Power Up

Yet another great report by the Catalyst team. This weeks story explored how individual households can generate power and feed it back into the electricity grid (at a profit).


Sadly, there is no online video, but there is a transcript of the episode on the Catalyst website.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in doing this yourself, it is relatively simple. My energy provider (Origin) has a Solar Energy section of their website which is quite helpful. They can even set it up for you.

Eco-Office Block

ABC's Catalyst programme is quickly becoming one of my very favourite shows on television. Recently, they did a report on "CH2" - the nickname for one of Melbourne's most advanced buildings.


Compared to the average office block, it uses 15% as much energy, and 30% as much water - just by using clever design. You can watch the video at the Catalyst website.

Bill Day :)

It's not often that recieving a bill is a happy time - but it does happen occassionally.


Regular readers may remember my energy efficiency measures such as installing Energy Efficient Lights and adjusting the Hot Water System. I knew (in theory) that these would result in energy savings, but the bill would be the confirmation.

The hot water was down from 581kWh to 397kWh - a 32% reduction. Regular electricity was also down from 397kWh to 366Kwh - an 8% reduction. Some of this may be due to having shorter showers (due to the water shortage) but it's also due to the efficiency measures.

Of course, i also subscribe to Greenpower, so the other joy of getting my bill is reading the update of how many tonnes of carbon dioxide i have saved, by getting energy from renewable sources.

More Jobs, Less Pollution

There has been a fair bit of talk, mainly from the PM, about how cutting greenhouse gases would cost jobs in the coal industry. This may not be a lie in itself, but what has been ignored is the thousands of jobs that would be created in the renewable energy...... until now!


A report released yesterday [download report] showed that if Australia set a renewable energy target of 25% by 2020, it would actually boost the Australian economy by creating 16,600 jobs and generating 33 billion dollars of new investment in Australia.

Of course, it would also reduce Australia's greehouse gases by 69 million tonnes - almost the equivalent of all of Australia's transport emissions.

Quotes from the news article:

Legislating a renewable energy target of 25%, coupled with energy efficiency measures, could actually save Australian households around $84 each year on their electricity bills.
- Don Henry, ACF’s Executive Director

Australia has unrivalled solar, wind, and geothermal resources and should be a leader in creating a vibrant and job-rich energy industry. Yet due to current Government policies, we’re throwing away our competitive advantage and renewable companies are moving offshore.
- Mark Wakeham, Energy Campaigner

Hybrid Ships?

It may sound strange, but it's true. And a good thing too - with the shipping industry accounting for more than double the greenhouse gases of airlines.

According to a report on Lateline, a German engineer has invented a kite/sail that he calls Sky Sail, which uses wind power to reduce the fuel consumption of large ships. In optimal conditions, his invention can save up to 50% on fuel, though it is typically between 10 and 35%.


Meanwhile, back here in Australia, the people at Solar Sailor have designed ferries that use wind and solar power to reduce fuel consumption by up to 85%.

All Aboard!

Even when you try everything to reduce your own greenhouse emissions, sometimes you wonder if it makes that much difference. Well take heart - it does. Even small changes (made by a lot of poeple) make a big difference.

Take Greenpower for example. From info on the official Greenpower website, i made the following graph. It shows the increasing number of households that have chosen to get power from renewable sources.


I found it to be quite inspiring. I hope you do too. Hopefully this amazing growth rate continues as people realise that this is a better way to get their energy.

Future Brisbane

If you live in Brisbane, you may be aware that in August last year, the City Council set up the Climate Change and Energy Taskforce. The taskforce report "A Call for Action" can now be downloaded from the council website.

The report has recommendations for Brisbane’s future, and will be debated by council on Monday April 30. In the meantime "community feedback" (that's us) is encouraged via the forum or by emailing climatechange@brisbane.qld.gov.au

Please do so! Even if you don't have time to read the whole report, you can still use the email address to let them know you want action.

Earth, Wind and Fire

The 4 Corners programme on ABC did a great piece this week about renewable energy. If you missed it, you can watch it online through the 4 Corners website.

The report is very informative, and I can thoroughly recommend it.

How Much Sun?

If you listen to coal companies etc, you might hear talk that renewable energy can never meet our energy needs. Clearly this is wrong. The map below shows how much area would be needed to power the whole world from solar power alone.


Obviously we have other sources of renewable power, so we wouldn't even need as much area as is shown on the map. But it still shows that there is plenty of solar power.

If you want more information about this check out the website of Mattias Loster.

How to be Carbon Neutral

There's a lot of talk about being "Carbon Neutral". So what does that mean? And how does one do it?

Essentially there are two main ways of producing carbon dioxide...
(1) Using electricity that comes from coal-based power stations, and
(2) Driving vehicles that use petrol.
As most people (at least in Australia) do one or both of these, to be "Carbon Neutral" we have do something to neutralise these activities.


For electricity it is quite easy. Pretty much every energy company in Australia offers their own version of Greenpower. For a slight additional charge, your electricity company will get power from renewable sources, rather than from coal. Obviously if you set the amount to be the same amount that you use, you have cancelled out the greenhouse gases caused by your electricity use.

For cars it is slightly different - but equally as simple. Sites like Greenfleet have calculators that enable you to calculate the tonnes of carbon dioxide generated from your travel (you can include plane flights if you like). As trees breathe in carbon dioxide, Greenfleet will plant enough trees to cancel out the carbon dioxide produced. This is relatively cheap at around $40 per year for the average car user.

Well done! You are now carbon neutral (if you did those things).

Of course, if you want to go the extra mile, there are other things you can do. For instance, buying locally reduces the amount of fuel used to transport your food to the shops. Recycling glass, plastics and aluminium reduces the energy required to make your bottles and cans. Technically, this is "other people's" carbon, but it still helps save the planet.

Earth Hour Photos

If you live in Sydney, you may have heard of EarthHour - an hour of lights out. It got a little bit of publicity in other areas of Australia - but not much. In Sydney, tens of thousands of households and companies got behind it.

You've heard of "before and after" photos ... well these are more like "before and during"....



While the Earth Hour itself saved tonnes of greenhouse gases, the main idea is to create awareness of climate change, and how we can make a difference.

The Civic Hybrid

This is the Honda Civic Hybrid. It costs around the same as a traditional Honda Civic, but uses around half the petrol. According to the Green Vehicle Guide it requires just 4.6 litres per 100km.


Anyway, there is stacks more info on the Honda website. If you're in the market for a new car, this would be a very greenhouse friendly option.

Silver Slivers

Recently, the ABC science programme Catalyst did a story on the developments in solar technology that are happening right here in Australia. Referred to as Sliver Technology, it can produce solar panels at a fraction of the cost.


For some reason, the Catalyst website doesn't provide the podcast of this story, but you can read the full transcript.

Let them know

As you may already be aware, Kevin Rudd and the Australian Labor Party are hosting a climate change summit this Saturday. Held in Canberra, the summit involves the state premiers, business leaders and others.

The 'others' includes representatives from the tireless campaign group "GetUp". As part of their contribution, they will be "taking your concerns directly to the potential next Government of Australia".

If you want to make your voice heard, GetUp are giving you that chance. On the website, you can send your opinions in. The cool bit is, if you enter your postcode, it will address your message to a Labor MP or Senator in your area.

Of course, you can email politicians any (or every) day of the year, but as GetUp point out, "This is a crucial opportunity to influence and support real climate leadership inside the ALP. You have the power, so send your message today."

Beyond Petrol

ABC's science programme Catalyst did a story on the next generation of cars - ones that don't use petrol at all.


The story is now available on the Catalyst website, where you can read the transcript or watch the video. It's definitely worth a look!

ps. for car enthusaists, there's an electric car which is faster than a Lamborghini.