Things We Like
Green Street
Green Street is a sustainable living social network of people having a go at being sustainable in their homes, workplaces and schools. Green Street is designed and sponsored by people who believe grassroots action is needed so that we can live more sustainably.
The website provides tips on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in your own home or workplace so you can become more sustainable. You can then set yourself goals and track your progress over time. You can also join groups with special interests and invite friends to link with you.
Check out the Green Street website: www.greenstreet.net.au
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The Story of Stuff Project
When Annie Leonard and her friends at Free Range Studios set out in 2007 to share what she’d learned about the way we make, use and throw away Stuff, they thought 50,000 views would be a good result for her ‘20-minute cartoon about trash.’ Today, with over 15 million views and counting, The Story of Stuff is one of the most watched environmental-themed online movies of all time.
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
You can watch this video at: www.storyofstuff.com
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Treehenge
Treehenge is a credible and commendable environmental project that has Local and National relevance. Created by Condamine Alliance, Treehenge is designed for individuals, SME’s and Corporations – everyone can be a part of the project. Sponsoring a tree in the Condamine basin contributes to the rejuvenation of degraded land in this region.
Treehenge plans to repair habitats across Australia. The first plantation is at Gladfield in the Condamine River Basin, a region that is one of Queensland’s major food bowls and that sits at the headwaters of Australia’s largest river system. Anything that is done here has a flow on effect to the southern states of Australia. Treehenge represents a new beginning. It’s the first planting of an ongoing program to rehabilitate and restore life to damaged areas right around Australia. It’s also the beginning of a shift in attitude to the way we care for the land that sustains us.
You can visit the Treehenge website, or watch the two-minute video about this project below:
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Which Energy
Consumers now have the power to drive best practice in Australia’s solar industry with the launch of the new Solar Electricity Consumer Guide and consumer website www.whichenergy.com.au.
The guide, written by award winning sustainable energy expert Trevor Berrill, is intended to give consumers a greater understanding of solar electricity systems to help them make more informed choices when buying a system.
“It gives consumers all the information they need when choosing solar electricity systems and can save people time, hassle and money,” Mr Berrill said.
He said the guide, which will be updated every quarter with the latest solar electricity information, was developed in response to the need for a greater understanding of solar technology.
The site promotes greater consumer choice and will help drive best practice in the solar industry by providing information that consumers need, including consumer ratings of solar products and retailers.
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ShareGift Australia
ShareGift Australia gives investors the opportunity to sell their shares and donate the proceeds to charity, without having to pay costly brokerage fees. This is ideal for investors with small holdings they would rather give to charity than hold themselves, and donations over $2 are also tax deductible.
Donating through ShareGift Australia ensures that the proceeds of the sale benefit Australian charities. ShareGift Australia has now donated in excess of $150,000 to Australian non-profit organisations.
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The Robin Hood Tax
The Robin Hood Tax proposes to charge a tiny 0.05% tax on financial speculation by investment banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, in Australia and overseas.
This money can provide for vital investment in much needed and underfunded public services like health and education, resource efforts to conserve our environment, aid the fight against global poverty and climate change.
To find out more, check out the video below, or go to www.robinhoodtax.com
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National railway powered by renewable energy
Germany is already a world leader in renewable energy and consumer demand for green power keeps rising. To meet this demand, Germany's Deutsche Bahn wants to run 100% of its national railway on renewable energy and become completely carbon-free by 2050.
The move has won applause from environmental groups which includes harvesting solar power from the roofs of its 5,700 stations... (read the full article)
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"To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World?", by Lucy Siegle
The fastest growing sector of household waste is not computers or TV's, but textiles. Our appetite for cheap, disposable clothing is insatiable. This book by Lucy Siegle provides an eye opening tour of planet fashion and looks at the hidden human and environmental cost. Demand for cut price cashmere has resulted in goat overgrazing in Mongolia and trend faded jeans results in workers inhaling toxic silica to sandblast denim. (SMH June 18 2011)
Siegle, a British journalist and writer on environmental issues, analyses the global epidemic of unsustainable fashion and reveals the truth behind cut price, bulk fashion and the importance of your purchasing decisions.
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IPhone App: "Shop Ethical!"
Get the low-down on the environmental and social record of companies behind common brand names. Shop at the
supermarket with a clear conscience!
This IPhone app, available from the ITunes store for $3.99, gives background information on the parent company of more than 2800 products with criteria such as animal cruelty and supporting oppressive military regimes.
With the Shop Ethical! app you can:
- Easily find your favourite products and learn how ethical the companies are that make them.
- Add preferred brands and companies to a favourites list and get quick access to them when shopping.
- Discover ethical alternatives that are worthy of your hard earned dollars.
- Take action by easily contacting companies via web, email or phone.
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American airlines will be powered by landfill derived biofuels by 2015
Written by Ross Kendall - 23 June 2011
Landfill will be recycled into jet fuel after United State’s airlines signed a letter of intent this week to use up to 60 million litres of biofuel each year from 2015.
The biofuel will be produced by the Solena Group’s “GreenSky California” biomass-to-liquids facility in Northern California.
The process uses post-recycled urban and agricultural wastes to produce up to 60 million litres of neat jet fuel (as well as 50 million-litre equivalents of other energy products) per year by 2015 according to the announcement.
The project will divert approximately 550,000 metric tons of waste that otherwise would go to a landfill while producing jet fuel with lower emissions of greenhouse gases and local pollutants than petroleum-based fuels
American Airlines and United Continental Holdings led the development of the agreement with Solena and were joined by five additional Air Transport Association of America member airlines – Alaska Airlines, FedEx, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and US Airways – and ATA associate member Air Canada in signing the letters of intent, as well as Frontier Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines.
(Source: Ethical Investor Magazine)