Reduce, reuse, respect, recycle 8 April, 2008

I recently went to a Green Office update meeting at work. As part of the session, they brought out a box of discarded items, and we had to say whether or not it could be put in the recycling bin. I thought it was going to be rather boring because I thought I knew it all… well, guess what, I learnt something!

You know the thin plastic trays that packets of biscuits and the like come in to stop the bikkies from breaking? Well did you know they can (generally) be recycled?? Look closely to see if there is a recycle symbol imprinted on the plastic (you know the triangle with arrows). If it has one of those triangle thingys, it can be recycled!

Yay, less going into general rubbish! (But boo for all the stuff I’ve been putting in the rubbish instead of the recycling all this time…) Don’t forget though, as well as recycling, we need to be aiming to “close the loop” (I’m yet to figure out how we can affect this one).

More info on the little numbers inside the triangle on TreeHugger.

Queensland Unplugged 2 April, 2008

Thursday, 3 April 2008 is ‘Queensland Unplugged Day’.“Every appliance that uses standby power is wasting energy, generating greenhouse gas emissions and costing you money.  Standby power may not seem like a big deal but it all adds up. If every Queensland household turned off unnecessary standby power, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be the same as taking over 130,000 cars off the road!  If every household in Queensland turned off just one TV when not in use rather than leaving it them on standby, it would save enough energy to power 4,300 homes!”

Makes you think heh?  Go to the Qld EPA ClimateSmart website for more info on this (and other stuff):

http://climatesmart.qld.gov.au/get_involved/standby_power

Earth Hour 27 March, 2008

Don’t forget Earth Hour this Saturday 29th March from 8pm-9pm your local time. I’m glad to say that my workplace is participating. There’s a pretty globe to look at which shows where individual participants are located all around the world (bit funny though how we’re turning out lights off for the event, but supporters are shown with lights…).

One less car 21 March, 2008

I just bought a new bicycle!! So it’s good bye cheap second hand hot pink ladies bike, hello slick black new bike! It’s a hybrid. Any suggestions for names? When I had a hybrid in Melbourne I called it Trannie (you know, cause it was half this, half that).
I live for the day when commuting to work by car is as taboo as smoking in public, 10 minute showers and receiving plastic bags at the supermarket.

Plastic lives 20 February, 2008

It’s great that people are talking about how by the end of the year, free plastic bags will be no more in Australia.

I wonder if there are people thinking how are they going to handle their household rubbish now that plastic shopping bags will no longer be available. (I never understood the logic behind buying plastic bin liners, as free plastic bags have always been available.)

I know that my Dad doesn’t use eco-friendly bags (you know the (usually green) ones you can buy) because he likes getting the free plastic bags to use for the bins. So I asked him what he’ll do once we have to start paying for them. Being the conscientious spender that he is, I was surprised to hear that he’ll just pay for plastic bags. I’m sure there will be plenty of people with similar thinking, so I wonder how much of the plastic bag problem will be addressed by just implementing a charge for them.

Anyway lately I’ve been trying to think of what I can use for bin liners instead of the plastic shopping bags. Once I started looking for alternatives, I discovered so many options! Bread bags, dirty vegie bags (you know the ones you get off the role for your fruit and vegies), plastic wrapping from a pack of toilet rolls, plastic wrapping from new applicances or anything that comes in a box… so many opportunities for bin liners! This is probably made easy by just having a baby size bin on the bench rather than a big standing one. Since I’ve been collecting different types of bin liners, my pile of them has been increasing instead of decreasing. Can you think of any other creative bin liner options?

WAW this Sunday 7 November, 2007

Walk Against Warming, this Sunday 11 November 2007, all around the world. Go for it!

Decision made vocal = action 28 August, 2007

Recently I had a nostalgic excursion to the university I studied at 10 years ago to attend a climate change workshop. It was difficult to understand why the rooms in the eco centre where the workshop was held were named after big mining companies (oh that’s right economics always wins in the end, boo); but easy to understand how people become active in something they are passionate about!

I was certainly motivated by meeting all these people who are doing so much in their local communities and committing themselves to action.

At the end of the day we broke into small groups and told the others the one environmental action that we would take as a result of the workshop. Consequently, today I finally joined the Green Office Program at work. Why not check out if you have such a thing in your workplace.

Plants or ice 30 July, 2007

I went to another free public lecture recently. I hadn’t really heard too much about green roofs before, but I’m told it’s not a new idea – the vikings and others in history had green roofs.

The idea is that you have a strong roof with a layer of concrete, a layer of soil and a layer of greenery – like grass, plants, shrubs or veges!

It helps Urban Heat Island effect, where cities are warmer than rural areas due to sunlight reflecting off other buildings. It helps insulate the building, thus requiring less air-conditioning. It means there’s not as much water run off (although not a problem in Brissie at the moment!). It can even increase the life-span of the roof (just make sure it’s a structurally strong!).

In some countries there is legislation regarding green roofs, and there are lots of green roof ideas – tops of car parks, bus stops and dog houses, and green walls for really tall buildings.

So green roofs sound more sustainable than ice to me.

Ambassador Live 17 July, 2007

Recently one of Al Gore’s ambassadors spoke at The University of Queensland on climate change. I learnt:

• So much ice in Greenland is melting that maps need to be redrawn.

• Only we can rescue ourselves.

• Earth is so small compared to the universe, so the problem can’t be too difficult to resolve!

• We are already have enough knowledge to fix the problems.

Many of the slides shown in Al Gore’s ambassador’s presentation can be seen on You Tube.

If Al Gore can have an ambassador, can I have one too?

It’s population stupid 17 June, 2007

On a cold (well, by Brisbane standards anyway) and windy day, a bunch of people gathered in Queen’s Park to voice their ideas about climate change… the perfect conditions in which to be reminded that we have the opportunity to follow Spain’s example – 27% of Spain’s energy comes from wind.

Several speakers put their message across by whole-heartedly telling the plight of different people and different causes. Firstly the original owners of Australia were recognised – I didn’t know that so many of Brisbane’s places have Aboriginal names – Coottha (=honey bee), Indooroopilly (=gully of leeches), Nundah, Keperra, Yerongpilly, Coorparoo and Woollongabba (now I know why I have trouble spelling them!).

Brisbane’s got something to be proud of – they are one of only two city councils in Australia to commit cutting carbon emissions. Their aim is to cut their emissions by half by 2026.

As we marched around the city, and as we blocked traffic, it put me in high spirits to watch people’s reactions – a middle-aged lady clapping us from inside a bus, people stopping to watch and read the placards and take photos, people clapping and cheering us on (including the Big Issue guy). We stopped in the middle of an intersection to boogey to the DJ playing music from a shop to the open street, and I dreamt of an impromptu street party in daylight Brisbane.

The “stop this business as usual politics” message was supported by Guerilla Movement (grassroots hip-hop) with their line about how “Every day is Environment Day”. (I chatted with Guerilla’s Mark at Tongue N Groove in West End the other night!)

I enjoyed the afternoon, but there’s one thing that’s still puzzling me – the placard that said “It’s Population stupid”. Any ideas what that might mean?!