True Colours

Remember the series Years of Living Dangerously? (If not, see my earlier posts about the series and the episode on the disbelieving pastor).

I recently found it at my local library. It's also available to watch on youtube and vimeo (if you're in the USA) or purchase on itunes.

Today I saw the episode 5 True Colours - following two US state governors.

It was stunning what a difference party politics makes to their ability to serve their people.

One moves his state forward on renewable energy and the jobs of the future. The other, despite his state being terribly hit by Hurricane Sandy, ignores climate change science. The science says this area will be increasingly hit by extreme weather events as climate change worsens. But because of his party's stance he continues to pour billions of dollars into rebuilding in the same disaster-prone area.

PS. The cover photo for the series is from this episode. That's actually the damage to someone's house after Hurricane Sandy.

Get money back from a vending machine

In 2018 my home state of Queensland will get container refunds. We will get money for the used bottles and cans we return for recycling.

Right now there's a trial 'Reverse Vending Machine' operating at 400 George Street Brisbane in the food court.

It's called reverse vending because it's the opposite of a normal machine. Instead of paying for an item, you return a used item and it pays you.

Here's video of me giving it a go.



At the moment the payment is replaced by a donation to a charity. So I donated my refunds to Clean Up Australia.

When the program starts in July 2018, the refund can be in the form of vouchers or deposit to your bank account.

May the cup be with you

KeepCups are great. You can get a takeaway coffee without having to add wore waste to landfill.

It's even greater now that they have a Star Wars range.

It might be too late to save Alderaan, but it's not too late to save Earth.