Group items tagged

"The troubles of electric-car-maker Fisker Automotive have fueled another round of debate about whether plug-ins can live up to their promises. The California start-up, which had already halted production and laid off most of its employees, missed a federal loan paymentMonday and told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that it may not be able to avoid bankruptcy. This is probably the end of the road for Fisker. But definitely not for electric cars. Let me dispel some of the myths."

"The heat is on for the planet as a whole, but what has been happening where you live? Click a place on the map to find out, or enter a location in the search box in the top right-hand corner."

Plastic Free July is a simple idea developed in 2011. It aims to raise awareness of the amount of plastic in our lives by encouraging people to eliminate the use of single-use plastic during July each year. Plastic Free July is an initiative of the Western Metropolitan Regional Council (WMRC) in Perth, Western Australia. It was developed by clever Earth Carers staff. It has now gone worldwide.

Planet Under Pressure 2012 was the largest gathering of global change scientists leading up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) with a total of 3,018 delegates at the conference venue and over 3,500 that attended virtually via live webstreaming. The Plenary sessions and the Daily Planet news show continue to draw audiences world wide as they are available On Demand.

Investment in renewable energy infrastructure is outstripping that for fossil fuels. Investment was equal in 2008, but the balance has swung since. During 2011, globally, $40 billion was invested in fossil fuels. $260 billion was invested in renewables.  In the past year the price of photo voltaic cells has dropped by 50%. Peter Newman describes the growth of investment in renewable as exponential. He says we are living through one of the most dramatic periods in history as fossil fuels are being phased out.

"Food and packaging waste is not simply something that 'goes away' when we pop it in the rubbish bin for collection by our garbos. Waste has an insidious, long-term impact on our environment, our wildlife and ultimately our own health. But how do we avoid it? In an age of excess consumption and a mindset of convenience-at-all-cost, is it possible to truly be waste free? The free-to-watch documentary shows how food and plastic waste can be avoided, drawing attention to much of the unnecessary packaging that is choking our lives, oceans and animals. It also gives an insight into the environmental and social impacts of our wasteful ways."

"In 2011, when ProPublica first reported on the different health problems afflicting people living near gas drilling operations, only a handful of health studies had been published.  Three years later, the science is far from settled, but there is a growing body of research to consider."

"The Gunditjmara seasonal calendar is presented for the interest and information of the broader community to demonstrate the Gunditjmara people's deep understanding of the environment in which they lived. Traditional seasonal calendars are very different to western calendars. For Indigenous people, seasons are not bound to specific dates but are based on climatic conditions. The on-set of rains or the arrival of hot weather signified the passage of time and triggered different activities."

"THE Newman Government has back-flipped on a proposed plastic bag ban amid concerns of a voter backlash. A day after telling The Courier-Mail the ban was being considered as part of an overall waste strategy, Environment Minister Andrew Powell has confirmed he's now changed his mind. A spokeswoman for Mr Powell said the Government was no longer considering a ban on plastic bags and in a statement Mr Powell cited cost of living issues as the main concern."

"Over 15 years ago, Melbourne mounted a long-term campaign to change the way it uses energy and has attracted international acclaim for its commitment to sustainability. This has included encouraging bike riding and public transport and improving building efficiency. One notable example of this is the Council House 2 building, Australia's first six-star green star new office design building. Completed in 2006, some of the building's features include recycled water use, automatic windows, sun-tracking facades for shade and roof-mounted wind turbines to draw out hot air."

"While the Coalition didn't release a 2013 election policy document explaining how they'd reduce emissions, they did release a document outlining how they'd axe the tax. The document is entitled The Coalition's Policy to Deliver Lower Prices by Scrapping the Carbon Tax. Within it is an excellent idea well worth supporting, in that it will highlight just how 'brilliant' the Abbott government's cost of living 'relief' will be when it axes the carbon tax. "

"Since the Waubra wind farm started generating power in 2009, the town has acquired a dubious reputation: the so-called `Waubra Disease' is now known internationally. But how much sense does it make? Whilst there's a small number of complainants among the population of 500, there are also 30 families hosting turbines on their land as well as many turbine neighbours -- including community leaders - who live happily with the turbines. Neil Barrett has been researching the Waubra situation for the past year. Whilst his attempts so far to understand the issues raised by complainants have been unsuccessful, it has become clear to him that the apparent good health and well-being of the turbine hosts and most of their neighbours deserves to be more widely known. "

"Bjorn Lomborg has a plan to help poor low-lying countries from Kiribati (featured above) to Bangladesh threatened by rising seas and worsening storm surges. Delay real climate action, but invest in R&D to develop artificial floating islands for them to live on. OK, that isn't literally his plan, but it is figuratively. Lomborg argues that: 1) there is a trade-off between efforts to fight poverty and efforts to fight climate and 2) the best way to fight climate change is to let emissions keep rising while spending gazillions of public dollars on R&D."

Waterlife is an interactive story about the water cycle in the Great Lakes. Waterlife is a twenty part story through which students can learn about the role of water in our lives. Through the story students learn about things like fishing, pollution, invasive species, wetlands, and the politics of water conservation. When students select a part of the Waterlife story they will be able to hear narration, see visuals, and read the text of the story. Some parts of the story also contain links to external resources that student can explore.

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that the battle for global sustainability will be won or lost in the world's cities. Cities and urban areas are estimated to account for 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and more than half of the world's population live in them, so what we do in our urban centres will, to a large extent, define the future of our world. Governments are struggling to agree on action against climate change, but thankfully many city authorities are just getting on with tackling the problem as best they can. Element takes a look at what authorities in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are expecting, how they are trying to minimise the damage and preparing for the worst, and how their plans shape up against those elsewhere."

"These maps are based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the Australian Government agency tasked with the administration of the Renewable Energy Target. For each postcode and local government area, the map shows the estimated percentage of dwellings that have a PV system and the total photovoltaic capacity installed. Most of the PV systems in Australia are small-scale rooftop installations; however there are a number of larger-scale PV power stations with a capacity of more than 100 kW. These power stations are indicated by individual markers. Live performance data is available for systems in the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, and at the University of Queensland."

"There have been fierce arguments this week about whether it's opportunistic to discuss climate change in connection to the devastating New South Wales fires. Amid all the bluster, it's surprising that we've heard so little from one group of experts: frontline emergency service workers, including the firefighters risking their lives for the rest of us. Yet if you do ask for their opinion - as we did for a study released in June this year - many, ....... , are not reluctant to talk about climate change. In fact, quite a few of the emergency workers and planners we interviewed said we should be talking about it more, if our communities are to be better prepared for disasters like the one unfolding in NSW right now."

"The 'Pathways to Deep Decarbonisation in 2050: How Australia can prosper in a low carbon world' report, released 23 September 2014, presents an illustrative deep decarbonisation pathway for Australia - just one of many possible pathways - developed using a combination of well-established modelling tools to identify feasible and least-cost options.  This work finds that Australia can achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and live within its recommended carbon budget, using technologies that exist today, while maintaining economic prosperity. Major technological transitions are needed in some industries and many activities, but no fundamental change to Australia's economy is required. The technologies required for decarbonisation are currently available or under development. The analysis shows that deep decarbonisation requires neither substantial lifestyle changes nor large changes in Australia's economic structure."

"Published on 22 Sep 2014 Tomorrow, the UN begins its first Climate Summit, enlisting the world to work together on a problem that's too big for any single country to solve alone. Economist Lord Nicholas Stern helped write a report that outlines where we are now - and what we could do next. It's a big vision for cooperation, with a payoff that goes far beyond averting disaster. He asks: How can we use this crisis to spur better lives for all?"

Energy Made Easy is an Australian Government website maintained by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). Under the National Energy Retail Law, which came into effect on 1 July 2012, the AER developed and must operate a price comparator website. The aim of Energy Made Easy is to help residential and small business energy consumers to navigate the often complex electricity and gas retail markets to find a suitable energy offer. The website also allows you to understand and compare your residential electricity usage against other similar households living in their area and to learn about energy related topics such as energy efficiency, contracts, bills, your rights and obligations, and the energy market.