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"From his own patch of turf in Coburg, Emilio Fuscaldo can see south all the way to the skyscrapers. The grass is on his roof. It's one of only a few residential green roofs in Melbourne. Mr Fuscaldo is the founder of Nest Architects; his motives were both private and public. ''It's incumbent on architects to practise what we preach. I wanted to show that you can devote a large percentage of your budget to sustainability,'' he says. ''You can compromise on other things, such as kitchens, cupboards and tiles, and still achieve a beautiful result.''"

"Despite controversial funding of climate deniers and a management team with a fleet of jets, Google is leading the way on greening its energy supplies"

"Green Cross Australia helps people adapt to our changing climate, in ways that embrace sustainability and community resilience. We are motivated by our understanding of a resource-constrained, warming planet and our belief that this challenge presents opportunities for a bright future. Our mantra, Think + Act + Share = Change, is key to every project we deliver. We believe the power of our projects is empowering Australians to take practical, informed action. So we don't just focus on awareness, we encourage people to take action, and then give them the tools via social and digital media to share their actions with their friends."

"The 2009 Green Light Report is a Victorian Government initiative detailing the environmental attitudes, behaviours and household features of Victorians."

"Eco Electronic Brands" Green Gadgets, Flexible Solar Panels, Solar Chargers

A Cape Paterson community will feature houses to run without fossil fuels

"Like the civil rights movement, environmentalism has changed the way we think. It has engendered a new respect for the natural world, an understanding of the delicate balance of life in our biosphere and mass engagement on the most important issue of all, climate change. Yet it has failed in a profound way. Advertisement As a movement ushering in solutions to halt or slow climate change, it has been catastrophically ineffective."

"The Endeavour Centre is excited to begin the Canada's Greenest Home project, a residential build in Peterborough, Ontario that we are undertaking with the students in our five-month, Sustainable New Construction certificate program. Throughout the design and construction of Canada's Greenest Home, we will make every effort to publicly detail the entire process on this blog, so please follow along. We are sure to have a steep learning curve, and we want this learning to be a legacy of the project."

"Earth Day 2013 came and went in April with the usual fanfare of green festivals, volunteer programs, company campaigns and reflections on the question, "How are we doing, anyway?" On this last point, the answer this year seemed to be a somewhat lukewarm, "Well…we've been better.""

"The world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer is joining forces with environmental groups in a global campaign to rouse the "silent majority" of people who support renewable energy to fight back against what it claims is "misinformation" spread by some anti-wind activists that is threatening the industry."

"The City of Greater Geelong is leading the way to sustainability through a range of initiatives including the launch of Cleantech Innovations Geelong, the city's first Green Star rated building - a $45 million library redevelopment - and new Living Greener courses being offered by the Geelong Sustainability Group."

"UK cities pay to send rubbish to Norwegian incinerators, but green campaigners warn of dangers"

"Simply put, as we evolve towards individuals accessing cloud services via wireless, cloud services will not be the energy savers they were once promoted to be."

Finding creative solutions to energy issues has become a major priority for Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page in recent years. For the obvious reasons -- a growing population, increasingly scarce resources, and climate change -- he believes that the corporate world needs to operate more sustainably, and he is determined to build the nation's first zero-carbon company. This means a business that ultimately is so energy efficient and uses so much clean power that it emits no greenhouse gas -- a very tall order indeed. Experts aren't sure whether it's even possible for a company to emit no carbon, but Google is trying to come as close to that goal as possible. "As we became a bigger user of energy, we wanted to make sure we were not just part of the problem, but part of the solution," says Urs Hölzle, Google's employee No. 8 and a senior vice president who oversees the company's green initiatives.

I'm a freelance journalist in Melbourne, Australia. I write about environmental, social and community issues. I am often inspired by the people I write about, so I hope you will be too. You can find most of my published articles on this website. I write a weekly column called Greener Homes in the Domain lift-out of the Sunday Age.  

"The greening of American energy is both real and profound. But there's a flip side to this American success story. Even as our nation is pivoting toward a more sustainable energy future, America's oil and coal corporations are racing to position the country as the planet's dirty-energy dealer - supplying the developing world with cut-rate, high-polluting, climate-damaging fuels. Much like tobacco companies did in the 1990s - when new taxes, regulations and rising consumer awareness undercut domestic demand - Big Carbon is turning to lucrative new markets in booming Asian economies where regulations are looser. Worse, the White House has quietly championed this dirty-energy trade."

"Most Australians overestimate how much they are doing for the environment compared to others, and are more concerned about water shortages, pollution and household waste than climate change, a new CSIRO survey reveals. Taken over a period of July to August last year, it is the latest in a series of annual national surveys on Australians' attitudes to climate change involving more than 5000 people from across urban, regional, and rural Australia. (You can read about past survey results here and here.)"

Asphalt paving was removed and replaced with "structural grass," rigid plastic honeycomb cells sprinkled with ordinary lawn seed and nurtured into green swaths. Concrete strips were embedded on two sides, creating a durable driving surface. Permeable brick pavers were installed in driveways and at the lane way entrances; these allow rain water to infiltrate between their joints and into the ground, reducing  run-off, the bane of municipal storm sewer systems. The effect is both practical and pleasing to the eye. No more cracked and potholed pavements. Traffic on the countrified lanes continues, but motorists must slow down to navigate the concrete driving strips. The grassed lane ways are cooler than asphalt in summer and they don't emit the dreaded "off-gassing." They have also passed the test of time; they still look fine, almost bucolic.

"The Federal Government has sparked significant debate with the confirmation it intends to move from a fixed carbon price to an emissions trading scheme next year. But where is the description of the long term, low carbon future for Australia? Aside from the 90% renewable energy target proposed by the Greens, the major parties are slim on long-term vision."