Would you like to improve your knowledge of climate change? Have you ever wished you were better equipped to argue climate change at the dinner table – or when it was raised with friends, colleagues, clients, politicians? Here is the first in our series of ten tutorials on climate change.
Archive for the ‘Energy’ category
Carbon College Tutorial 1 – Introduction
August 17th, 2012London 2012 Olympics Just How Green Is It?
July 27th, 2012
The 2012 London Olympic Games made claims that it would be ‘the world’s first truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games, leaving a legacy far beyond the departure of the Olympic Flame.’ So with a day to go before the opening ceremony, I thought I’d find out a bit more about what that means and whether these aspirations have been achieved.
Eco Footprint Beyond the Grave
October 14th, 2010
Did you know that burials have a greater long term environmental impact than cremations? Neither did we! And theres more… Centennial Park in South Australia, is up for an environmental award for its efforts towards achieving sustainability. It is also the first cemetery in the Australia, and possibly the world, to manage their entire greenhouse gas emissions with a carbon offset scheme.
Wind Turbines For The Home
July 30th, 2010
Wind turbines have historically been limited to rural areas. However, this is about to change as vertical axis wind turbines are being introduced for residential areas. Vertical axis wind turbines look more like an egg whisk than a windmill, the main benefit being that they are unaffected by wind direction so are better suited for urban areas. Residential turbines can be installed on the roof or tower and feed energy into the building through an inverter. Urban Green Energy is about to introduce the vertical axis wind turbines into Australia to provide another renewable energy option for the home.
Eco Renovation – Tentative First Steps
May 21st, 2010
Its long been a dream to get stuck into an eco-renovation. In reality it is a bit mind boggling especially when you have no experience of design, building or architecture.
A key concern is the cost of going green. Everyone knows that creating a sustainable home will lead to long term cost savings (we are talking pocket here as well as environment). But this has to be weighed up against how long you will live in the house and how much the bank manager will lend you. I’ve been doodling some ideas for weeks now, and its time to get serious. So I took myself off to the Sydney Home Show for some eco-renovation inspiration.
Eco Friendly Heating
May 1st, 2010
As winter sets in, the topic of eco-friendly heating comes up again. Gas is the most efficient of the conventional heating methods, but there are new heaters and new fuels to choose from. We’ve summarised the different ways to warm up your house this winter without warming up the globe.
Using Waste to Heat Your Home
April 1st, 2010
As Summer ends it is time to think about what you are going to do to keep warm this Winter. Our neighbour who is renovating, gave us a pile of waste hardwood, to burn in our slow combustion wood fire. This would otherwise have been destined for landfill. Fuel pellets take this concept a step further. Fuel pellets created from waste sawdust and other organic materials, burn with greater efficiency and lower emissions than wood, so we were keen to find out more.
Renewable Energy Options in your Home
February 21st, 2010
Generating your own green electricity, decentralising power generation and removing reliance on power stations is another piece in the energy puzzle. You can now get hold of a green loan and generous government rebates to install photovoltaic panels using the abundant sunshine we enjoy in Australia. But what happens when the sun is not shining? There are a few options including generating electricity in your home from gas with new BlueGen fuel cells which are going to be available in Australia in the next few months. We have done the research for you.