Green Drinks reminder!...

This Tuesday the Perth Green Drinks are on again, organised by the lovely Wilma We’ll be at the Claremont Pub from 6pm, and there’ll be a couple of short talks: Wilma is telling us about Scoodi, and Alex is telling us about the Somerville Eco Village project. If you’re not in Perth, see if there are any Green Drinks events happening near you. I don’t always have the time to go, but every time...

How to reduce the chemicals in your home...

How do you clean your house? If you’re like most people, you use sprays to clean your benchtops, sprays for your windows, sprays for your mirrors, some liquids for your floors. If you’re like me, you probably use an oven cleaner reluctantly - I’ve never seen one that didn’t require a complete airing of the house after it’s been opened. Maybe you’ve got a few hard-core grime removers...

Have your say on the Garnaut Climate Change Review...

The Garnaut Climate Change Review is releasing it’s draft report on 30th June. If you live in a capital city on the mainland, you can attend a public forum to have your say about it. Professor Garnaut will be travelling around the country from the 7th to the 11th of July to host community discussions about the report. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to attend, but if you can’t, you can email or...

Rapid decline in Arctic ice...

On Tuesday, Brian from Larvatus Prodeo posted 7 graphs showing the incredibly rapid decline in Arctic ice last year. It beats all other extremes that have been recorded already, and shows how close we are to the point of no return. Scientists previously predicted that the Arctic ice-cap would be no longer there during summertime by 2040, but have now revised that date to 2012. When it’s gone, we’re looking...

What is geosequestration?...

One of the major items on our government’s list of “Things to Do to Help the Environment” is paying for more carbon sequestration experiments. In the recent budget, they allocated $500 million towards research into ‘clean’ coal. But what is it, exactly?Carbon sequestration is also known as geosequestration or carbon capture and storage (I prefer the last name, because it’s easier to...

Happy birthday!...

A friend reminded me that one of the earliest posts I made was about going to the Sustainability Home show last year - I checked and realised that today, June 13th, is the first birthday of my blog!I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who’s been reading since the beginning, and welcome to anyone who’s picked me up recently. When I started writing here, I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in...

Water Forever workshop...

The Water Forever workshop yesterday was very interesting and I learned a few new things. In the morning there were short talks, followed by group discussions on the topic. In the afternoon people had their say to the whole group. The topics were: Water Use and Efficiency; Water Sources and Recycling; and Water in the Environment. I had fun chatting with people from all sorts of different backgrounds - architects, market...

Water Forever workshop...

This Wednesday I’m going to the Water Forever Options workshop, held by the Water Corporation here in WA. The day will feature presentations about water use, efficiency, sources, recycling, climate change and so on, with a “Have Your Say” section as well. I don’t really have much to say myself, but I’m interested to learn what the Water Corp is doing about getting enough water for our growing...

World Environment Day...

Tomorrow, June 5th, is World Environment Day. It’s a UN Environment Program (UNEP) event that takes place every year with a different theme. This year, the host city is Wellington, New Zealand, and the theme is “Kick the Carbon Habit”. Cities around the world are having events to mark the day, but I couldn’t find just one list for the Australian happenings. You might have more luck by searching...

Some new green products...

On Friday night I went with some friends to the Sustainable Home Show at the convention centre. There were mostly the same exhibitors we saw last year, with a few new products and services. As always, the WA government’s Sustainable Energy Development Office booth was good, with free thermometers, magnets and compasses to give away. The new product that caught my attention was an LED bulb to replace halogen lights....