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Welcome to eFuture, where you can explore Australia's electricity future through to 2050. eFuture is a snapshot of the complex modelling CSIRO carries out every day to support government and industry as they make decisions about energy investment and policy. Based on CSIRO's energy sector model, you can select options and instantly view charts showing changes to Australia's future electricity sources, greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of electricity. With the release of the Australian Government's Energy White Paper (2012), CSIRO is excited to launch eFuture, a way for those interested in energy to explore the future energy scenarios similar to those presented in the Energy White Paper.

Right now Australia faces a choice: we can continue our dependence on fossil fuels, keep mining and burning coal, keep polluting our air and water. We can keep damaging our farmland and heath, be left behind the rest of the world on investment and face an uncertain future with an unstable climate. Or we can make the switch to 100% clean renewable energy, creating a safer, healthier happier future for all.  Join us to ensure Australia makes this choice to help the turn the vision of a 100% Renewable future into a reality.

Renew Geelong's air, spirit and economy with renewable energy - Sign this petition! 48-hour petition - until Tuesday. Share on Facebook and Twitter. Forward this e-mail.  ________________________________________________________   We're hoping the citizens of Geelong will speak up and take a stand in this wind farm drama about community backing.  Let Hydro Tasmania know that there are community groups who object to these secretly funded anti-wind campaigners who allegedly have no worries about climate change. Support Hydro Tasmania in their $2 billion plan to combat carbon emissions and global warming - and to boost sustainability in Victoria.  The petition started today and closes on Tuesday 25 June. (Sign the petition and send a personal comment to the board of Hydro Tasmania:  https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/board-of-hydro-tasmania-renew-geelong-s-air-spirit-and-economy-with-renewable-energy ________________________________________________________ Comments to Hydro Tasmania from the first signatories: "Geelong has relied to long on out dated technology and fossil fuels, renewables energy is our future."(~ Katharine Drummond-Gillett   "Renewable energy projects would revitalise Geelong's economy." (~ Vicki Perrett   "The Geelong and broader regional community are committed to moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle, evident through community actions, changes in manufacturing sectors, the Cleantech Innovations Geelong supported by Geelong Manufacturing, the City of Greater Geelong and community to transition to a renewable energy economy."(~ Suzette Jackson ________________________________________________________ This petition is organised by Parents for Climate Safety More information about the petition: www.climatesafety.info/?p=2970 ________________________________________________________

"Bill Gates sees meat alternatives a a big part of the future of food. On his blog, The Gates Notes, there is a feature called The Future of Food, where he explains how food scientists are starting to reinvent meat, and how this could help the whole world. Gate explains that worldwide meat consumption has doubled over the past two decades and is expected to double again by 2050 when, as we know, world population is expected to reach at least 9 billion. It is just over 7 billion now."

"Ferguson spies a green energy future … and steps on the gas"

"On 9 May 2013 The National Sustainability Council presented Sustainable Australia Report 2013 to Minister Burke. The report provides a picture of Australia - what we look like and who we are. It tells the story of how we have changed as a nation over the last 30 years. We have made great progress in many areas. Australians are living longer, our health and levels of educational attainment have improved. We have benefited from a strong economy, with low unemployment and increasing incomes. However, inequality has increased and the health of our natural environment has continued to decline in some key areas. The report provides an evidence base for decision-making and planning about the future. It highlights a number of trends in Australia and the world that are set to have a significant impact on the next generation of Australians. We need to plan for an ageing population, rising health costs, growing cities and changes in traditional work and family roles. The National Sustainability Council intends to use the report, the first of its kind in Australia, as a starting point for a national conversation about our future."

"Coal-fired electricity may have little or no economic future in Australia, a new analysis has found. While the new government seems determined to turn its back on renewable energy, our study shows that even without a carbon price, and even with the assumption that carbon capture and storage will eventually become commercially available, coal may not be able to compete with renewable electricity."

"The Future Economy Group, a new coalition of businesses and environmental leaders, has joined forces to research and advocate the importance of innovation and natural capital to Victoria's economy. We sponsored detailed research that shows that nature and economy are inextricably linked and quantifies the impact on the Victorian economy and jobs if our environment continues to decline. It shows that we can grow the economy and jobs by modernising Victoria's economy into one that is built on innovation and values nature. Based on this research, the Group then developed the Future Economy Plan, a roadmap to modernise Victoria's economy. It provides a series of powerful ideas for change, and urges the government of Victoria to take action now to convert the state economy from 'business-as-usual' to one that can meet the challenges of the 21st-century."

"Climate science is a complicated beast, and making solid predictions about the future is never easy. Forecasting exactly how our agricultural systems will cope with changing climate conditions is not straightforward, but it is clear that we can't take bountiful harvests for granted. We will need innovative adaptive measures to ensure that our agricultural systems cope with feeding the future generations."

"A new study adds to evidence that future warming will produce lower average rainfall around the world, even though Earth's past warming episodes led to more precipitation. A team of Chinese and US scientists modelled climate data over the last millennium. Their work may help resolve intense debate surrounding palaeoclimatic records and model projections of future greenhouse gas warming."

One of the world's most complex experiments on the impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide is taking shape in eastern Australia, where giant steel frames nine stories high have been built on native woodland.  The project near Sydney will mimic future climatic conditions by simulating higher atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is pumped into an environmental "time machine" on the outskirts of Sydney, aiming to predict how vegetation will react to future climate change.

"Micro-algae - future fuel for rural Australia"

THE myth that solar power is unreliable because clouds sometimes cover the sun has been dispelled by a world-first report produced by the CSIRO. While clouds or rainy weather drastically reduce the amount of electricity produced by solar panels, intelligent management of the power grid means panels and mirrors should still supply 40 per cent of the nation's energy in the future, the report said.

"...... it's fitting that a man who produces and uses such massive amounts of energy has made a documentary discussing our energy futures. In Ten Bucks a Litre (8:30 tonight on ABC1), Smith looks at the technologies that could provide our energy over the coming century. He not only looks at them - he drives, flies and fangs them one after the other."

Acting together for a sustainable future - Sustainability is about making sure the social, economic and environmental needs of our community are met and kept healthy for future generations. As an agency of the Victorian Government, Sustainability Victoria has a simple goal: to integrate sustainability into all aspects of Victorian life so that living sustainably forms part of what we all do every day."

"Post Carbon Pathways: Towards a Just and Resilient Post Carbon Future Learning from leading international post-carbon economy researchers and policy makers This report draws on in-depth interviews with leading international researchers, policy makers and activists on actions needed to drive the rapid implementation of large scale post carbon economy transition strategies."

"LED bulbs: The end of the lightbulb as we know it?"

"Increasingly the things we throw away have value. In a consumerist world, with diminishing resources, rubbish is being recycled like never before. The recycling industry is now worth $US500 billion a year and it employs more people worldwide than any other industry except agriculture. Trash is no longer just an environmental problem, it's an economic opportunity. We learn how the stuff of our past is helping to fuel the demand of tomorrow."

"Population, Sustainability, and Earth's Carrying Capacity: A framework for estimating population sizes and lifestyles that could be sustained without undermining future generations by Gretchen C. Daily and Paul R. Ehrlich"

"Protect the rights of millions of Australians with solar to cut bills, create clean power and take energy generation back into our own hands."

Solar Citizens is a new community project to bring together existing and future solar owners to ensure the rights of solar owners are protected and to help see Australia put a panel on every rooftop.

This report describes the outcomes from a CSIRO global foresight project. It presents six megatrends that will redefine how the world's people live.