Geelong Sustainability

"The Napthine government will try to drum up interest in the vast but carbon-intensive brown coal reserves of the Latrobe Valley through a direct sales pitch to big mining companies. More than a year after it sought expressions of interest in opening up new coalfields in the valley, the government is turning to active promotion of 13 billion tonnes of unallocated brown coal, including to overseas companies."

"Yesterday saw the launch by Prime Minister David Cameron of the world's largest offshore wind power plant, the London Array, located in the Thames estuary, approximately 20 kilometres off the Kent and Essex coast.  Owned, developed and built by a consortium consisting of Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar (Abu Dhabi's state backed renewable energy company), it has a total capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) and will generate enough power to supply 500,000 British households with clean electricity.  It is estimated to reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 900,000 tons, equivalent to the emissions of 300,000 passenger cars. Construction involved over 75 organisations and 6,700 people."

"The Surf Coast council is planning to install solar panels on all its buildings to save power. The council has adopted a climate change policy for the next four years."

"One weekend in November, creative, passionate people will meet, form teams & get to work in an energetic, global, face-to-face event. They'll have fun creating brand-new real-world designs, projects and initiatives which might make a difference... join us!"

"Published on Jul 4, 2013 In this special report Anja Taylor looks at the domino effect of environmental and atmospheric factors that drive the globe to wetter, hotter, drier and colder extremes."

A fascinating infographic of iconic tourist spots under threat from human or other activity.

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 World Meteorological Organization just released its Global Climate Report (pdf), which wastes no time in announcing a stark truth. The report's first sentence: "The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest decade recorded since modern measurements began around 1850." Nine out of ten years between 2001 and 2010 were among the ten warmest in recorded history, according to the report, and the warmest year to date was 2010. For those worried about glacier melting, the heat spike wasn't isolated to land. The decade was warmest for both land and ocean surface temperatures. In case anyone still doubts the existence of global warming, take a gander at this chart:"

"This is a new installation of almost three-quarters of a million (749,088 to be exact) solar panels, which was completed just last week in San Luis Obispo County at the California Valley Solar Ranch. The massive solar panel project is a 250 megawatt facility, which is the equivalent of around 50,000 home solar systems."

"Edible City is a fun, fast-paced journey through the Local Good Food movement that's taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Introducing a diverse cast of extraordinary and eccentric characters who are challenging the paradigm of our broken food system, Edible City digs into their unique perspectives and transformative work, finding hopeful solutions to monumental problems. Inspirational, down-to-earth and a little bit quirky, Edible City captures the spirit of a movement that's making real change and doing something truly revolutionary: growing the model for a healthy, sustainable local food system."

Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it's inedible -- but because it doesn't look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources.

"ACT Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Simon Corbell has used his call-in powers to approve Australia's largest solar farm. Spanish-based company Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) will build the facility on 50 hectares near Royalla just off the Monaro Highway in Tuggeranong. The 20 megawatt facility will be made up of 83,000 photovoltaic panels and produce enough renewable electricity to power 4,400 Canberra homes."

"A joint Australian-UK study has found that deep soils store up to five times more carbon than previously thought. The research, conducted by scientists at Murdoch University, shows carbon is stored at depths of up to 40 metres. The paper's authors say the the findings merit a reassessment of the current measurements used to judge soil carbon stores."

"The world experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes during the 2001-2010 decade, which was the warmest since the start of modern measurements in 1850 and continued an extended period of pronounced global warming. More national temperature records were reported broken than in any previous decade, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Climate Extremes, analysed global and regional temperatures and precipitation, as well as extreme events such as the heat waves in Europe and Russia, Hurricane Katrina in the United States of America, Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, droughts in the Amazon Basin, Australia and East Africa and floods in Pakistan."

The world experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes during the 2001-2010 decade, which was the warmest since the start of modern measurements in 1850 and continued an extended period of pronounced global warming. More national temperature records were reported broken than in any previous decade, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

"Most business people who struggle to get their brains around long-term sustainability find it easier to grasp if they think about their children or grandchildren. Indeed, several CEOs I have worked with have pointed to their children as a key reason why they switched on to the agenda, one or two because they were beaten up (verbally, they say) at the family breakfast table. But the capitalist system thinks otherwise. In fact my title is a direct quote from a hard-hitting quarterly investor letter released a few days ago by financial analyst Jeremy Grantham. His message is that if we proceed on current capitalist lines, "the planet's goose is cooked.""

"The Geelong Better Block is over and Jason Roberts, cofounder of The Better Block, has toured Australia and returned to the USA, so what now?  Was it just a ripple through our urban fabric or has the spirit of the Better Block inspired others to reclaim our streets on a more regular basis?"

"People at risk of displacement from climate change and natural disasters do not want to be seen as refugees. Their predominant wish is to remain at home, but if circumstances force them to move, they want to be seen as valued migrants, moving in dignity and with humanity, with the respect of the international community. Policymakers need to appreciate that migration is one form of adaptation to climate change and, in consultation with affected communities, devise thoughtful strategies to facilitate this."

"Australia's carbon pricing mechanism has been vilified by the Federal Opposition and certain members of the business community, but it is a key part of Australia's response to climate change. So one year on, where does it stand? Far from being "absolutely catastrophic" and a "wrecking ball" to the economy as initially predicted by Tony Abbott, the Australian economy is still ticking over much as it was. Anyone with genuine concerns on the impacts of the carbon price should be comforted by experience to date, and those engaging in fear mongering will need to find a new story."

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.