Cool thrift shop song

'll wear your granddads cloths, I look incredible'.

Plastic pollution invades the last frontier

We are poisoning ourselves!

It was thought of as one of the last remaining pristine ecosystems on the planet, but European researchers have found a disturbing amount of plastics pollution in the Antarctic.

They say the level of plastic pollution is so high that toxins are being absorbed by fish and making their way into the human food chain.

For two years the French scientific vessel, Tara, sailed the globe using specialised nets to trawl for tiny pieces of plastic. The expedition was to "take the pulse" of the ocean at the start of the 21st century and the scientists on board are horrified by what they found.
Read the article and listen to the interview here

An Evolution in Repair of gadgets

Finally an electronic gadgets what is coming close to be designed with DfE (Design for Environment) in mind!

The iPhone 5 is selling fast—more than 5 million iPhones in just 3 days. The new iPhone is different; It's 20% lighter, 18% thinner, and—with a 4-inch display—taller than previous editions.

But the changes are more than skin deep: the iPhone 5 is the most repairable iPhone!

Thin and sleek frequently came at the cost of durability and repairability but that was different with the newste iPhone. Once you get past the anti-customer proprietary screws the iPhone 5 is easy to open and easy to repair. That’s a win for the environment and the consumer.
Read story at Treehugger

Visions for our sustainable future

Opening tonight 6pm at Little Creatures in Fremantle.
More info here

Victorian Design Initiatives 2012-15

Victorian Design Initiatives 2012-15 is a $10 million commitment to support best practice design in Victoria, grow awareness of design, build business capability and foster excellence in design skills. 
Premier’s Design Awards

The Premier’s Design Awards celebrate and reward both designers and firms for excellence in the development and use of design. The awards highlight the economic, environmental and social benefits of investing in good design as well as showcase the capabilities of the Victorian design sector and of local designers.
And more, check here

More about the Victorian Design Industry, click here.

Great Cocky Count

This year’s Great Cocky Count shows that Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo numbers are still down. The numbers are about the same as they were in 2011: at that time, in the Swan Region around Perth, they had dropped by 40% since 2010.

The cockatoos are counted at night roosts and since 2010, there has also been a decrease in the number of large roosts. The decrease in number of Carnaby’s counted in the Swan Region since 2010, with no significant improvement since 2011, may indicate the impact of continued habitat loss and degradation.

BirdLife Australia argues it is vital that critical feeding and roosting habitat clearance within the Swan Region is stopped, and existing habitat across the cockatoo’s range is protected and better managed.

The next Great Cocky Count will be held on Sunday 7 April 2013. If you are interested in volunteering for the Great Cocky Count please contact greatcockycount@birdlife.org.au
More info here

Festival in full bloom

A celebration of all that blossoms in spring will kick off in the Great Southern at the weekend, showcasing the beauty of the region.

The five-week festival (until 24 October) will feature 65 events ranging from wildflower walks and open gardens to long-table lunches, art displays and heritage tours.

The festival will have a focus on agriculture, celebrating the Year of the Farmer by promoting the work of some of the region's most innovative farming families.

Kojonup farmers Rob and Jen Egerton-Warburton, among the "Bloomin' Farmers" featured this year, will try a novel approach to pest control in their canola crop.

"We decided to plant everlastings around our canola crop as a natural means of pest control," Mr Egerton-Warburton said. "Aphids are the main pests that get in - by planting the native wildflowers around the crop, we encourage native bugs and they in turn prey on the aphids."
Read article

More information on Australia's Coral Coast website

Super trawler ban

The two-year ban imposed this week on the freshly renamed super trawler Abel Tasman had been brewing for months. The reasons for the ban are largely political, though they are also part of the story of stressed global fish stocks, and oceans scoured almost clean elsewhere in the world.

The issue brings together groups that have traditionally been at odds - environmentalists and recreational fishers. Their combined voices eventually reached a pitch the government couldn't ignore.

And this week, those groups hailed as a great victory Tony Burke and Joe Ludwig's announcement that they would ban the super trawler for up to two years while further assessment was carried out.
Read article

Stop the boat
Watch here the video from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation about the government discussing it.

Super trawler ban may go to court
THE Australian operator of the controversial super trawler facing a two-year ban by the federal government has given the strongest indication yet that it will take legal action, insisting it will not ''roll over and go away''.

Its warning came as Labor backbencher Dick Adams, who opposed the ban, accused his own party of ''determining its policy in response to lobbying campaigns on social media rather than the facts'', and of ''now responding only to environmental concerns, without regard to the social and economic consequences''.

Seafish Tasmania director Gerry Geen told The Saturday Age yesterday that the firm - which along with its Dutch joint-venture partner could lose millions of dollars because of the ban - was seeking legal advice and was expecting answers ''in the next few days''.
Read article

Netherlands raises trawler ban with EU
Mr Geen said: ''I think anyone would have to think very hard about investing in Australia, particularly about being as open and transparent and open as we've been. We gave the green groups so much notice of our intentions. It certainly gave them an opportunity to get organised.''
Read article

A very dubious notion from Mr Green! So with other words: lets keep them all in the dark so we can get ahead with over fishing and scraping the oceans empty!

UPDATE 27 September: I read in the Dutch newsletter for migrants that the super trawler had permission to fish in the Australian ocean but were not allowed to disterb the environment more than any small vessel....
I've tried to find info from Australia which still states there is a 2 year stop for them to fish here... Check here 

11.3 tonnes of rubbish found in Swan River

MORE than 11.3 tonnes of rubbish were pulled from Perth's waterways and foreshores in 2011-12.

Figures released by the Swan River Trust show more than 6.3 tonnes of general refuse and five tonnes of timber and rubble were collected from the Swan River in the past 12 months.

Trust officers also retrieved 125 large items, including chairs and tyres, from the Swan Canning Riverpark.

Environment Minister Bill Marmion has described the littering as "inexplicable" and urged the public to stop dropping rubbish in and around Perth's rivers.

"Most disturbing is the mass of plastic bags and fishing line that continues to be found, despite people knowing the terrible impacts these items have on river wildlife from pelicans to dolphins," he said.
Read article

Perth Green Drinks - RSVP now!

What cities do makes a huge impact not only for us but for future generations.
Perth Green Drinks is delighted to host the Lord Mayors of Perth, Lisa Scaffidi, and Fremantle, Brad Pettitt, for an evening of information on how Western Australia’s most important cities are dealing with sustainability issues.

Where: Central Institute of Technology - East Perth Campus

Gound Floor - 140 Royal St, East Perth

When: Wednesday, 10 October, 5:45 (for a 6pm start) - 8pm

Cost: FREE!

RSVP: click here

DiCOM community tour 16 September

When: Sunday 16 September 2012
Time: 1pm - 4pm (tours depart every 30 minutes)
Where:  Brockway Waste Transfer Station
Cnr Brockway Road & Lemnos Street
Shenton Park

Find out what happens to your waste after the bin is collected.
See the world's first DiCOM Waste Processing System under construction.
Find out what WMRC is doing to ensure the western suburbs has a sustainable waste solution for the next 20 years.

There are limited numbers per tour so bookings are essential to 9384 4003 or rsvp@wmrc.wa.gov.au.

Click here for information on parking, clothing requirements and meeting point.