In A Jam Over Food Miles

Ok, so most people probably know about food miles. The shorter the distance the food has to travel, the smaller the transport emissions. And i had a good laugh at the Brits when i heard they export 10,000 tonne of butter to Denmark - and then import 10,000 tonne of Danish butter back to the UK. "How proposterous!" I thought.


Then i bought my favourite jam (bargain price and a funky-shaped jar) and was happy with my purchase until i read the fine print.


I had falsely presumed that something made by Coles Australia, was made in Australia. Not so. Not even close.

I Love Brisbane

This evening i was going to write about food miles. You'll have to wait for that, because i was interrupted by a phone survey by Brisbane Council. It started fairly standard ... "How do you rate the council on a scale of 1-5?"


Then.. "i'd like to ask you about climate change". Now she had my full attention!! After some inane questions about lightbulbs etc, she asked what i thought council could do to reduce greenhouse emissions. Suffice to say, the entire call went for about an hour.


She also asked about the Greenheart Citysmart programme. "Has it helped you take positive actions?". I had to say no, because it's only suggesting things that i've already done. Changing bulbs is great but council needs to think bigger if it wants to meet the reduction targets.

Meat Feeds Climate Change

While "food miles" (the distance food travels to get to us) are important, for some foods it's also about how they are made.

Meat appears to be one of those foods. According to an article in New Scientist magazine, switching from red meat to veggies just one day per week would save greenhouse gases the equivalent of driving 1860 km. (And probably save some money too!)

The author of the study says that food miles, while important, are only part of the equation. Other things need to be considered, such as the transport of ingredients, the energy used in processing, etc.

If you're thinking that it's near-impossible to pick the most greenhouse friendly food, you're not alone. Several community groups are calling for carbon labelling of foods, informing the customer just how much greenhouse gas was produced in making the product.

Solar Incentive

On the 7.30 Report, Prof David Mills, says solar power can provide 90% of our electricity, if only governments provide some support. In the effort to reduce greenhouse emisisons, lots of money is being thrown at clean coal, which is not yet proven, while many believe there should be more support for solar - which is ready now.


In the report, it was mentioned that SA is the only state with a "feed-in" tariff (a bonus rate paid to people putting solar power into the grid). But don't despair Queenslanders, our state government has announced its own Solar Bonus Scheme, which will take effect this year.
[7.30 report article (video/text)]
[interview with energy minster (video/text)]

$2 billion cars

Ok, so we've all heard about the strange subsidies that exist for companies to pollute the environment. But what are they? Well i saw the speech by Don Henry (ACF) the other day, an he outlined some of the things our tax dollars are subsidising.


Tax-breaks for company cars are estimated to reach a cost of $2 billion dollars by 2009-10. Great for CEO's and the like. Not so great for the planet. The strange thing is, the more kilometres they drive, the bigger the tax breaks get.

Another one is petrol tax. While the average car-driver pays 38 cents per litre in tax, big companies pay either 3 cents per litre (airlines) or 0 cents (mining companies). [Full speech]

12 hours in 12 mins

One of the things that saves energy, and greenhouse gases, is recycling. For aluminium cans, the energy required to make one from scratch is 20 times the energy used to recycle one. So recycling aluminium is a 95% energy saving.


So today i picked up any aluminium cans i found on my walk - which was 4. The energy saving for 1 can is equivalent to 3 hours of TV use. So my little collection saved the equivalent energy of 12 hours of TV-watching.

Close to Home

Spotted this article in my local paper. Ben worked out that driving through the CBD twice a day was not the most enjoyable thing to do. Smart Ben!


Reminds me of a guy i met when we started our new jobs on the same day. He told me that "they pay the same as the old job, but it's a $50 pay-rise" on the basis that 50 bucks was what he was shelling out in fuel each week. It also means 10 hours he's NOT spending in traffic jams - not to mention the pollution.

It seems so obvious. More free time. Less fuel costs. Less pollution.

Hottest Ever!

OK, so it's officially the hottest day of the year (here in Brisbane). Of course, it hasn't been that hot a summer - at least here in Brissy.


But it's a different story Aus-wide. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Jan 2008 has been Australia's hottest - ever!

(For the record, the previous title holder was Jan 1999)

Garnaut Preview

The Australian Government has commissioned Ross Garnaut to assess the impact of climate change on the Australian economy.


Yesterday, Professor Garnuat released the first installment of his report, and the gist was this... Australia is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Australia should aim for more than 60% reduction by 2050. Australia, if it takes strong action, stands to benefit economically. [full story]

Hopefully the government listen. Hopefully we do too.

"Eco" Credit Card

Look, I am not a big fan of credit cards - hence I don't have one. But if you're someone who likes to take advantage of the interest-free periods, they can be handy. And of course, there's bonus rewards the companies give you (in order to entice you further into debt).

But some credit card companies have come up with an alternate idea. Instead of being 'rewarded' with stuff you never wanted in the first place, you can get the company to do something for the planet.

The first one i've seen in Australia is GE Money, with their eco-card. They will suport projects such as reforestation, renewable energy and energy efficiency to the value of 1% of what you spend on the card.

So, while i still think the world would be better without credit cards, if you're gonna have one, it might as well be doing the planet some good.

Greenpower Choices

I get my electricity through Origin. So i used to get greenpower through 'earthschoice'. But Origin decided they would end that programme (that they inherited from Energex) so i had decisions to make. What greenpower option is the best? What company has the best greenpower option?


Fortunately there is a website called Green Electricity Watch where all the different greenpower options available in your area are compared. So i went to section for Queensland and had a look at what was there.

Incase you're interested, I signed up with Origin's 100% Wind option.

Rough Guide to Climate Change

Contrary to the title of this Robert Henson book, what it contains is actually far more than "rough guide".


Somehow, Henson manages to keep this book to a manageable size, while still covering the aspects of the greenhouse effect, climate science, politcal issues and technological solutions.

30% cut for just $1

Following on from my previous article Even Cheaper Solar Power, i see today that there is a report that Australia could reduce carbon emissions by 30% for less than 1 dollar per day.


The report also proved once again that the cost of action is far less than the cost of inaction - by pointing out that the 2002-03 drought alone, was three times more costly than a 30% reduction in greenhouse gases.

The report also found Australia could cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2030 – a full 20 years ahead of the Federal Government’s commitment to 60 per cent reductions by 2050. [full article from ACF]

Even Cheaper Solar Power

For those who are fans of renewable energy, you may appreciate this link about solar power


Renewable energy company Infinia is using solar collectors and the Stirling engine, and believe that they can produce power 20 to 30% cheaper than conventional solar photovoltaic panels.

An Inconvenient Truth

It's fairly rare to read the book after seeing the movie. But this is one time i did so - and i thoroughly recommend it.

Al Gore (as he did in the movie) outlines the science of global warming and the consequences that are already happening. Through the use of amazing photos and images, he shows the importance and urgency of the situation with stunningly clarity.

The surprise of the book comes in the autobiographical sections. At several points through the book, Al Gore takes a page or two to tell us something of the man behind the mission. The particular circumstances of his sister's death - and almost losing his young son - have been powerful forces of motivation.