Geelong Sustainability

"Hands up if you've ever bought a bread-maker or a surfboard only to find it sits gathering dust. If you've got unused resources or don't want to fork out for something you might only use once, collaborative consumption could be the answer. Thanks to the global movement there are now numerous ways to share, rent or swap. Websites bring people together to share meal preparation (mamabake.com), rides (jayride.com.au), offices (hubaustralia.com), clothing (clothingexchange.com.au); holiday accommodation (airbnb.com), skills and knowledge (weteachme.com) and all manner of stuff (freecycle.com)."

An interesting infographic on world wide consumption comparisons

"The Gumtree Garden is a pop-up bar that showcases the unique gems you can find on Gumtree. Award-winning interior designer Dana Tomic-Hughes of Yellowtrace has taken on the challenge to create a bar using items sourced from Gumtree.com.au. With Dana's designer flair, the Gumtree Garden is an imaginative, creative space for guests to enjoy a casual after-work drink or select a meal from the Gumtree Garden's bespoke menu that has been crafted by Hayden Quinn. The bar is open to the public from 5pm each day, Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th November, and is located at Kendall Lane in the heart of The Rocks, Sydney."

"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."

ABC Gardening Australia program on 9 Nov '13 - Jerry shows how to build a simple veggie box using a foam box,

"For the first time ever, environmental groups have staged a mass walkout of a U.N. climate summit. Citing immense frustration with the lack of productive action in the COP19 climate talks, which have been dogged by a persistent rift between rich and poor countries on the responsibility of paying for climate damages, hundreds of people from dozens of environmental groups and movements from all corners of the Earth have voluntarily withdrawn from the talks. According to a spokesperson for Oxfam, around 800 civil society members (which is the label applied to all advocate and activist types at these meetings) have walked out. In a joint statement, group leaders offered that "the best use of their time" was to now focus "on mobilizing people to push our governments to take leadership for serious climate action.""

A new paper shows which companies extracted the carbon-based fuels that have caused climate change. Hover and click to explore

"The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated since the dawning of the industrial age, new research suggests. The companies range from investor-owned firms - household names such as Chevron, Exxon and BP - to state-owned and government-run firms."

"Global greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels reached the highest levels in human history last year, driven predominantly by Chinese growth, and are projected to surge even further in 2013. New data from the Global Carbon Project - a team of international scientists who track global emissions - finds carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels and making cement grew 2.2 per cent in 2012 from the previous year. In 2013 a further 2.1 per cent rise is expected. But the latest data suggests the world's emissions could be slowing. The approximate 2 per cent growth in 2012 and 2013 falls short of the 3.1 per cent average annual rise since 2000. CSIRO climate scientist Dr Pep Canadell - who is also executive director of the Global Carbon Project - told Fairfax Media the emissions rates of the past two years could be the tentative signs of a global slow down."

"BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron says there is growing evidence that climate change is causing catastrophic events such as the huge storm that killed thousands of people in the Philippines."

"The fall in Australia's electricity demand has accelerated significantly, forcing the Australian Energy Market Operator to make a significant downward revision to its 2013/14 demand forecasts less than six months after its previous downgrade. The AEMO said in an update issued overnight that electricity demand for the first quarter of the current financial year had been a whopping 3.5 per cent below its forecast issued in June."

"The fact that the business-as-usual pursuit of profits and growth is destabilising life on earth is no longer something we need to read about in scientific journals. The early signs are unfolding before our eyes. And increasing numbers of us are responding accordingly: blockading fracking activity in Balcombe; interfering with Arctic drilling preparations in Russian waters (at tremendous personal cost); taking tar sands operators to court for violating indigenous sovereignty; and countless other acts of resistance large and small. In Brad Werner's computer model, this is the "friction" needed to slow down the forces of destabilisation; the great climate campaigner Bill McKibben calls it the "antibodies" rising up to fight the planet's "spiking fever"."

"Hawkesdale P12 College is a small, rural school of about 230 students from prep to year 12, located about 15 kilometres north west of the Macarthur Wind Farm, in SW Victoria. We have a history of excellent results at VCE level, award-winning teachers and an innovative ICT program. This letter is seeking support for our education for sustainability programs, specifically to allow the VCE Environmental Science class of 2014 to attend the Actions for Earth Global Youth Summit in January."

"President Barack Obama required federal agencies on Friday to present plans to combat climate change. An executive order mandated steps to make it easier for communities "to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather and prepare for other impacts of climate change," according to a White House statement. It also creates an interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, charged with overseeing federal efforts at fighting climate change."

"Along with being a fun holiday for tricks and treats, Halloween is an opportune time to shine a ghostly light on the evil energy vampires lurking in homes. Those ghoulish fangs - also known as plugs in the wall - suck frightening amounts of electricity all night (and day) long, even when bloodthirsty electronics and appliances are turned off or doing nothing useful. The chilling truth is that as much as one-tenth of the electricity devoured in our homes vanishes as "standby power" - electricity feeding perpetually plugged-in electronics and appliances even when they're idle for long periods of time, like in the dead of night."

"More than 1,500 barrels of crude oil per day gushed from the "Jake" oil well when EOG Resources drilled and fracked the well into the Niobrara shale in northern Colorado in the fall of 2009. That gusher marked the beginning of one of the biggest oil booms in the state's history, part of a larger shale oil rush playing out in Colorado, Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere today making the U.S. the world's leader in oil production this year. Those booming shale oil and gas plays are all successful because of advances in fracking and horizontal drilling technology and the speed with which companies are drilling new wells. In some regions, the booms are playing out near homes and schools in suburban areas, particularly in Colorado, where they contribute to widespread concern about climate change-driving methane leaks, air pollution, groundwater contamination and the industrialization of residential areas."

"The Climate Change Authority is reviewing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The Targets and Progress Review addresses two broad topics: Australia's progress towards it medium and long term emissions reduction targets; and Australia's emissions reduction goals."

"One third of articles in Australia's major newspapers rejected or cast doubt on the overwhelming findings of climate science, with climate sceptic Andrew Bolt monopolising coverage of the topic in several high-circulation News Corporation titles, according to a new analysis. A study of 602 articles in 10 newspapers by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism found that 32% dismissed or questioned whether human activity was causing the climate to change. The articles were analysed between February and April in 2011 and again in the same period in 2012."

"Eleven companies that perform hydraulic fracturing in Canada have signed onto a new code of conduct aimed at alleviating public fears about the practice. The code - which outlines standard practices for technical and environmental performance, as well as guidelines companies should follow when dealing with community groups and other stakeholders - was unveiled Wednesday in Calgary by the Petroleum Services Association of Canada."

"On that cold day, we were told not to get our hopes up. Carbon farming was not going to be the great solution for boosting lean incomes. Boost your soils because it will be good for your land and your crops, we were told, not to make a motza out of carbon farming."