are degrading
• We have exceeded three ‘planetary limits’ – extinction, climate change and nitrate pollution
• The Earth’s ecological footprint is more than 1.5 Earths and the Living Planet Index has dropped by 52%
• Extinction is at least 1000-fold above the normal levels in the fossil record and Peter Raven et al (2011) estimate that without change by 2100 two thirds of life may be extinct.
• Two thirds of life extinct by 2100 due to our actions.

As Eileen Crist of Virginia Tech observes ‘The scale of what we are doing, the sheer moral evil, is almost unimaginable’. So ‘yes’, the facts are in – we do indeed have a major problem. Society’s interaction with the world that supports it is fundamentally unsustainable. A responsible approach would be to ask ‘why?’ and ‘what can we do?’.

What are the key drivers of unsustainability? I discuss here the key ‘elephants in the room’ that few seem to want to see.”

» Listen to the 10-minute audio and read the full transcipt on www.abc.net.au

The worrying questions

We often hear about how we have got a ‘carbon budget’ left and we only have to phase out carbon emissions by 2050 to be on the safe side. But the leading American climate scientist Michael Mann says we may hit the 2°C rise already by 2036, as it is explained on the graph above. So this mob say that we can have emissions continuing to 2050 and in that way hold global warming below 2°C really is a political invention. We may have well passed 2°C already a decade or more earlier.

What use is it to be kidding ourselves that we have a ‘carbon-budget’ to burn – or that we campaign for 100% renewables by 2050 – believing that we can hold global temperature below 2°C, if it turns out that Michael Mann was right and we will be passing the 2°C-point already in 2036?

“Most scientists concur that two degrees C of warming above the temperature during preindustrial time would harm all sectors of civilization—food, water, health, land, national security, energy and economic prosperity.”
Earth Will Cross the Climate Danger Threshold by 2036
Article by Michael E. Mann who is Professor of Meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. He contributed to the International Panel on Climate Change work that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. His wrote the book ‘The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines’ (Columbia University Press) in 2012.

The permafrost question
Around half of the world’s buried organic carbon is locked away in the soils of the northern circumpolar permafrost, and this huge vault of deep-frozen peat and leaf litter – more than 1,000 billion metric tonnes in the top three metres, at the latest estimate − contains twice as much carbon as is held in the atmosphere. The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on the planet, so what will happen as the permafrost thaws and plants begin to move north? Global warming could speed its escape into the atmosphere.

The five tipping points

The price to be paid for not cutting emissions of greenhouse gases could mean driving the planet across planetary boundaries, or “tipping points”.

An international team of scientists has tried a new approach to addressing the complex argument about the costs of climate change – and, once again, the prediction is that the costs of inaction will be so much greater than paying the bills now.

The US government works on the basis of $37 in social costs per tonne emitted, but two US scientists proposed that the true cost in future health and habitat losses was probably six times higher.

Now researchers from the universities of Exeter in the UK, Zurich in Switzerland and Chicago and Stanford in the US report in Nature Climate Change that they considered the risk that emitted greenhouse gases from fossil fuels would push the planetary climate system closer to what climate scientists call “tipping points.”

These are outcomes that would irreversibly change regional climate patterns, disrupt agriculture, precipitate greater flooding in some places, more sustained droughts in others, and accelerate sea level rise.

And, once again, they find that governments have underestimated the price to be paid by society for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

The researchers selected five potential tipping points − all of which have separately been in the news recently. They relate to:

1) The collapse of the Atlantic Ocean’s meridional overturning circulation
2) The irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet
3) The collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet
4) The dieback of the Amazon rainforest
5) An increase in that cyclic phenomenon known as El Niño Southern Oscillation, which disrupts climate on both sides of the Pacific Ocean − sometimes with devastating consequences.

The researchers say their act-now, save-future-costs model not only demonstrates the dangers of underestimating the cost of future climate change, but is the first one to emerge from a purely market-based approach.

» Read more on www.climatenewsnetwork.net

“Fossil fuel free super funds pay off for investors”
Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April 2015

The good news: Economic breakingpoint has been reached

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have both written a story about the positive performance of fossil fuel free investing.

As the Fairfax newspapers wrote: “In a study commissioned by Future Super, Thomson Reuters found a fossil fuel-free portfolio would have achieved an annualised return of 25 per cent, from January 2012 to January 2015, compared with 15 per cent for the existing Thomson Reuters Australia benchmark, which includes most companies in the S&P ASX 300.”

» Read the full Sydney Morning Herald story here: (and remember to share it on Facebook)
www.smh.com.au

Fossil free pension
Future Super is Australia’s first and only fossil fuel free super fund. They have been buoyed by the number of Australians who’ve made the switch, 1,900 so far. Already they’ve divested $45 million away from funds exposed to the fossil fuel industry. During the first six months of Future Super (up until 28 Februrary 2015), the members have benefited from an after-fees return of 9.84%.

Over the same period, here’s how that compares to the super funds that many of these members have been switching from:

Fund – Option – Return
Future Super – Balanced Growth – 9.84%
HostPlus – Balanced – 8.57%
Australian Ethical Super – Balanced – 8.25%
Australian Super – Balanced – 8.21%
HESTA – Core Pool – 7.23%
REST – Balanced – 6.82%
First State Super – Balanced – 6.42%

» Read more on www.myfuturesuper.com.au

New Tesla battery could take your home off the grid

Like many of Tesla’s projects, this one is coming up fast. Mastermind electric power guy Elon Musk announced in an investor call that the designs for the home battery are complete. The public could get a glimpse of the design within the next month or two, with production beginning in as little as six months.

» Read more on www.inhabitat.com

New energy storage plant could ‘revolutionise’ renewable sector

Flywheel plant being built in Ireland with potentially unlimited storage capability could solve the problem of clean energy supply shortfalls when there is insufficient sun or wind

» Read more on www.theguardian.com

More information

About the the topics we talked about in this Sustainable Hour

Warmest month since 1891

Globally, March 2015 was the warmest month since 1891 – according to Japan Meteorological Agency. The monthly anomaly of the global average surface temperature in March 2015 (i.e. the average of the near-surface air temperature over land and the SST) was +0.31°C above the 1981-2010 average (+0.76°C above the 20th century average), and was the warmest since 1891.

» www.ds.data.jma.go.jp

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2,300 people in renewable energy sector lost their job

Latest data shows large-scale renewable energy investment in Australia down 90% under Abbott, although rooftop solar grows.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance pointing to a 90 per cent drop in the 12 months to March 31, thanks to policy uncertainty under the Abbott government.
new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed the number of renewable energy jobs in Australia had fallen by 2,300 or 15 per cent.

14,890 jobs were recorded for 2011-12, and then uncertainty set in in 2013 over the Abbott government’s plans for the RET. In June 2014 the industry’s employment figure was down to 12,590 jobs.

» www.reneweconomy.com.au

» Graph of the day

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Australia:

New government white paper on energy ignores climate change

Climate change ignored in energy white paper that lets market rule future policy. It acknowledges that Australia’s “low-cost” fossil fuel electricity generation is responsible for one third of its greenhouse gas emissions and that new technologies can have lower emissions – but says it is not up to governments to push them.
The paper backs the “responsible” development of coal seam gas, but says companies need to “engage” with local communities.
» Review in www.theguardian.com

The article had more than 400 comments. Here is one of them:

It is crystal clear who owns this government. This climate change denialism is pathological. Our children and grandchildren will reap the dire consequences. Jesus wept while Abbott and his henchmen rape and plunder Australia for greed and power. Tragically apocalyptic is Abbott’s death cult.
Ozponerised

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Dutch government sued for climate action failure

Landmark Dutch lawsuit puts governments around the world on notice. Together with 900 citizens the Urgenda Foundation filed ‘The Climate Case’ against the Dutch Government, accusesing their government of failing on climate.

A landmark case will be heard in the Den Haag District Court on Tuesday 14 April 2015. The Urgenda Foundation is suing the Dutch government for knowingly endangering its citizens by failing to prevent dangerous climate change. The unprecedented legal action has been labelled the ‘Lawsuit Out of Love’.

“We are standing for what is necessary to do. Ten years ago we would not have tried this but I think things are changing… it’s more clear to a broad group we are heading to a catastrophe.”

The district court in The Hague will hear the arguments of the parties. As Urgenda explains on its website, the lawsuit demands the following from the Dutch court:

1. To declare that global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius will lead to a violation of fundamental human rights worldwide.

2. To declare that the Dutch State is acting unlawfully by not contributing its proportional share to preventing a global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius.

3. To order the Dutch State to drastically reduce Dutch CO2 emissions even before 2020 to the level that has been determined by scientists to be in line with less than 2 degrees Celsius of global warming, that is, to reduce Dutch emissions by 40% by 2020 below 1990 levels.

» www.urgenda.nl/en/climate-case

» www.huffingtonpost.com

» www.commondreams.org

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The whole world is breaking the law by ignoring climate change

That’s the word from a group of respected lawyers who’ve just introduced what they’re calling the Oslo Principles.

Already in 2008, James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, called for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.

» www.grist.org

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The Diesel Rebate – a perverse government support to dirty business

$2.5 billion is currently lavished on this grossly unfair diesel rebate to mining companies every year, the ‘Fuel Tax Credit Scheme’

Environment Victoria wrote:
“Last year’s budget was criticised as unfair and the Prime Minister and Treasurer are under pressure to make cuts from the top end of town. One of the best ways to do that would be to cap the diesel rebate to rich mining companies, which currently totals about $2.5 billion dollars every year. Also known as the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme, the diesel rebate is the most perverse fossil fuel subsidy in Australia. Companies like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton pay virtually no tax on the diesel they use, while you and I and small businesses pay nearly 38c in tax for every litre of fuel we buy at the pump.

Opportunities like this rarely come up – and I can promise you I won’t let it slip away. You can donate to EV’s Unfair Fuel campaign today so we can put this billboard right in front of the Assistant Treasurer’s nose.”

Dr Nicholas Aberle wrote:
“This morning I visited the office of Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. With me were two of his Kooyong electorate constituents, carrying a message on your behalf. Together we hand-delivered more than 300 letters, signed by supporters like you, calling on Mr Frydenberg to use his voice in budget negotiations to cap the grossly unfair diesel rebate.

The diesel rebate, also known as the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme, gives industry 38 cents back for every litre of diesel they use. It’s currently subsidising a whopping eight percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Most industries are eligible, but the mining industry gets 40 percent of the money – around $2.5 billion each year.

Details of how much each company gets aren’t made public, but simple arithmetic suggests that big miners like BHP and Rio Tinto are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies from the diesel rebate alone.

To highlight this flagrant waste of taxpayer funds, we’ve launched a cross-media campaign called Unfair Fuel (www.unfairfuel.org.au). Today I visited the centrepiece of that campaign – a digital billboard just 99 metres from the office of Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. We’re campaigning hard on this issue because we know that we have a unique opportunity to secure a result. A few weeks ago we learned via a freedom of information request that last year the Federal Cabinet seriously considered capping the diesel rebate in the lead-up to the May budget. That means the time to push the issue is while the current budget is being negotiated – right now.

Our solution is straightforward. We propose a cap on the rebate of $100,000 per recipient per year. That would protect small diesel users like farmers, while ensuring big mining companies with billion-dollar profits pay their own way.

Last year’s federal budget was widely criticised as unfair, so the Prime Minister and Treasurer will be under pressure to make cuts from the top end of town. Capping the diesel rebate is one way to make the budget fairer and cut our carbon pollution at the same time.

Please sign our petition, and add your voice to the growing chorus of people who think taxpayer dollars should be spent on more important things than boosting the profits of rich mining companies.”

» Sign the petition to Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to cap the diesel rebate: www.environmentvictoria.org.au/fossilfuelsubsidies

» Visit www.unfairfuel.org.au

How much fossil fuel has been used in your lifetime?

How much fossil fuel has been extracted since you arrived at this page? Or since you were born? The numbers below highlight the staggering amount of oil, coal and gas we take out of the ground – and how quickly change is needed

» www.theguardian.com

Onshore gas mining

Petition: Don’t frack the Territory

Did you know that more than 90% of the Northern Territory is covered in shale gas licences and applications?

This means that many of Australia’s most treasured icons, like Arnhem Land and Watarrka (Kings Canyon), are under threat from unsafe gas mining. Today we are asking for your help to spread the word about the dangerous threat of fracking in the NT by watching and sharing a short Call to Action video featuring Traditional Owners from Maningrida and Borroloola.

You can sign the petition calling for the NT Government to implement protections for the environment and communities in the NT. See the message below from Garawa Traditional Owner, Gadrian, explaining why your support means so much to us at this important time.

» www.dontfracktheterritory.lockthegate.org.au

Gas: a waste of money

“The current gas business model is about to break. In the southern states [of Australia] it used to be about heating homes and hot water and doing it cheaply. But the economics don’t support that today – and certainly won’t in the future.

Major gas retailers have invested significant capital into marketing to and retaining gas customers. The major gas retailers are locked in to gas as much as they would like their customers to be. The problem for them is that now their customers aren’t. (…)

While gas prices are rising, distribution pipelines out the front door of houses are being renewed across the nation with the (delusional) expectation of 50 years of revenue to pay for them.

The cost is greater than rolling out the NBN (we have warped priorities as the domestic gas network will be abandoned while internet dependency will continue to climb) and yet the gas customer base is no longer guaranteed. Why would current gas customers continue to waste money on a gas connection when new electric appliances are cheaper to run than gas?

It won’t be long before an agile and smart retailer, able to get the jump on the majors, moves in. They can simply electrify a gas customer’s home through financing the purchase of the three main appliances required to get off gas.”
Matthew Wright

» Continue reading:
www.businessspectator.com.au

Petition: Keep Australia great – cut carbon pollution

Scientists warn us that climate change could accelerate beyond our control, threatening our survival and everything we love. We call on you our leaders to keep global temperature rise under the unacceptably dangerous level of 2 degrees C, by phasing out carbon pollution to zero. To achieve this, you our leaders must urgently forge realistic global, national and local agreements, to rapidly shift our societies and economies to 100% clean energy by 2050. Do this fairly, with support to the most vulnerable among us.

We call on you, our Australian political leaders, to set a carbon pollution reduction target that represents our fair share to keep global warming well below 2 degrees and puts Australia on track to zero carbon pollution.

Australians deserve fresh air, clean water, sustainable jobs and a healthy environment.

To keep Australia great the Government needs to commit to pollution reduction targets that will put us on track to zero carbon pollution by 2050 and do our fair share to limit global warming below 2 degrees, this means:   1) Increase the currently weak 2020 pollution reduction target to a 25% cut of 2000 levels   2) Set new post 2020 targets to including:   - 40-50% of 2000 levels by 2025   - 60 to 80% of 2000 levels by 2030

Let our political leaders know you want them to cut pollution and keep Australia great.
Quick, before it melts!

» Sign the petition: www.earthhour.org.au/aimhigh

#endpollution on Earth Day: 22 April

A silent killer has a choke hold on our planet and it is not getting nearly enough attention. What is it? Pollution.

Raise your voice to #endpollution. Land, water and air pollution surround us. Pollution not only degrades habitats and ecosystems but also cause serious health issues, especially for those living in poverty.

Did you know that pollution coming from all sources kills almost 9 million people each year? It is the leading cause of death in the world’s poorest nations and a growing epidemic in many cities. Pollution is a solvable problem, but it isn’t getting enough attention or financing from world leaders.

Pollution in the form of greenhouse gases is the root cause of global climate change. Reducing this form of pollution is key to stopping global climate change.

This year marks Earth Day’s 45th anniversary. Take the opportunity to speak out against pollution and let our international leaders know it is #ourturntolead.
  
Take 30 seconds to make some noise. Call on leaders to prioritise funding for pollution control by sharing this video with the hashtag #endpollution.

» #endpollution and #endclimatechange

Sick of pollution

We received this email from Taryn Bock:
“My name is Taryn and I am the founder of the RADS Foundation – and I am moving to Torquay this year as I have RADS [Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome] and I am highly sensitive to numerous irritants, fumes etc.

I got RADS after being exposed to toxic chemicals in the work place and found there was limited information about RADS, so I did a lot of research and created www.breathingissues.weebly.com and www.radsfoundation.net

I have today been sent the link below from the Environmental Justice Australia site, which explains that the Australian Environment Ministers are developing a NATIONAL CLEAN AIR AGREEMENT to set the priorities for a national action on pollution for the next 5 years and they are asking for COMMUNITY INPUT by FRIDAY 17th April.

A person needs to include the Official Submission Cover Sheet for their submission to be counted.

www.envirojustice.org.au/blog/demand-action-on-air-pollution

If you could please let your members know about this very important submission that would be wonderful.

Taryn Bock
Founder
RADS Foundation”

» www.breathingissues.weebly.com

To the supporters of the SHUT IT DOWN campaign
“With a decision pending on its future, we have a unique opportunity in the next 7 days to make Alcoa’s Anglesea coal mine and power station clean up its act or SHUT DOWN.

But we need your help!

Right now, Australia’s Environment Ministers are developing a National Clean Air Agreement which is considering significant changes to Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) levels, among others. Anglesea is one of the worst SO2 emitters in the country and enforceable lower emission levels could make it unviable.

Could you take five minutes out of your day to write a short submission before April 17th. All the details can be found at:

www.envirojustice.org.au/blog/demand-action-on-air-pollution

Every day Alcoa fails to find a buyer for this old clunker is a day closer to our goal of shutting it down.
Mark”

Example of a submission

—–Original Message—–
To: Hunt, Greg (MP)
Sent: Wednesday, 25 February 2015 9:53 PM
Cc: admin@envirojustice.org.au

Subject: Please support stronger national air pollution standards for the people of Victoria

Dear Minister,

The World Health Organisation and health experts agree that there’s no threshold below which particle pollution isn’t harmful, and lower standards mean a healthier community.

The variation to our national air pollution standards via the Ambient Air Quality National Environment Protection Measure is a once in a generation opportunity to improve the health of thousands of people in our State. Please support the strictest possible standards for annual and 24 hour particle pollution (both PM10 and PM2.5).

Over 90% of submissions to the NEPM variation called for stronger national standards. The community will stand with you if you support better standards.

Don’t succumb to pressure from industry to undermine the standards by limiting their scope. The AAQ NEPM needs to be strengthened, and needs to apply to all communities in Australia.

Please let me know if you will be supporting stronger national standards.

Yours sincerely,

How Australia Can Lead the World to Zero Carbon Prosperity

Beyond Zero Emissions wrote: “Australia must stop using the promise of a global treaty that won’t eventuate to duck responsibility for its ballooning coal and gas exports.

A moratorium on coal and gas expansion followed by a phasedown will drive a massive increase in global renewable energy investment.

Australia can lead the world to cheap, abundant renewable energy by deploying off-the-shelf, zero carbon technology that will grow Australia’s prosperity.”

» Read more on www.bze.org.au/laggardtoleader

» Read the report (PDF)

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CALENDAR

Wednesday 15 April at 6:00pm
Film in Eastern Garden: Project Wild Thing
Cost: Free – BYO a picnic dinner, chairs, blankets etc. Alcohol Free Event

Wednesday 15 April at 7:30pm to 9:30pm:
Community Owned Renewable Energy meeting
South Barwon Community Centre – 33 Mount Pleasant Road, Belmont, Geelong

Saturday 18 April at 2pm to 4pm
ENERGY FREEDOM Workshop 2: FIRST STEPS
Facilitated by: Hugh Venables from Beyond Zero Emissions

Sunday 19 April at10am-4pm
Melbourne Electric Vehicle Expo 2015
The Atrium at Swinburne University, Burwood Road, Hawthorn Cost: Free!
www.melbEVexpo.com.au

Friday 24 April to Sunday 26 April at 10am – 4.30pm
TRIPLE ECOLOGY GATHERING
– Sharing Deep, Sacred & Healing Ecologies with our Head, Heart and Hands

Monday 27 April at 7pm
‘Small is Beautiful’ film – Tiny Homes documentary
Film is organised using the Tugg website

More info below »

“This film will change your life”
Patrick Barkham, The Guardian

The film ‘Project Wild Thing’

The City of Greater Geelong invites families, teachers, carers and the general community to a screening of ‘Project Wild Thing’

Filmmaker David Bond is a worried man. His kids’ waking hours are dominated by a cacophony of marketing, and a screen dependence threatening to turn them into glassy-eyed zombies. Like city kids every-where, they spend way too much time indoors – not like it was back in his day. He decides its time to get back to nature – literally.

Project Wild Thing is a film-led movement to get more kids (and their folks!) outside and reconnecting with nature. The film is an ambitious, feature-length documentary that takes a funny and revealing look at a complex issue, the increasingly disparate connection between children and nature, coined ‘nature deficit disorder’ by psychologists.

When: Wednesday 15th April 2015 be there for a 6.00pm start
Where: Eastern Gardens Geelong
Cost: Free
BYO a picnic dinner, chairs, blankets etc. Alcohol Free Event
* Event will be cancelled in the event of inclement weather

Please book into a session via www.geelongaustralia.com.au

Community Owned Renewable Energy meeting: 15 April

“In 2014, Geelong Sustainability launched a community survey to find out where our members and the broader community wanted us to focus our work – overwhelmingly the message received was that the community wanted Geelong Sustainability to work towards a Community Owned Renewable Energy (CORE) project.

And that’s exactly what we are doing – already we have been promoting practical ways everyday people can change their energy footprint with Energise Geelong, and this month we have just launched the first ever community renewables crowd-funding campaign in Geelong to put solar panels on the South Geelong Primary School – Please donate if you are able.

Next, we are assembling a team to establish a Community Owned Renewable Energy project in Geelong. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Hepburn Wind and Repower Shoalhaven, we are looking to create an iconic renewable energy project right here in Geelong. To make this happen, we are calling on any interested persons to come to an initial meeting on Wednesday the 15th of April to discuss how we can setup a CORE project in Geelong.

Can you come to our meeting and be a part of our Community Owned Renewable Energy team?

Here are the details:
When: 7:30pm to 9:30pm, Wednesday 15th April
Where: South Barwon Community Centre – 33 Mount Pleasant Road, Belmont VIC 3216

This meeting will be the beginning of establishing a “CORE” team which will identify possible local project locations, evaluate existing CORE models, create costed project proposals, and identify any barriers in establishing such a project.
The meeting will be convened by Geelong Sustainability President Dan Cowdell and will be attended by other Geelong Sustainability members and like-minded people like you.

No matter what your skills, experience or time commitment, there are ways you can help us to make this project idea into a clean energy reality. Just imagine the town of Geelong powered by 100% renewable energy!

Please register for this event so we can provide you with a meeting agenda and background reading information prior to the meeting.

The rise of electric vehicles: Melbourne EV Expo 2015

The number of plug-in electric vehicles registered in Australia has jumped almost twentyfold in the past five years, from just 112 vehicles in 2010 to 1909 in 2014.

The groundswell of support for clean, green transport will be on show as hundreds of electric vehicle enthusiasts converge for the Melbourne Electric Vehicle Expo at Swinburne University on April 19.

Australia’s premier electric vehicle event, the Melbourne Electric Vehicle Expo will include displays of electric cars from leading manufacturers such as the Tesla S, Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 and i8.

There will also be solar cars, electric racing cars, electric bikes, scooters, motor bikes and more.

People will be able to test ride electric bikes and cars, hear talks from experts, see cars that have been converted from petrol to electric and inspect charging infrastructure.

Owners of electric vehicles will bring them to the Expo for display, with a Show N Shine competition to judge the best.
The Melbourne Electric Vehicle Expo, held for the third year running, is organised by the not-for-profit Alternative Technology Association (ATA). The principal sponsor is the RACV.

The ATA is Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisation promoting sustainable living.

Melbourne Electric Vehicle Expo 2015
Sunday, April 19, 10am-4pm Where: The Atrium at Swinburne University, Burwood Road, Hawthorn Cost: Free!
www.melbEVexpo.com.au

Small is Beautiful film screening in Geelong

“We’re hosting a screening of the documentary “Small is Beautiful” that you may be interested in. If it is appropriate to distribute through your networks then please do so. We think that the ethos, efficiency and practicality of small homes are an important component in our pursuit of sustainability.
Here’s some links as back ground on the small homes movement: Sanctuary website article here. Recent ABC article here.

The film is organised using the Tugg website and tickets can be pre-purchased here.

Small is Beautiful film – Tiny Homes documentary
When: Monday 27th April 2015, 7pm
Where: Village Cinemas, 194-200 Ryrie St, Geelong VIC 3220
Cost: $20, buy tickets here before 20 April.

Check out the film website here and the trailer here.

According to the small house movement, a Tiny Home is a return to houses less than 90 square meters. You can read more about Tiny Houses here.

“In Portland, Oregon, we meet four characters, each of whom are at various stages of building and living in their own tiny homes. Ben is a 20 something single guy with an inheritance to spend and a design he drew, but an ambitious timeline and no building experience. Nikki and Mitchell are a young couple who, along with their two dogs, dream of bucking the stereotypical life story of buying a big house but then spending the rest of their lives trying to pay it off. Karen, 50, has loved living in her tiny house for two years yet still struggles with the lack of permanency that comes with living in a house on wheels. Ultimately this story proves that it’s not what’s inside the walls of a tiny house that counts, but rather it is the strong community of like minded people who support each other as they dare to be different.”

Support urban trees

National Urban Forest Alliance would encourage you to take some time to assist them in the endeavour to have Urban Trees recognised in the National Carbon Offset Standard. To support the program all you need to do is complete the submission document to show your commitment to the importance of Urban Trees on a national front:

» Download the document

The Solar Bike has landed – in Copenhagen

Fully recharged the Solar Bike can reach 70 kilometres and can drive as fast as 50 km/h. Developed by the Danish engineer Jesper Frausig, The Solar Bike is nominated for an international design prize.

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