A lesson for the eco-friendly, learned from the Li...

I’ve been following the Liberal party’s meltdown about the emissions trading vote over the last week, mostly by following the #spill tag on Twitter and reading the updates at Larvatus Prodeo. It may end up having important consequences for Australia’s CPRS, but if not, it’s still revealed an interesting fact for those of us who care deeply about making a bright green future for Australia. The whole...

Fresh green links...

It’s been a big week for climate change news: Climate changing faster than predicted - an update from the IPCC has been released, with all indicators showing that things are worse than predicted. It’s interesting to note that when climatologists get it wrong, it’s because they’re being too optimistic, not too pessimistic. Australia’s Chief Scientist Penny Sackett has a really good explanation...

Riding to work: what’s it like?...

Clint going for a ride After thinking so much about transport this week, I’ve been trying to work up the courage to start bike-riding again. I did it a lot when I was about 12, but a few bad experiences in traffic (mostly my own fault!) put me off. But I think it’d be a great way for me to combine travel and exercise, so I’ve been talking to people who already ride a lot. One of these people is my friend...

Bright green future: how will we travel?...

Photo credit: www.pedbikeimages.org / Ryan Snyder Ok, so let’s get back to thinking about our bright green future. Today I’m imagining how transport would work for us all. At the moment, transport is responsible for 14% of our greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also responsible for a lot of other impacts on the environment, from peak oil to destruction of ecosystems to feed our need for more roads and carparks...

Peter Cundall arrested at anti-pulp mill demonstration - along with 50 other people, and a very polite arrest it was too. The link includes a short video of the arrest and Cundall’s comments about why he was protesting (see the links just to the left of the story). There’s a time and a place for civil disobedience, and I think Cundall has set a great example of how to do it right. Walk Against Warming - this...

So soon?...

::ahem:: I don’t want to scare you, but… Christmas is coming up soon! I saw decorations and wrapping paper for sale in the shops over a month ago, as is traditional for the Church of Retail Spending. But now I’m thinking that it’s really time to get planning for the holidays. Of course, if the last-minute rush gives you a thrill, then all I can do is wish you luck! I’m already writing my...

Movie review: Capitalism: A Love Story...

Movie poster for Capitalism: A Love Story Last weekend I saw Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, with a few people from our local GetUp group. It was a really interesting picture, with some indirect implications for environmentalists. Moore investigates the global financial crisis that came to a head last year. He looks at how corporate dominance of American politics has an impact on the...

Fresh green links...

10 Sesame Street environmental videos - a slideshow from Treehugger to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the most beloved children’s shows. I’d never seen Kermit’s “On my pond” before, it’s really cute! Oceans face acid test - ABC Science explains the other main effect of our excess carbon dioxide: ocean acidification. An excellent overview of the problem and it’s costs. Go...

Bright green gardens...

Sustainable garden at the Painted Fish B&B Last week I posted about how our homes will be greener in the future; today we’re going to step out into the spring weather and think about the kinds of gardens we want to become commonplace. I actually think that the big change in gardens for our bright green future will be that nearly everyone will do what only a handful of people have got set up already. At the moment,...

Bright green homes = small green homes...

Last week I posted about the way our houses will be built in the future, and CanadaGuy brought up a really good point: these days, our houses are much larger than they really need to be. I wrote about it a while ago (“How much room do we really need?”), but for some reason it slipped my mind when talking about bright green homes. Anyway, I thought you’d all like to see a video on this topic. It’s...