Geelong Sustainability

"The green games (environmental games) featured on ecogamer.org have been designed and created by developers. You may wish to visit the websites of the featured games to obtain additional information. The following is a list of online environmental games. Most of the green games are suited for people of all ages; nevertheless some games contain themes geared toward adult issues."

"CSIRO has invented a new three in one solar air conditioning system that provides hot water, cooling and heating. It works by using heat from the sun and employs both desiccant and evaporative cooling technologies. See how the technology can work in the home."

"While the news about climate change seems to get worse every day, the rapidly improving technology, declining costs, and increasing accessibility of clean energy is the true bright spot in the march toward a zero-carbon future. 2013 had more clean energy milestones than we could fit on one page, but here are 13 of the key breakthroughs that happened this year."

"For the past three years it's been an occasional pleasure and a frequent privilege to work with the academics who contribute to The Conversation's Environment & Energy section. It's not just the soil jokes and the hilarious profile pictures: it's the opportunity to see a whole bunch of actual evidence about environmental issues. Academic writing is replete with facts. Facts aren't just awesome because they help you win trivia; they can also be the foundation of evidence-based policy. Karl-Ludwig G. Poggemann Click to enlarge Here are some facts I've learned in 2013."

"As much of inland and eastern Australia sweats through its first heatwave of the summer, a new interactive website has been launched to track where the heat is coming from and to map past heatwaves across the country. Extreme heat has killed more Australians than any other natural hazard in the past 200 years. For example, more people died during the 2009 Victorian heatwave than the Black Saturday bushfires. But as scorcher.org.au explains, a heatwave is more than just one hot day. "

"By the end of this century, Earth may be home to 11 billion people, the United Nations has estimated, earlier than previously expected. As part of a week-long series, LiveScience is exploring what reaching this population milestone might mean for our planet, from our ability to feed that many people to our impact on the other species that call Earth home to our efforts to land on other planets. Check back here each day for the next installment."

"Australia has a problem with its power system that goes to the core of many issues we're facing at the moment - increasing coal and gas prices, changing electricity usage, and climate change. That's the problem of resilience: how well our power system can adapt to change. Right now, our power system is not in a position to adapt to change. If temperatures rise as expected; if the global price of coal and gas increase dramatically; if global carbon reduction becomes binding; or we start changing our electricity usage patterns, adjusting the system will be very expensive."

"For more than a decade, the question of how global warming is affecting the scariest storms on the planet - hurricanes - has been shot through with uncertainty. The chief reason is technological: In many parts of the world, storm strengths are estimated solely based on satellite images. Technologies and techniques for doing this have improved over time, meaning that there is always a problem with claiming that today's storms are stronger than yesterday's. After all, they might just be better observed."

"These results for 2013 reveal just how strongly China is swinging behind renewables as its primary energy resource. This is consistent with the 12th Five Year Plan (running from 2011 to 2015) which projects that China will be generating 30% of its electric power from non-fossil sources overall by 2015. This is a level far higher than comparable industrialized countries."

Stranded Down Under? Environment-related factors changing China's demand for coal and what this means for Australian coal assets

"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."

Why not think outside the gift box this festive season ? Checking it Twice is a free service helping you find great Christmas gifts that are better for the planet, people and animals.

"Superannuation (or pension) funds represent the single largest pool of money in the world, more than $30 trillion. What does that have to do with climate change? Taking a more active role in our investments and how they are managed represents a huge opportunity for securing a more sustainable, low-carbon future. This report consolidates analysis and review of the impact of climate and carbon risks on superannuation savings. It builds on work The Climate Institute has done with its partner organisation the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) and looks at the emerging civil economy movement, in the context of fossil fuel divestment campaigns and activism activities such as the The Vital Few campaign. On this page you'll find the report and related content including infographics, videos, podcasts, photo essays and presentations. "

"In recent years, Europe has suffered a rising number of extreme weather events - from unprecedented heat waves and droughts to record-breaking floods, wind storms and freezes. These events do not respect borders and it is vital that Europe's policy makers come together to devise common strategies to help mitigate the physical, human and economic costs. This new EASAC report based on a comprehensive collection of scientific data from the last 20 years provides just such a rallying call."

As it sheds a dirtier, oil-dependent past, Scandinavia has become a mecca for green energy, design and policy, boasting some of the world's most efficient buildings, lowest fossil fuel use and boldest emission targets.

"A new report released today into Australians' attitudes to mobile phone usage and recycling shows that there are now 23 million old mobiles in Australia ready to be recycled - one for every person - and this number is expected to increase. 'Mobile Australia: A report into how we use and recycle our mobiles' developed by not-for-profit recycler, MobileMuster, is the first time a report of this nature has been publicly released, showing that Australians are more aware than ever of mobile phone recycling but are holding onto their old mobiles for range of reasons [1]." http://www.mobilemuster.com.au/media/39176/mobilemuster_annualreport_2013_lr.pdf

"The "sunburnt country" of Australia has now passed the milestone of having a substantial 3 gigawatts of solar power installed, RenewEconomy has reported. That amounts to over 1.1 million (1,157,000) solar systems installed nationwide, on 14% of all dwellings. In the state of South Australia, 25% of households have solar installed. In the very sunny northern state of Queensland, solar has reached the 1 gigawatt mark, which amounts to 22% of dwellings."

The table below is a record of Australian climate change policies. Key international developments are also included to provide global context.

"A national survey on energy affordability carried out by CHOICE, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Energy Efficiency Council revealed 84 per cent of Australian households are concerned or very concerned about energy costs. The same percentage felt it was important or very important for their State Government to help rein in these costs.     However, instead of screaming for renewable energy support to be hit to cut the cost of power - a default choice it seems for many politicians - this was the least popular action in the survey. In fact, knee-capping renewables had a negative net approval rating in every state. "

"Plants in pots… it's hardly a new or revolutionary concept… I mean, we are all well acquainted with the potted Maidenhair fern in the bathroom, a dusty 'Parlour Palm' struggling for life in the corner of the office, or the ubiquitous 'Peace Lily' given as a gift when we can't think of anything better. But what about productive plants in pots? Imagine a 'movable feast' in your inner city courtyard, providing a fair whack of the food you love to eat? A bounty of beautiful herbs out by the BBQ, or tonnes of tumbling tomatoes at your townhouse? Just about anyone has room for a few pots at their place, and we reckon you will be amazed by just how much produce you can grow in just about any space!"