Organic cotton

I must admit that I didn't really understand the term "organic cotton" when I saw it on a batch of jeans at Target a while ago. This little video above explains a lot! And that I am not the only one is made clear in this video:

Here you can see the reality about growing cotton...

love your earth

designboom ® has listed the winners of the graphic design contest Love your earth - create a graphic artwork to raise awareness -

1ST PRIZE - 'sprout: symbols to cultivate change' design by : Savio Alphonso from usa
(the sun - plug) Have a look on their website to see the rest of this great collection of artwork!

The big Squeeze

The Australian Bureau of Statistics projects that the current population of Perth, (1,497,480) will double by 2050. This not only means that 651,078 new homes will need to be built but also the entire infrastructure of the city will have to double.
Boomtown 2050
Prof Richard Weller (UWA), Prof David Hedgcock (Curtin), Donna Broun, Karl Kullmann, Julia Robinson, Phivo Georgiou from Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts of UWA, have created a very interesting study.

"In total...walking in the parade we had 6000 people....but lost many due to the heat. I think alot of people came just for the walk...rather than to swealter and listen to speeches.... that all those people who braved the burning sun...came because they believe in making a difference...and because they care about climate change" Sian Churcher - Walk Against Warming State Coordinator

WALK!

Looking for an evironment job in Perth?

Main Roads WA is currently advertising for:
Level 7 - Senior Environment Officer
Level 6 - Environment Officer

And will soon be seeking a Level 5 Environment Officer.
Applications close 19 November.

Outcomes from SmartandGreen campaign

Hi all

This is the final bulletin from SmartandGreen – as far as we know! – to let you know the outcomes of the campaign you participated in or talked to us about. Despite our efforts, the price for renewable electricity (NaturalPower), went up on 1 October and now Synergy is promoting 'Joining the Green Generation' through EasyGreen block purchase renewable electricity options ($10 extra per bill). However this campaign led to:
- 36 letters sent to 13 WA MPs from across the State (most of them Labor);
- 48 letters sent to the managing director of Synergy (sufficient for them to request a meeting with us);
- 5 stories published in Community Group newspapers across the metro area (see links below); and
- A meeting with Energy Minister Fran Logan's representatives at which we expressed your concerns.

As two people who had never done something like this before, we were impressed that many people took the time to contact the institutions which make decisions on energy in WA – and in many cases, follow up standard replies from Synergy with informed, critical responses. We think that Synergy and the State Government are now on notice! We encourage you to continue your activism, for example by going to the following links below, joining this Sunday 11 November's national, massive Walk Against Warming from 1pm in Esplanade Park in Fremantle and continuing dialogue whenever you see government or industry failing the needs of the planet.
You may even wish to run your own campaign on an issue close to your heart! We have written a report on the SmartandGreen campaign, including tips for anyone wishing to do something similar and would be pleased to email it on request.
Lastly – and possibly most importantly – if you haven't signed up for renewable electricity already and can't afford your own photovoltaics, please consider buying green power through NaturalPower or EasyGreen. Even though this price rise stinks, we believe that by putting our money where our mouth is and buying green power, we are sending one of the most signal most important signals we can to Government to get serious on cutting emissions.

Regards,
Eloise Dortch and Jasmine Horobin

Community newspaper story links: One - Two - Three - Four - Article on NaturalPower v. EasyGreen

Second Perth Green Drinks

Although the weather wasn't too bad it was quickly getting chilly after six pm in Kings Park and there was of course the Melbourne Cup... But about fifty people came to have a chat with other sustainable people and to listen to the four speakers; Ray, Tarrin, Scott and Julie, which was great! Thanks guys!
It is still a learning curve; November is too cold for the park so we have to move that to the pub next year! I asked for volunteers for next Green Drinks to have a talk and found only one. I need a few more, so if there are people who want to introduce themselves or share their values, please come forward. I hope to see more people next time, because I had the idea a lot of people stayed in the warm pub after the races instead of jumping on their bikes off to Kings Park!

Free Public Transport Sunday

TONIGTH!!!

Green Drinks 6 November - Kings Park / Rotunda 1 - from 5.30pm - more info click here

If you don't have time to come or to far away, like Marilyn, but interested, you can listen to RTR radio between 7 and 8 pm, there will be a life interview... I am only a little bit nervous...

Kitchen Flow

Flow was developed by John Arndt, from the Design Academy in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, for his Postgraduate thesis. The Flow system is based on the cyclical flow of nature for tackling the issue of wasteful resources in the kitchen. The designed system allows for the different elements to interact with one another by utilizing the waste from one element as nutrients or fuel for another. The water from the dish rack is used on the herbs and edible plants in the planter boxes below it. When preparing the herbs and edible plants, you can collect the scraps into a built in bowl that gets tipped over into the composter that is attached beneath the table top. The finished compost is put back into the plants... restarting the cycle.

More information on Flow, click here.

Bloggers wanted

Are you a Blogger*?

You don't have to be a computer nerd to help out, you only need to have a bit of time and like to add interesting topics to this website. o2 Western Australia is looking for volunteers who want to put this website on the highest rank (as you see we are on number 2 now)
This website is having an average of 14 (international) visitors per day on the moment and I like to increase this number to at least 50 per day. So more and more people will be aware of what's going on in WA on sustainability. Although o2 is aimed on industrial designers, architects, graphic design, fashion, innovation and the arts we include everyone who is interested in a better world. So your background doesn't matter, join the team of Bloggers for o2WA and get your say! When you are interested send an email to Wilma or react in the comment box of this article and I will contact you.

* A Blogger is someone who writes regularly on one or more websites called Blogs. Blogs are pre made websites and very easy to use; you log in, write your story, add a picture and publish the post. Done!

New WAter Ways WSUD Demonstration Site Tour

Rebecca Duffy, Manager at New WAter Ways asked me to let you know they are organizing a semi technical tour of Water Sensitive Urban Design sites in Mandurah and Southern River on Tuesday, 20th of November, 2007. New WAter Ways is an independent, WA specific Water Sensitive Urban Design capacity building program.

Tentative itinerary:
8am-1030 travel to Mandurah (from Perth CBD)
1030-1230 tour Mandurah WSUD sites (3-4 sites with talk from developer/engineer/project manager)
1230-130 Lunch in Mandurah
130-300 travel to Southern River
300-430 tour of Southern River WSUD sites (3-4 sites with talk from developer/engineer/project manager)
430 reception/speeches
500-600 return to Perth

To book email Rebecca.

Who can advice me on good eco friendly cushions filling?

I am looking for a eco friendly cushion filling which is industry proof, so no household goods which moulds after time and need to be renewed but good sustainable material what is mould as wel as "sit" proof. I am also interested in cradle to cradle options.

It's for a low stool object which is made of 100% biodegradable material.

If you have information please contact me or write a reply on the comments button under this article.

Thanks!

Green graphical design

or

There are some good quotes at the start of this little movie about being a sustainable designer but the rest is a bit weird...

Green Drinks in other states

If you are in South Australia, please check out the first Green Drinks over there. They even have a few artists performing at the place! Give Ben a call or send an email if you want to come or just show up at Sarah's cafe on 2 November from 6pm.

When in Melbourne:
2007 Green Drinks Melbourne Eco Creatives, related business and industries.Thursday 8th of November -6pm till 8pm - Green Grubs Chillout - 8pm Onwards - Horse Bazaar - 397 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne - (Between Queen St and Elizabeth St near the corner of Hardware St).

When in Sydney:
EnviroDrinks
Wednesday 7 November 6pm – 9pm
Join fellow Environmental Professionals for a relaxed and social evening - & all for a good cause!
CARGO BAR (Upstairs) 52-62 The Promenade King Street Wharf - Complimentary drink on arrival with pizza’s
Thanks to CARGO, $600 worth of door prizes to be drawn around 9pm
EnviroDrinks is a social event planned for those who work in environmental and related fields and is a great opportunity to network with like-minded people in your industry.
Entry is only a $10 donation, and please bring a business card to enter the lucky door prize.

For more information check the international Green Drinks website.

Volunteers wanted

We are 2 weeks away from the Walk Against Warming and the time has come to rally the troops and build our wonderful team for the day!

We are expecting record crowds and hence...we need a massive team of people to work with us. We need a team of 70 volunteers on the day to get involved in a range of different roles.

As this is going to be a big event, it is important that everyone understands certain proceedures and protocols not just for the running of the event..but also incase of an emergency.

With this in mind, we have organised volunteer orientation sessions , in order to familiarise yourself with the logistics on the day.

We have 2 sessions planned, it is imperative to attend at least one of them. It will only take an hour or so.

The first one will be Thursday the 1st of November at 5:30pm - Conservation Council, 2 Delhi Street, West Perth. The second is on Monday, 5th November at 5:30pm same address. Nibblies provided :-)

It is essential that you RSVP (to me - ELIZE - either email or phone will do) so that we can cater for you.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing you!

Elize Steynberg
WAW Volunteer Coordinator
043 490 7116
elize.steynberg@gmail.com

Sian Churcher
Walk Against Warming State Coordinator
www.walkagainstwarming.org

'When the world warms by one degree and we begin to see the mass devastation and ecological loss - how many people will realise we could have done more?'

Conservation Council of WA - Commitment to environmental protection since 1967

Walk Against Warming

Date: Sunday 11 November
Venue: Fremantle Esplanade Park
Time: 1:00pm

In support of the contribution Walk Against Warming makes to raising awareness on climate change and the environment, the Public Transport Authority is pleased to offer free travel for passengers on the Transperth train network between 11am and 5pm on Sunday 11th November 2007. Fremantle Line services stop at Fremantle Train Station, which is 600m from The Esplanade.

We want all political parties to get serious about climate change. Help us make the Walk Against Warming even bigger this year! 2006 Perth’s Walk Against Warming saw 4500 people take to the streets of Northbridge, showing our leaders that WA citizens, groups and organisations all want serious action taken on climate change. One year later, and not much has happened to reduce our emissions. That is why this year the Walk Against Warming will be held 2 weeks before the federal election, drawing key attention to the issue of climate change during this critial period. Last year our venue was not large enough to hold all the people that walked with us. Learning from last year, in 2007 we will have a venue capable of fitting in at least 20, 000 people! Put quite simply, this year will be bigger and better!

Perth Green Drinks

Green Drinks is for anyone involved in the environment and related fields. Green groups / NGOs, Freelancers and consultants, Companies, Students, Academics, Government departments, Local Authorities, Younger as well as older people so please forward this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in meeting other people related to sustainability.

Green Drinks is started by the o2 liaison for Western Australia and is a voluntary gathering to meet people that you may otherwise not get a chance to interact with. Many interesting conversations start this way and may grow to something more. Green Drinks international is supported by people who think talking is important. Perth Green Drinks might become the covering network for everyone as well as the breeding ground for new ideas and innovations.

Green Drinks is GLOBAL: active in 230 cities worldwide! UK USA Canada Australia Germany Sweden The Netherlands Argentina Belgium Brazil Chile China Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Hong Kong India Ireland Italy Japan Malta Mexico New Zealand Poland Puerto Rico South Africa Switzerland

When:
6 November from 5.30 pm

Where:
KINGS PARK at Rotunda 1 (right behind State War Memorial)














How:
It’s BYO and I suggest you wear a funny hat because it’s also Melbourne Cup Day :)

What:
Network, interact, talk, laugh, debate, drink, have fun!

Four speakers:
Ray Wills - WASEA Western Australia Sustainable Energy Association
Tarrin Buttimer – Student Product Design Curtin University
Scott Ludlam – Australian Greens Lead Senate Candidate for WA
Julie Grundy – Go Greener Australia










Booking of venue kindly donated by WASEA.