Geelong Sustainability

"The biggest impediment to climate action these days is not because of the human frailties that science is hell-bent on resisting - those alleged failings of opinion, belief and emotion. Ironically, it's exactly because we are still trying to suppress them that we are now stalled."

"New figures from the Clean Energy Regulator show Hoppers Crossing, followed by Werribee and Cranbourne, are the top three suburbs by solar kilowatt capacity installed. The latest data debunks the widely circulating myth that solar power is a feel-good hobby for wealthy environmentalists. Advertisement And a new report by Roy Morgan Research shows that home solar is continuing to grow in popularity, despite cuts to incentives such as the feed-in tariff for selling solar-generated electricity back to the grid."

"A coal-fired power station in Canada is launching carbon capture and storage on a commercial scale. Could this make burning fossil fuels guilt-free?"

"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."

"StudentCam is C-SPAN Television Network's annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation. Students in grades 6-12 were asked to create a short (5-7 minute) video documentary on a topic related to the competition theme, "A Message to the U.S. Congress - What's the most important issue the U.S. Congress should consider in 2014?" "

"The Sustainable Seafood Guide is the first Australian app that gives information on the sustainability of over 100 kinds of seafood. The app is a fully mobile version of the Australian Marine Conservation Society's printed and on-line consumer guide - www.sustainableseafood.org.au"

"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."

"The Clean Energy Regulator has today released the 2012-13 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) data publication. The publication includes the total scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions, total scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and net energy consumption data reported for the 2012-13 financial year for these corporations."

"Australia is getting wetter despite drought across much of the country, a climate report has revealed. The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology's latest State of the Climate report is a snapshot of how Australia's weather has changed over the last two years." This is the ABC report including video and downloads

"Weather and climate touch all aspects of Australian life. What we experience here at home is part of the global climate system. The Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO contribute significantly to the international effort of weather and climate monitoring, forecasting and research. In State of the Climate, we discuss the long-term trends in Australia's climate. This is our third biennial State of the Climate report. As with our earlier reports, we focus primarily on climate observations and monitoring carried out by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO in the Australian region, as well as on future climate scenarios."

"In the 1900s, energy shortages led to breakthroughs in the use of fluorescents. In more recent years it has been all about improving affordability and efficiency. But what's the next bright idea in lighting? Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are where it's all at. OLEDs are an emerging technology that deliver bright, thin, highly efficient displays with excellent colour purity. "

"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."

"The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society cordially invite you to join us for the release of "Climate Change: Evidence & Causes," a new publication produced jointly by the two institutions. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked."

"Carbon Visuals is dedicated to helping everyone on the planet make more sense of the invisible. Images, films, animations and interactive web tools provide a fresh and visual communications approach."

"Due to its reliance on fossil fuel, Australia's power system is now among the least resilient of its global competitors. The three part series, "Delivering a competitive Australian power system" seeks to address this issue. This paper, the final in a three part series examining the competitiveness of Australia's power system, seeks to identify a pragmatic strategy to transition Australia to a resilient power economy at reasonable cost and in an age of uncertainty. The resilience of a country's power economy refers to its ability to meet power requirements while withstanding supply shocks and environmental constraints. For a country's power economy to be competitive, it must be both affordable and resilient."

"The interactive maps allow you to zoom in or out, to select a specific mode of transit to examine, and provides a color-coded key as well as roll-over notes that will give you an idea of the percentages of people using that method of travel. Play with the maps of these cities to learn about the transit habits of people in your area. Or, if you're planning on relocating, see if one of these cities accommodates walking and biking to work or if cars rule the roads. There are many ways these interactive maps offer information: we hope they give you some interesting insights!"

"There is no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms or wind farm noise directly causes health effects. That's the finding of the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) much-anticipated draft systematic review of the evidence on wind farms and human health, released yesterday. This report takes the number of reviews published on the issue since 2003 to 20. And all have reached the same broad conclusions."

"President Obama's Science and Technology Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, explains the polar vortex in 2 minutes-and why climate change makes extreme weather more likely going forward. Learn more at "

Climate change has become a difficult concept for the general public to imagine, with an array of scenarios each affecting the world differently. The federal government, nonprofit groups and individuals have come up with visualization tools to help the public better understand the impacts that climate change may have not only on the world, but also at the local level.

"Despite powerful evidence that climate change threatens our economies, our health and our safety, we remain slow to act on environmental protection. What is behind our collective inaction?"