A lot of attention has been given to the graphene in recent months. The product of an experiment in a Manchester University laboratory only eight years ago, graphene has quickly risen to be the star of material science. Stronger than any known substance, light and flexible, superconducting, and photoelectric graphene is a material with...
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The Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (what a mouthful!), has recently added an Education Portal to their website, with entry points for students and teachers, though the information reached doesn’t seem to be significantly different for the two groups. Categories include Sustainable Living, Biodiversity, Marine, Heritage, Land, Water, Parks, Indigenous...
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The price of solar panels fell by almost 50% over 2011, contributing to a boom year for the solar industry – also contributing of course were deadlines for various solar grants and subsidy programs both here in Australia and over seas. What this means for homeowners of course, is that even if they have...
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“Going green isn’t about buying green – it’s about NOT buying.” This is the focus of a workshop coming up this Saturday, March 10, run by Tricia of Little Eco Footprints fame. The workshop will take place at the Fair Share Festival in Newcastle (NSW), and Tricia says “participants will leave with a few...
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US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced a six-year, US$180 million initiative to capture wind energy off American coasts, with an initial US$20 million available this year to start up to four offshore wind energy installations. In choosing projects for this new funding, the Energy Department will be looking for “highly innovative technologies that...
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If you use a GPS or satellite navigation device in your car, then ou may be doing your bit for the environment without even knowing it. Recent independent research shows that car drivers who use a GPS product have a more positive effect on the environment when compared to a driver who does not. ...
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Swap Shuffle Share is the brainchild of Natasha Kuperman and is all about swapping and sharing local produce. The “backyard food revolution, “, it began in Melbourne, but has now gone national. The Swap Shuffle Share website was launched on Australia Day – January 26, 2012 – and allows people to create a profile,...
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In the US, over 5,000,000 homes have been foreclosed since the bank bailout. With the housing crisis at the crux of the economic breakdown, just think how different things would look if even half those five million people had chosen to build a tiny house, ten years ago. On December 13th Tumbleweed Founder and...
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In Australia, all new homes, renovations, alterations, additions, and even relocations now need to comply with the new 6 Star Standard rating for energy efficiency. The Standard, which came into force in May 2011, is designed to reduce green house gas emissions from Australian homes. It applies to all new houses, townhouses and apartments,...
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With youth unemployment now at over one million in the UK, skills upgrades are more vital than ever. In respose to this need, Cultivate London began an urban farming project in March, in which young people aged 16-24 can learn real gardening skills. The project has both apprentices and trainees, supported by a head...
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While Seattle is working towards the use of fewer paper cups, Australia’s Northern and Capital territories will soon be using far less plastic bags. From 1 November 2011 no retailer in the ACT will be able to supply the single-use, light weight polyethylene bags that have been the standard in supermarkets for many years....
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Extreme bushfires, floods and of course drought are all set to increase in Australia’s capital – as elsewhere – over the next few decades, according to a new report prepared for the Australian Capital Territory’s government. The report predicts that with the two degree temperature rise expected over the next fours decades Canberrans will...
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American households spend around $2000/year on their power bills, but they could reduce this by several hundred dollars by making a few simple changes, according to US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. As a combined effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Ad Council, a consumer education campaign designed to help...
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Australia will have a carbon price within 12 months, and it will be $23 per tonne. Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the details of her government’s carbon price package on 10 July, following the commitment vote in favour from independent Andrew Wilkie two days earlier, after a long scare campaign from the Opposition. The...
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In 2010 China was the world leader in investment in renewable energy technology according to the UN’s Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011. Globally investment was up almost one third in 2010 over 2009, at a record US$211 billion, and for the first time developing economies put more into ”financial new investment” than developed ones. Global...
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The Welsh village of Llangattock in the Brecon Beacons National Park has been named the UK’s greenest community and won $100,000, in a challenge that encourages neighbourhoods to save and generate as much energy as possible. To win the prize the community team undertook an audit of the energy efficiency of the whole community,...
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The world’s first mass market, zero emmission car will arrive in Australia in 2012, while the world’s largest electric car charge network will give the car the same range as petrol cars. Beginning with the ACT in the second quarter of 2012, Better Place will be rolling out its network which will include both...
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Renault, partnering with Gestamp Solar, has launched the global automotive industry’s most ambitious solar project. They are installing enough solar roof panels on their French plants to reduce CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes a year. The project’s power capacity will be by 60MW – enough to power a town of 15,000 for a full...
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US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced almost US$15 million for eight new research and development projects into high-efficiency solid-state lighting technologies like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). LEDs and OLEDs can last 25 times as long as incandescent light bulbs and be as much as 10 times more efficient than...
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An estimated 45,000 people attended rallies in support of “climate action”, saying Yes to a price on carbon, around Australia on Sunday. Rallies were held in most capital cities. It was frigid in Canberra with temperatures around 10°C and wind gusts up to 45km/hr, but thousands marched up to Parliament House to tell politicians...
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