Fresh green links...

It’s been an interesting week! Rudd announces 50,000 green jobs and apprenticeships - mostly in the building industry, which is great. But as the Australian Conservation Foundation points out, the funding is for the unemployed, and we need to upskill people already working in the industry. And the Greens, while supporting the move, say that it’s not much good to have green skills if you won’t make serious...

Glass and plastic and imports, oh my...

I took this photo on the weekend, in a big department store in the city. The more greenie I become, the more stuff like this disturbs me. In just a few metres, we’ve got water from: Australia, in plastic bottles (top right, middle left) Australia, in glass bottles (middle right) Fiji, in plastic bottles (top left) Italy, in glass bottles (bottom right) Norway, in designer glass bottles All just in case you get...

The problem with CFL bulbs…...

… is that because they last so long, I don’t often get a convenient opportunity to clean out the light fittings that cover them. The lightshades in our bedroom and living room are full of little bugs and dust. We’re pretty lazy in this household, but when we had incandescents we’d at least get a chance to clean the shades once a year

Fresh green links...

Hello again! Baby loggerhead turtles washed away - if you see loggerhead turtles anywhere other than Shark Bay in WA, don’t just throw them back in the water, the little cuties are probably lost. These endangered turtles prefer warm water, so let your local wildlife authority know about them. 3 simple changes to get fit and green at the same time - I’m posting this to remind myself not to let winter weather...

Hey Mr Grumpy Gills...

It’s been a depressing few months for environmental news in Australia. Just recently we’ve had all of these bits of news: Rudd thinks a Copenhagen agreement will be difficult to reach Senator Fielding wants to re-run the debate over whether climate change is real or not Two-headed fish in Queensland, from pesticides in the water Fruit and veg crops will fail unless we move them or stop climate change It’s...

The South-West’s big blue backyard...

The Great Barrier Reef is famous for it’s unique coral reef environment, and stunningly beautiful fishes. It’s a fantastic place to visit, and many people know about the pressures being put on it’s environment. But it’s less famous counterparts around Australia don’t get the same level of protection and interest, which is a shame. The South-West of Australia has even more unique species than...

Fresh green links...

Bundanoon bans bottled water - this article from the UK’s Guardian tells how it started when a bottled-water company wanted to extract water from the town, then package it and sell it back to them. They’ll be selling reuseable bottles instead, with free tap and filtered water available everywhere. I think this is great - bottled water is one of those small things that has a big impact, why try to find ways...

Going paperless: magazines...

As you know, I’m trying to go paperless in my life. I’m tired of forests getting chopped down for pulp mills, and I’ve signed as many petitions as I can, and contributed money to the anti-deforestation campaigns. And now I’m trying to get my use of paper down to a bare minimum. One of my most un-green habits is my magazine addiction. I used to spend over $40 a month on the glossy, short-lived things. I’m...

Jobs for some but not others...

A few weeks ago, ALP Senator Penny Wong annoyed me hugely with her response to the National Climate Emergency Rallies: “What many of these people are calling for simply can’t be done. It can’t be done while supporting jobs.” (via) What a crock. Apart from the fact that the Garnaut Review and the Stern Review prove her to be flat-out wrong, it also shows a ridiculously narrow view of what a job actually is. Because,...

Fresh green links...

Government begins Great Barrier Reef project - more than $50 million will be provided for protecting the Great Barrier Reef. It’s part of the Caring For Our Country program launched last year, which allocates $400 million to new environmental projects, often run by community or local environmental groups. Urban retrofits - how to make a city green without tearing it down and replacing it with all-new stuff. This...