Organic yummies...

During the week I received the Biome hamper sent to me by G Magazine - it’s fantastic! What’s in it? 2 Dagoba organic chocolate bars (berry and hazelnut) Choc-covered liqorice and choc-covered sun-muscats from Green Grove Organics A pack of Oz Tukka bush spices Murray River salt flakes Finger-lime marmalade from Kurrajong Native Foods Olive paste with herbs from Rosnay Blueberry and grape paste from Bio-Grape Patrice...

The Weather Makers...

If you’ve been wondering how Earth’s climate works, what global warming is, and how it creates climate change, then Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers is the book for you. Flannery starts by explaining how our climate works and what we’re currently doing to change it. His enthusiastic approach to explaining the science makes this book far more entertaining to read than a dry recital of statistics....

Other green car options...

So, even though we bought a secondhand Prius to replace our old car, what were our other options? Fuel-efficient petrol cars The less petrol you use, the fewer greenhouse-gas emissions you create. Buying a fuel-efficient car is the easiest green choice for cars now, as the fuel-efficiency is marked on a sticker on all new cars sold in Australia, as is the amount of pollution it will create per 100km. However, it’s...

The Big Switch...

Now that climate change is on the agenda for the upcoming federal election, have you wondered what your MP thinks about it? Probably not! But now that I’ve asked you, I’m sure you’re curious The Big Switch sent out a survey about climate change and it’s solutions to each sitting Member of Parliament. You can search for your Federal MP to see what their climate change policies are. If they haven’t...

We now own a (used) Prius...

We got our used Prius yesterday, trading in our old car. We used it for all our usual Saturday errands, and it was great! I haven’t gotten used to the display showing when the car is using the battery, regenerating it, or using petrol, so I keep staring at it. But Dave has adjusted and finds it much the same as any other dashboard display now. Click the photo to see the large version at my Flickr account. Our old...

Buying a car, part 2...

A few weeks ago I wrote about how we were trying to make the greenest possible choice when buying our new car, and then I went quiet on the topic. The plan was to try different types of green vehicles and report on them in the blog - but we’ve ended up with a different plan after all. When we took a Prius for a test-drive, it was with the understanding that although it’s currently the greenest option available...

Sustainable House Day...

On the weekend I went with a couple of friends to see one of the homes open for Sustainable House Day. The event is in its 6th year, held every year on the second weekend in September across Australia and NZ. It gives you a chance to see how people are making their homes more sustainable. Then we went on to see Josh Byrne’s sustainable garden, which wasn’t far away. The Painted Fish This home is actually a...

Extension on pulp mill decision...

Federal Minister for the Environment, Malcolm Turnbull, has given himself a 6-week extension to decide on the Gunns’ pulp mill in Tasmania. He says he’s going to use this time to get a scientific assessment (something Gunns has tried to avoid) and go through the public submissions from activist groups. The way I see it, he’s got 3 choices from here: override Tasmania’s state government and prevent...

Are you enrolled for the election?...

The Federal election date should be called soon - and 24 hours after it’s announced, the electoral rolls will close. It used to be that you had a week to check that the Australian Electoral Commission had you on the list at your current address, but earlier this year the Coalition passed a law shortening that time to just one day. If you’re not enrolled correctly, then you can’t vote. So, please, check...