Wake Up Call

This Little Video Will Make You Question Consumerism Like Never Before!

Rubbish volumes in Australia rise by 30%.

The average Australian is buying 16 gifts during this time and spending around $475 in the process. Most of the items we buy will be packed in unnecessary amounts of plastic, cardboard and foam, held in place with plastic or metal ties.

Over-consumption and waste in our throwaway society are placing an intolerable strain on the planet’s natural resources. Over 4 trillion kilograms of waste is sent to landfill each year in Australia, with climate change a devastating symptom of the problem. It’s not just Australians; Americans throw away 25% more rubbish during the festive season.

If we reduced our holiday landfill by just 1 kilogram per person, we can make a real difference. Imagine if a million people did that, we could save approximately 10 billion litres of water waste (that’s 4000 Olympic swimming pools), prevent 8 million kgs of carbon dioxide pollution (growing a forest of approx. 45,000 trees) … and we would collectively save millions of dollars!

Check out the 1 Million Women website and commit to a no waste festive season. 

Expert cycling advice from the Netherlands

An Australian delegation has taken part in a cycling tour of the Netherlands, to learn from one of the world’s best cycling systems. The tour was arranged by the Cycling Promotion Fund and the Netherlands Government through the Dutch Embassy in Sydney.

The delegation consisted of a range of transport professionals and advocates, including the Department of Transport’s Network Planning Director Craig Wooldridge.

Mr Wooldridge said the tour was a perfect opportunity for the State Government to learn from the Netherland’s passion to drive innovation in active transport in the short, medium and long term. 

“The tour consisted of a mix of presentations by Dutch experts from regional and local government, the private sector and advocacy groups along with practical cycling and walking experiences,”

“While the Netherlands approach to urban and transport planning is vastly different to Australia’s, due to very high urban densities, the advice I have been given is that there are some key learnings that could be explored,”

“These include looking at greater separation for cyclists on high volume arterial roads, creating lower speed environments on local roads and different options for end of trip facilities and bike education in schools,” Mr Wooldridge said.

Dutch planning and design experts will visit Australia in March next year to run a one day workshop with representatives from state and local government, the private sector, advocacy groups and interstate experts.

Mr Wooldridge said these new opportunities tie in with the key initiatives in the Western Australian Bicycle Network Plan (WABN) 2014-2031 which has seen $39.95 million allocated by the State Government to cycling infrastructure from 2014/15 to 2017/18.

A report summarising the trip and key learnings can be found on the 2014 Netherlands cycling study tour page.

Uruguay Takes on London Bankers, Marlboro Mad Men and the TPP

"From the bankers' perspective, Uruguay is setting a bad example by taking care of their people instead of catering to global financial speculators".

"The fact that a sovereign nation trying to protect the health of its people is being forced to defend itself in expensive litigation against the profiteering of a multinational corporation in front of a supranational World Bank tribunal is already far down the wrong path".

I think we can learn something from this South American country!

Read article

Factory farming - The Secrets of Food Marketing

Think you aren't being fooled by advertising tricks?

We only get away with it because everyone is prepared to look the other way...

Take a look at this so-called expert revealing food marketing's secret weapon.
No amount of marketing makes factory farming acceptable but not all farming is factory farming either!

Do your homework, research where your food comes from!

Think before you buy a trinket...

Either we come together now to make these the last days of ivory-funded terrorism or we witness the last days of elephants in the wild.Created by Director Kathryn Bigelow, Writer Scott Z. Burns and Annapurna Pictures and in collaboration with WildAid.

Take action! 

Defendant 5: Opening Shot

Defendant 5 is the personal story of one young woman who learnt that fighting for what she believed in had repercussions beyond her wildest nightmares.

Young filmmaker Heidi Lee Douglas goes to Tasmania to make a film about the effect of logging on the community. She discovers that one company is profiting most from the logging of the old growth forests, Gunns Ltd, the biggest wood chipper in the Southern Hemisphere.

As the campaign to protect the old growth forests escalates, Heidi takes more risks and crosses the line from filmmaker to activist. Community support to protect Tasmania’s forests spreads across Australia and around the world. But the issue is divisive, with timber workers, many of whom work for Gunns, believing their futures are at stake.

Without warning, Heidi and 19 other critics are sued by Gunns for .4 million dollars for allegedly conspiring to harm the company's business. The defendants are a disparate group - elected politicians, campaigners, a doctor, a dentist, an author and students. Together they become known as the Gunns 20. 

Heidi discovers Gunns wants to use her footage as evidence of its allegation of conspiracy. She faces a crisis of conscience as the footage she had been gathering to help the community now threatens to harm them. She is asked to stop filming independent protests because it’s believed she is under surveillance. With her privacy and rights under question, Heidi turns the camera on herself.

Click here to watch on ABC Iview until 7 January 2015

Do not idle your car!

WHAT'S POSSIBLE: The U.N. Climate Summit Film

Presented to world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in September 2014, this short inspirational film shows that climate change is solvable. We have the technology to harness nature sustainably for a clean, prosperous energy future, but only if we act now. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, it calls on the people of the world to insist leaders get on the path of a livable climate and future for humankind.

Cooling the city - Perth

A push to tackle the Heat Island effect.

Perth tree canopee percentage is only 26% compared to Brisbane with 49% and Hobart 59%.
Watch the ABC 9 minute documentary here.

G20 Rap with Tony Abbott - feat. Scott Ludlam [RAP NEWS 29]

Welcome to Rap News. The G20 Summit is happening and the leaders of the wealthiest nations on the planet are converging on Australia to come and learn directly at the feet of the master of fascist dystopian fuckwittery: Tony Abbott. Join the noble Australian Prime Minister as he lists his recent achievements and launches the opening of the G20 Summit in Australia, backed by a faithful and compliant mainstream media, represented by our favourite local correspondent Ken Oathcarn. This episode features a magical cameo from Wizard Senator Scott Ludlam, who has been campaigning tirelessly in speeches to empty Senate rooms to stop the Government’s proposed mandatory data retention laws - coming up soon for a vote in the Senate. After this G20 episode, no one will be in any doubt why Australia is leading the civilised world in the global race to towards 1984.

Written & created by Giordano Nanni & Hugo Farrant in a suburban backyard home studio in Melbourne, Australia, on Wurundjeri Land.

NATIONAL BIRD WEEK

Come along and join in the fun with BirdLife WA for an amazing series of events on Sunday 19^th October at Bold Park Ecology Centre and Peregrine House from 8.30am for bird walks and talks, 10.00am for the official launch of Bird Week, learn about the captive breeding program for the critically endangered Western Ground Parrot, our local gracious black cockatoos, meet a cockatoo from Kaarakin Rehabilitation Centre, colouring in competitions and prizes for kids, photographic exhibitions, showcasing the bird surveys within the largest intact temperate woodland on the planet in the Great Western Woodlands here in WA and more!

There is something for everyone at Bold Park so come and help celebrate the start of National Bird Week with us!!

Have you ever wondered about the birds in your neighbourhood?

Join thousands of people from 20-26 October 2014 for the

AUSSIE BACKYARD BIRD COUNT — BirdLife Australia’s annual nationwide bird survey. All you need is 20 minutes, your favourite green patch (ie backyard, local park, bushland, school or wetland) and some keen eyesight (or binoculars!) Record the birds you see on our brand new Aussie Bird Count app (or website http://aussiebirdcount.org.au) and you’ll instantly see live information on how many people are taking part near you and the number of birds and species counted right across your neighbourhood and the whole of Australia!
BirdLife WA
167 Perry Lakes Drive Floreat        
Office Hours 9.30-12.30 Mon-Friday      
Telephone 9383 7749               
wa@birdlife.org.au       

Recycle your lights bulbs!

The western suburbs have collected 140kg of fluoro lights from 6 recycling stations in less than 12 months. 
Locations for where you can drop off your globes and tubes (as well as batteries, mobile phones and printer cartridges) at Bunnings in Claremont and Cottesloe. Claremont Aquatic centre, Lords in Subiaco, Subiaco library and UWA refectory.
And of course at the resource recovery centre in Shenton Park. 

Laws to veto GM crops set to be scrapped

The Safe Food Foundation:
Concerned to see this story emerging from WA as the state government moves to repeal existing GM crop free areas law. Interesting that is it very difficult to find any more information online beyond the very brief story from The West Australian. 

Is this being done behind closed doors, away from the public's eyes? 
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24679007/laws-to-veto-gm-crops-s/

Let’s talk about population.

Australia's current population is around 23.5 million.

Between 2007 and 2012 Australia’s population grew by 9 per cent while the average for other developed economies was under 4 per cent.

The ABS projects that by 2061 Australia will have a population of 41.5 million people.

A growing population means more economic activity and more public revenue. But the faster our population grows, the more we need to spend on new services like roads, public transport, hospitals and schools.

A 2014 Australia Institute survey found Australians were worried about the ability of our governments to meet the challenges of population growth. Eight in ten (81%) Australians are concerned about population growth impacting on traffic congestion, almost two thirds (64%) were concerned about stretched public transport services and 69% about a shortage of schools and hospitals.

Given public concerns about the government’s preparedness for population growth, it is unsurprising then that one in two Australians think we need to have a “national conversation” about population growth.

Join the conversation

Hungry Planet

International Business Guide just launched a new infographic that shows the staggering amounts of energy and food that countries around the world consume – and how much garbage we produce in the process.

More then 4 months before the year ends we have already consumed all resources available for that year, we overshoot already since 1970 but it's going faster and faster now with the growing population; scroll throuhg the picture below:  

For a bigger picture, please check out the 1 million women website.

Can we trust Adani with the Great Barrier Reef?

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Environment Minister Greg Hunt has caved to the mining industry and approved Indian mining giant Adani's monstrous Carmichael Mine, threatnening the Great Barrier Reef. 

The coal mine will be the biggest in Australia. It will pollute our climate with massive CO2 emissions for decades. It will mean massive and continual dredging and dumping in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and will fill the Reef with thousands of coal ships every year. 

The good news is that while Adani may have the approval, it still needs to find up to $10 billion before it can proceeed. This means the battle to protect the Reef from Adani is down to who can persuade investors, us or them. 

Read more on GetUp

Or read Robyn Lawley’s naked protest against Adani Group’s Carmichael Coal Mine approval

Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide is the first online sustainability guide for seafood consumers in Australia. 

It was developed in response to growing public concern about overfishing and its impact on our oceans and their wildlife. 

It is designed to help you make informed seafood choices and play a part in swelling the tide for sustainable seafood in Australia.
More info on Australia's Sustainable Seafood

Avoid toxic furniture; Buy Australian

The dangers of buying imported furniture will be highlighted at the high profile Australian Furniture Association Conference in Melbourne tomorrow.

International expert in product safety, Stephan Pesch will outline the dangers that Australian families are facing from imported furniture that is commonly found in Australian homes.

Tests have revealed that the same harmful AZO dyes that sparked nationwide recalls from major Australian retailers, may be commonly found in imported household furniture items. Australian-made furniture, which is subject to some of the world’s most stringent safeguards, does not pose any risk to consumers.

Stephan Pesch heads the furniture division of TUV Rheinland China. TUV Rheinland are highly regarded experts in safety and security, with international experience in testing materials, products, plants and machinery.

Mr. Pesch says that in addition to the AZO dyes, carcinogenic flame-retardants and formaldehyde are commonly used in imported furniture. Buying these products is putting Australian families’ health at risk.

Stephan Pesch, will take to the stage at The AFA National Furniture Industry Conference at the Royal Exhibition Building tomorrow, 10 July, at 1.45p.m.  Mr. Pesch’s will detail the dangers associated with these chemicals and will take questions from the audience.

Buy tickets to the conference

Formaldehyde exposure

Cheap Chinese furniture 'may poison you'
CHEAP imported furniture and shelving containing high levels of toxic chemicals may be endangering the health of Australian workers and families.

Tests by Australian furniture manufacturers have shown flat pack furniture and shelving imported from China may be emitting very high levels of formaldehyde, known to cause cancer.

200,000 plastic bags dumped in landfill every hour

People who are still accepting plastic shopping bags in supermarkets should be ashamed of themselves! Is it that much to ask to bring your own bag? There are about a million alternatives when you go shopping like for example the handy small packed reusable bags made from PET bottles by local company Onya Innovations 

Plastic bags are one of the most obvious displays of our throw-away society. In Australia alone, we use over 4 billion single-use plastic bags every year, that’s over 10 million each day! Plus, the life of a plastic bag once it’s in the hand of a shopper can be counted in minutes, and because only 3% of them are currently being recycled, 200,000 bags are dumped in landfill every hour, and they take between 15 and 1000 years to degrade.
More info on 1 Million Women

Coogee ECO Barrier - Underwater Footage

Coogee ECO Barrier - Underwater Footage (HD) v2 from Simon Blears on Vimeo.
The Eco Shark Barrier not only provide a safe barrier for water users, the structure has encouraged marine animals to take refuge on it. 
Check out this clip shot by my friend Michele Kwok, (Ocean diver). Hundreds of tailors, tarwhine, herrings and other species thrive on the barrier! One could engineered a marine trail and put the beach on a tourist hot spot!

Don't Risk The Reef

Coal companies want to build the world's biggest coal port right next to the Great Barrier Reef. But first they need to raise the money. We thought we'd see if everyday Australians would help them out. After all, who wouldn't want to destroy the Reef?

Go to http://www.riskingthereef.org.au and sign the petition asking our banks not to fund the destruction of the Reef. If you wouldn't fund it, why should your bank?

Plastic Free July is almost there

Plastic Free July: if refusing ALL single-use plastic sounds too daunting you can register for the Top 4 challenge on our website (www.plasticfreejuly.org).

"Think about it, why would you make something that you are going to use for a few minutes out of a material that's basically going to last forever...What's up with that?" - Jeb Berrier, Bag It. 

The economic hitman

A great illustration on how corporations take control of countries, and how capitalism drives the expansion of the Military Industrial Complex. Made by Studio Joho.

The light bulb conspiracy

Full movie

Planned Obsolescence is the deliberate shortening of product life spans to guarantee consumer demand.

As a magazine for advertisers succinctly puts it: The article that refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business - and a tragedy for the modern growth society which relies on an ever-accelerating cycle of production, consumption and throwing away.

The Light Bulb Conspiracy combines investigative research and rare archive footage to trace the untold story of Planned Obsolescence, from its beginnings in the 1920s with a secret cartel, set up expressly to limit the life span of light bulbs, to present-day stories involving cutting edge electronics (such as the iPod) and the growing spirit of resistance amongst ordinary consumers.

This film travels to France, Germany, Spain and the US to find witnesses of a business practice which has become the basis of the modern economy, and brings back disquieting pictures from Africa where discarded electronics are piling up in huge cemeteries for electronic waste.

Watch movie here

Seeds Of Death

Full movie

The problem with those documentaries is that it's always about the health issues, never about the far more dangerous way on how those big companies are patenting everything around us... which possible has far more consequences than eating the chemically enhanced foods...

My motto is to grow your own and stick to basics, stay away from all processed foods if possible.

Workshop: A Taste of Green Woodworking

Saturday 28 June. It’s a full day workshop offering “A Taste of Green Woodworking”. 

“A Taste of Green Woodworking” is an exciting opportunity to experience the ancient skills our ancestors took for granted, as we make functional and beautiful items from wood obtained fresh from garden prunings and tree loppings.  A warning: Doing green woodcraft can be addictive and great fun!

Greg Miller

PO Box 2063, Carlisle North 6101.

Ph. 0427 770 339

Email: adventure@wn.com.au 

Australia should be number one!

Australia’s electricity is largely generated by ageing, inefficient coal-fired power plants and there are currently no plans, nor a national discussion on the future of the electricity sector and options to significantly reduce its emissions. Delaying the shift to a low carbon future increases the likely risks and costs of transition to a low carbon future in the electricity sector, where it typically takes a decade or more to plan, permit, finance and build major new power infrastructure.
Read more

D’SIGN Awards for young designers and graduates

Important: competitors may only enter if they are still in training or at school or have not worked as a designer for longer than 5 years.

Entering will close on August the 15th of 2014.There is no entrance fee.
Read more and sign up here

Humans “Are Part Of A Massive Experiment”

Geneticist David Suzuki Says Humans “Are Part Of A Massive Experiment”

… are seeds that are generated, not to produce more nourishment or be better tasting, but to allow these plants to be drenched with Monsanto pesticides. Normally those pesticides would kill the grain or the crop but now they engineered them to be resistant to those. And they demand to have them to put the Monsanto product on them. So it’s a business excuse, it has nothing to do with improving the quality on earth.
Read more

Eucalyptus genome could unlock the tree's biofuel potential

The genome of Australia’s Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis) has been sequenced, and scientists are searching it for information that could help revolutionise the fibre and biofuels industries, and provide insight into how to help the species survive climate change.

The research on the trees, which are one of the world's leading hardwoods and home to Australia's koalas, has been published in Nature. 

It’s hoped the genetic sequence will help scientists work out how to grow eucalypts more sustainably and efficiently, as well as unlock the potential of the trees and their oil.
Read article

Are you ready for this year's

Sick of chucking out so much waste? Want to minimise your ecological footprint? 

Refuse all single use plastic packaging this July.

You will discover it isn't easy so you might like to start with the obvious few like plastic shopping bags, take away cups (No, those eco ones are not compostable as they are plastic lined, and that starch based plastic is only compostable in an industrial environment), plastic water and soda bottles and plastic drink straws. You will find that will already go a fair way!

If more motivated or already joined last year you  might like to dig a bit deeper, find alternatives for plastic packaging in the supermarket,  for take away food, doggy poo bags, bin liners, diapers, menstrual pads etc.

Be innovative, creative and join us in July to make a statement. It might even change your habits for much longer!
Sign up at www.plasticfreejuly.org

Student Event in Fremantle tomorrow

My students are working very hard in these last few days to get a great show happening on Friday, creating small batches of their design to test the market. So if you have time on Friday between 10AM and 6PM please come along to Fremantle to support them. 

What is really happening in Fukushima

Australia falling behind

Australia is NOT leading the world on climate change - sadly we are falling behind. 

Other countries are building more renewable energy and improving their carbon and energy efficiency faster, according to a new report from Vivid Economics commissioned by WWF-Australia. 

10 June Launch

Interested in Solidworks?
Come to the launch by SF Works on Tuesday 10 June from 8.00am - 4.30pm 

Register here

Solar Roadways!

Solar panels that you can drive, park, and walk on. They melt snow and... cut greenhouse gases by 75-percent?!!!


I remember, years ago, talking with friends, we were discussing the possibilities what if parking lots and roads were covered in solar panels.
And see, here is this couple from the US on Indiegogo pursuing their project which is actually doing it!!!
Have a look and you can still invest; 8 more days to go!
Check here

Solar FREAKIN' Roadways!

Perth 2050

Want to be part of it, Book here

Compost Month of May - Movie night

More screenings of Dirt:

 “Dirt! The Movie”. Free Movie Night.  A story with heart and soil. Monday 26th May. An event by Victoria Park Transition Network. Doors open 6:30pm. Movie goes from 7:00pm - 8:30pm, followed by a discussion on Victoria Park Transition Network activities from 8:30-9:00pm. Victoria Park Art Centre, 12 Kent St, East Victoria Park. This is an insightful and timely film that tells the story of the glorious and unappreciated material beneath our feet. Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth. For more info please contact Rowena 0459 209 934 or Eugenie 0438718247
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Please join Transition Town Mount Hawthorn on Thursday 15 May 2013 at the Mount Hawthorn Community Centre, Lesser Hall (downstairs), 197 Scarborough Beach Road. 

The screening of Dirt, the movie, will be followed by information about composting through traditional methods, bokashi and worm farming.

This is a free event, your gold coin donation would be appreciated. Please also help us set-up and pack away on the night.
  
Doors open at 6:30pm, movie starts at 7pm, composting information from 8:30-9pm.

Please spread the word and bring your friends along. No RSVP required, but tell us if you plan to attend with a bigger group of people. More info from Irma 0466 640 455 or Kim 0458 202 270.

The screening is a collaborative project within the Perth Transition Town Network. If you cannot make it to our screening, watch the movie on Tuesday 13 May in Guildford, at the Stirling Arms Hotel, 117 James Street, doors open at 6pm, movie starts at 7pm. That screening is organised by Transition Town Guildford.

Perth Green Drinks 14 May

While in nature materials are endlessly used in different cycles, human economies operate in a linear fashion. We are able to make glass from sand or plastic from oil, but not the other way around. The result is waste. There are estimates that the world produces more than 2.5 trillion pounds of garbage every year – materials that won’t disappear easily. 

To discuss our waste situation in WA, learn how to generate less and imagine a world without waste, please join our panel:

Adam Johnson is founder of Garbologie, an entrepreneurial business disrupting waste management to create a world without waste. It does that by developing a network of niche businesses to extract valuable materials from waste. Currently, Garbologie operates a mattress recycling business and a Tip/Shop. Adam previously held senior management roles in local government in Perth, and worked as a consultant and a regulator in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Rebecca Prince-Ruiz is an educator with the award winning Earth Carers program. A visit to a recycling facility was an overwhelming experience which transformed her idea that putting recycling into a yellow-lidded bin is a virtuous environmental action. Her question became: "How did I come to having this item in the first place?". Focusing on the "reduce" message, she was involved in starting the Plastic Free July challenge – a personal undertaking that in 3 years has grown into a global movement with over 4,000 participants.

Jenny Campbell is a founding director of Encycle Consulting and has been involved in the environmental and waste management fields in both public and private sectors since the year 2000. With a wealth of experience in developing and implementing waste management plans in industry sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, construction and mining, Jenny was the recepient of the National Australian Women in Construction WA Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Award earlier this year.

Bring a friend, questions for our panelists, enjoy a beer and lots of networking! 

Looking forward to seeing you there! Register here

25 Aberdeen St is in walking distance from Perth train station and near several bus routes and the Blue Cat. Street parking is available and there are Perth Council carparks nearby. 

As always, a huge THANK YOU to our sponsors Central Institute of Technology andLittle Creatures Brewing.
                                                             

This is probably why...

Fossil fuels face $30 trillion losses from climate, renewables

The global fossil fuel industry faces a loss of $US28 trillion ($A30.2 trillion) in revenues over the next two decades, if the world takes action to address climate change, cleans up pollution and moves to decarbonise the global energy system.

The assessment, made by leading European broking house Kepler Chevreux, underlines what’s at stake for the fossil fuel industry from a push to cleaner fuels and concerted efforts to reduce emissions, and helps explain the enormous push back from the oil and coal industries in particular against such policies.
Read article

World's deadliest animals

And why the WA government still wants to keep on culling sharks... 

Take action or here
Or sign the petition to use the locally designed and developed Eco Barrier instead.

Government in Australia has trouble seeing the real picture

They are surrounded by big corporations waving with $$$ and pulling the strings. It's like the first video of the Story of Stuff where Annie Leonard explains how things work in the US, where the government is polishing the shoes of big corporations, where instead of 'working' for the people they are ruled by corporations.That's where Australia is now. 

  

How can a government who is paid and chosen by the people work against the people? Why do we accept this?

Why do we let the government spend 12 billion on fighter jets and subsidising fossil fuels and mining industry? While on the other hand they are planning to cut the money for a surplus away from everything we build up to be a good community? Education cuts, cuts on Environment, etc. 

Earth day... yesterday

 Poster for the first Earth Day in 1970 by Walt Kelly.

Yesterday was Earth Day and we in Australia didn't hear about it until it was mentioned on social media today, the day after. We know that this right wing government is pulling the strings of mass media and find it more important to keep the people occupied with uninteresting 'news' to hide the real important things happening.

And one of those real things is that they want to hide everything what has to do with keeping this earth a better place, as for them it only counts to get the dollars rolling by digging everything up and out as soon as possible . No matter the damage done is irreversible.

Hence to keep the people quiet and accepting, overpower them with crap media and quieten by keeping them in the dark.They even go as far to announce that there is an over supply of renewable energy and that it is hurting the economy! So please, no talk about solar panels and wind energy...

We have a government who wants us to trash the place, as waste is money!

There’s reason to be optimistic this Earth Day

One of the environmental movement's main strategies has always been to directly protect and restore important places. That might mean rebuilding an oyster reef, replanting a forest or restoring a grassland. This work is critical.