I’m leaving on a jet plane…...

I won’t be posting as often over the next two weeks, as I’m off for a well-deserved holiday with a good friend, in a place that has unreliable internet connections However, this is still relevant to environmental issues, since I’m flying to my overseas destination. My round-trip is about 27660 km altogether. According to a few carbon-calculators, this creates approximately 9.4 tonnes of greenhouse-gas...

A new government…...

… a new chance for Australia to make a real difference to the impact of climate change. Now that Kevin Rudd and the Labour party have been elected to run the show for us, what’s in store? One of Rudd’s major election promises was that he would ratify the Kyoto Protocol - but was it just a ‘non-core’ promise to sway the voters, or is it the beginning of a new era of environmental responsibility...

Election Watch...

This is my last post before the Federal Election on Saturday - I thought I’d provide one useful item and one funny item, because I think we’re all pretty tired of the campaigning by now! Firstly, GetUp has a How Should I Vote questionnaire, that compares your opinions to those of the candidates in your seat, and tells you which ones you have the most in common with. They also have an election FAQ, which covers...

Dreaming of a green Christmas: food...

Today we’re looking at ways you can green your Christmas meals with your family and friends. Food is an area where we can make a big difference with our choices, and I think it’s pretty easy compared to greening your gifts or decorations. When it comes to feeding your family and friends, you can use the same guidelines that you would to make your own meals more eco-friendly. I’ve written about these...

Dreaming of a green Christmas: gift ideas...

Last time I went through some ways you can choose greener Christmas gifts. Today I’m listing my favourite green gifts! All of these products are things I’ve either given, received, would like to give or would like to receive myself. I’m a bibliophile, so my favourite place to do Christmas shopping is in a bookstore. Kids love Graeme Base’s books (remember Animalia?). He’s written a couple...

Dreaming of a green Christmas: gift-giving...

Gift-giving has the potential to be the most eco-unfriendly part of Christmas - there’s the driving to and from the shops, the pressure to buy quantity instead of quality, the potential to choose the wrong gift if you’re in a rush or buying for people you don’t know well, which leads to wasted resources as those gifts end up gathering dust or thrown out. But thinking green not only reduces the environmental...

Walk Against Warming...

Yesterday we went to the Perth Walk Against Warming protest march, which was held in Fremantle. We took advantage of the free public transport to get there from the city.We got there a bit early, and picked up a sign to carry. They had 4 or 5 different climate change signs for the people who hadn’t brought their own. We wandered around the Esplanade park doing some people-watching. There were also stalls for various...

Dreaming of a green Christmas: cards and wrappings...

Cards and gift-wrappings are an area where you can make a huge difference to your eco-friendly Christmas. The usual way is to buy rolls of Christmas paper, maybe ribbons and tags as well, to wrap all your gifts in, while sending out dozens of cards to all your friends, family and co-workers. By following the reduce-reuse-recycle mantra, you can really make this part of Christmas a lot greener. Reduce Does everyone you...

Dreaming of a green Christmas: decorations...

I like Christmas decorations: they make me smile, and get me in the mood for the silly season. But they’re not always the most eco-friendly things, so here’s some suggestions for ways to lower their impact. Trees Generally, you’re looking for either real trees, or something you plan to use for a long time so that you avoid waste. My grandmother used to decorate a eucalyptus branch each year! Pinus...

I’m dreaming of a green Christmas…...

At Christmas everyone enjoys the chance at the end of the year to focus on family and friends and loved ones. We all want to remember what’s important, and think about what we want for the future. We like to show people we care about them by sharing food and gifts together. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go… but often we spend more money than we should, or eat too much, or just get sick...