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"Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan is turning to renewable energy, and especially solar power, in a big way. By the end of 2012, Japan had already installed 7.4 gigawatts of solar power capacity, but that's set to double this year, according to analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This stellar pace of growth in solar power is set to make Japan the second-fastest growing solar market in the world, second only to neighboring China. It will also make the country the holder of the third-largest total installed solar capacity, behind Germany and Italy."

"In 2008, the City of Yarra set a target to be carbon neutral by 2020. Not just council headquarters - the entire inner-city municipality. But how does a whole district go carbon neutral? It can't rely on government subsidies, or an unforeseen technological breakthrough, says Alex Fearnside, chief executive of Yarra Energy Foundation, the organisation established in 2010 to make it happen."

"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."

Tired of hearing that sustainable construction has to cost more, Josh and his colleagues want to prove that resource efficient homes can be built at comparable cost and timeframes to regular houses. The homes will be thermally comfortable year round, without the need for air conditioning or additional heating. They will generate more electricity than they use, and will harvest and recycle water. In addition to private garden areas, a common productive garden will supply both houses with fresh food. What sets this project apart from many others is that the building designs have achieved a 10 Star energy efficiency rating*, whilst intentionally using conventional building materials and construction methods so they can easily be replicated by industry and the wider community. The project also demonstrates a more sensitive approach to residential subdivision that has considered maximising effective garden area around the homes to allow for natural shading, children's play spaces and local food production - important health and lifestyle benefits that are rapidly disappearing from our suburbs. Construction started in November 2012 and is scheduled for completion by May 2013.

"Progressives should know the disinformers' most commonly used arguments - and how to answer them crisply. Those arguments have been repeated so many times by the fossil-fuel-funded disinformation campaign that almost everyone has heard them - and that means you'll have to deal with them in almost any setting, from a public talk to a dinner party. You should also know as much of the science behind those rebuttals as possible, and a great place to start is SkepticalScience.com."

"On 1 January 2009 the Victorian Energy Saver Incentive (ESI) scheme was launched to promote the uptake of energy efficiency improvements in residential premises. Submissions are invited on the key issues set out in this document and any other matters that stakeholders consider relevant."

"Solar panels make energy, but they take energy to make, too. And, until about 2010 or so, the solar panel industry used more electricity than it produced, according to a new analysis. Now, the industry is set to "pay back" the energy it used by 2020."

"By Giles Parkinson on 20 April 2012 California-based Sungevity is set to become the first solar company in Australia to offer zero-cost rooftop solar, teaming up with local company Nickel Energy to offer pay-as-you-go leasing deals that have proved enormously popular in the US."

BONN, Germany, May 24 (Reuters) - Greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 could rise to nine billion tonnes above what is needed to limit global warming as some countries look set to miss their emissions cut targets, a report by three climate research groups said on Wednesday.

"It's been a long, hot summer for most of us and with the run of high temperatures set to continue, air conditioners will keep getting a good workout. But many of us are wasting money through lazy energy consumption and bad habits. Australians have taken to air conditioning in a big way with an estimated 9.2 million units working to keep the summer heat away. Air conditioning is particularly energy hungry with many people wasting money on unnecessarily high electricity bills because they are ignoring a few simple ways to reduce their cooling costs."

"DIRECT ACTION is often perceived as an exercise in keeping up appearances: a fig-leaf policy from a government that has expressed little enthusiasm for serious action on climate change. But with the possible neutering of the Renewable Energy Target, Direct Action subsidies are set to be the main pillar of Australia's climate change mitigation effort as well as a new drain on our scarce fiscal resources."

"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."

Clean Energy Week is Australia's biggest event for the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry, incorporating ATRAA (Australia's largest solar event), a huge trade exhibition, two awards programs and a clean energy debate on the 2013 conference theme of 'rethinking energy'. Hosted by the Clean Energy Council, Australia's peak industry body, the week delivers the latest news on policy initiatives and technology developments, as well as the opportunity to make valuable new contacts and close critical business deals. After drawing more than 2500 local and international delegates to Sydney for the 2012 event, Clean Energy Week is set to be even bigger when it comes to Brisbane from July 24 - 26 in 2013.

Closed Loop specialise in setting up programs that maximise usage from your existing waste systems. When additional infrastructure is required, we can provide you with state-of-the-art equipment via our local and international relationships.

"RATEPAYERS are finally set to get some relief from soaring power bills with the rollout of LED street lighting. The state-owned electricity distributor Ausgrid - which owns and maintains 250,000 streetlights on behalf of 41 councils - has been trialling power-saving LED technology in Australian conditions over the past 18 months. Now councils across Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter will become the first in Australia to be part of a grid-wide rollout of the energy-saving technology."

"Australia is set to get more solar power into the grid with two new large scale PV farms. AGL Energy Limited recently announced that two large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects have managed to secure funding thanks to agreements with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the New South Wales (NSW) Government. The projects are expected to produce approximately 360,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to meet the needs of over 50,000 average homes in the Australian region of New South Wales."

"Obama has set a new goal of having 20 percent of the federal government's energy use come from renewable power by 2020, which includes the Army, Navy, and Air Force deploying a combined 3 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade."

"The world's largest home-furnishings chain, Ikea, is set to buy a wind farm in Ireland from Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd, Bloomberg has reported. This is part of a plan by Ikea Group to invest $2.5 billion in wind and solar assets by 2015. The 7.65 megawatt wind farm, being built by Mainstream, is expected to begin generating power by 2014. Ikea will take ownership at that point."

"People never seem to question science when it underlies something easily valued - like iPhones and other handheld devices. We either take it for granted or celebrate science-based products like G.P.S., Global Positioning Systems, which guide drivers and pilots and allow heavy machinery or a farmer's tractor to be operated with a precision that approaches ballet. And people are always eager to take advantage of the latest advances in medicine."