Yet more evidence

Just in case we needed more data about climate change. With still one day to go in this month, it has been announced that Adelaide has just experienced the hottest February in 100 years.

The hottest day was 41°C on Feb 17, with a monthly average of 32.9°C. Adelaide also went without any rain last month for the first time since 1991.

Choosing a Car

OK, it's not every day that you buy a car. But if you are in the market for some new wheels, why not checkout the Green Vehicle Guide?

From the drop-down menus, you can select the vehicles you might be thinking about getting, and the guide will compare their fuel consumptions. It also gives them a greenhouse rating out of 10.

Earth's Choice

While it seems fairly simple, there appears to be some confusion about the way green energy works - in the earthschoice setup.

You can purchase renewable energy in $10 units. For every ten bucks, 330kWh of energy comes from renewable sources rather than from burning coal.

If you want, you can purchase more than 330kWh per quarter. In fact, for an extra $120 per quarter you can buy 3960kWh of green energy (woah!). Of course, this is waaaaay more than most people would ever use - unless you have a family of 10 ;)

The average household uses around 2600kWh. To upgrade that amount of energy would be around 80 dollars per quarter. But this is only if you are an average user. If you are a good energy-saver, that will save you money. The easiest thing to do is to look at the amount of power (in kWh) from your last power bill, and compare that to the table at earthschoice.

Ditch Globe - Help World

Frequent readers will be familiar with my enthusiasm for the Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). They use about 20% of the power of traditional light globes (bulbs) and last around 6 times as long. While they are slightly more expensive to purchase, they save many times that cost over time. And of course, they require less power, which means less carbon dioxide.

Anyway, today the environment minister Malcolm Turnbull announced plans to introduce minimum energy standards for lighting, which would effectively make it illegal to sell the old style bulbs by 2009.

Of course, i give the Australian public a fair amount of credit. I'm sure that with the increase in environmental awareness, that by 2009 it would require a fairly stupid person to even think of buying an old-style bulb. Although having said that, people still buy cigarettes.

AFL Green

In other sports news, the Australian Football League (AFL) has announced that the league will be carbon neutral by 2009.

Over the next three years, the ‘AFL Green’ program will neutralise an estimated 120,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions through investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency. [see AFL announcement]

A Manly Decision

It's almost that time of year again. We are just weeks away from the start of a new NRL season. Of course, i will once again be supporting my beloved Brisbane Broncos, as they embark on their 20th season.

As such, it is with mixed emotions that today i praise Brisbane's former arch-nemesis, the Manly Sea Eagles. As reported on NRL news, the Sea Eagles have joined forces with Energy Australia to make a positive move against climate change.

For every unit of energy used at the Sea Eagles' Brookvale Oval, Energy Australia will provide the same amount of electricity from a renewable energy project. And to promote green energy, Manly will wear green jerseys for their pre-season match against the Melbourne Storm.

For the record, it is estimated that the impact of 11 home games at Brookvale (using coal power) is equivalent driving from Sydney to Queensland and back 375 times.

My favourite quote came from Energy Australia's Retail General Manager Tim O'Grady, who managed at least two rugby league puns. “The Sea Eagles are taking practical steps to tackle climate change head on ... The Sea Eagles should be congratulated for taking this step - but also for going that extra yard". Do you reckon he meant it?

Hey True ... Green?

Ok, it may not roll off the tongue the same way as "True Blue", but this Australian book does provide many suggestions that we can use to help the environment.


It's one of those books that's as much pictures as words, so it's quite a light read - while still being very useful.

Of course, if you feel it's not worth twenty bucks to buy a book that you can read in less time than it takes England to lose a game of cricket, you can borrow a copy from your local library, and spend the 20 on some energy-efficient light bulbs (that's tip number 16).