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Some old and not so old environmental news |
| Recent old stuff & links | River Guardians Program for July 2009 River Guardians Program for June 2009 River Guardians program for May 2009 River Guardians membership download The dieback isolation procedures - BPG draws the line! 2009 Planting program - working with Town of Bassendean Lessons learnt 2008 planting dieback reistant jarrahs 2200 seedlings are planted - Sunday Jan 11 2009 BPG Tree selection listing for 2009 Where is my 2008 tree? (maps with tree numbers) Talking Rubbish #3June 2009 Solar photovoltaics Special report Current news items Environmental issues Local fauna including threatened bird issues City of Unley (South Australia) - streetscape activities Green living ideas (see FAUNA powerpoint - 4MB) Keeping Australia Beautiful - become a litter reporter Bamboo Bikes Litter with brand names - the responsibility of the brands! Local issues, Transport notes, Old news, Loose ends, Other stuff Blogs & feedback Past pictures Eden Hill Primary School for National Tree Day 2008 |
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THE DAY THE LIGHTS |
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This is the Book with the Truth About Climate Change Are you concerned
about climate change? You will be convinced
that climate change is
a very |
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| He is the Chair & Founder of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation, plus a long time advocate
& crusader
for global climate awareness. He
has earned numerous international awards for his commitment and work. Bob lives with his family near Perth. |
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... and from Earthwatch.com ...
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| Old News Stories | |||
NASA uncovers secret
August 29th, 2008
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In Australia, Westpace, NAB & the ANZ support the Equatorial Principles. The Commonwealth Bank, (according to the Equatorial Principles website) is not present. July 5 2008. |
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WA Minister for Energy, The Hon Fran LOGAN MLA accepts a BPG Tree, Wednesday, July 16 2008 |
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| At a speech given about Clean Energy Options at the Australia British Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Parmelia Hilton, Wednesday July 16, the Minister gratefully accepted a BPG tree as part of the 2008 trees in 2008 project. With July 16 also being the day of the Federal Government's green paper on carbon trading and National Tree Day is just around the corner on Sunday July 27, it is all very timely. |
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A successful planting day on Sunday, June 29 |
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Sunday July 27 2008 is National Tree Day Volunteers wanted to plant the 2300 trees in 2008! (Starts June 29 2008) Click here to email if you can help or phone Don 08 9379 9479 |
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 'Solar powered' coffee, conversation & seeking more volunteers A team of 'BPGers' gathered Sunday at Ashfield Flats on Sunday June 22 to tell our 'native tree planting story' to the passerbys ... seeking more volunteer hands for our first planting this Sunday, June 29, starting at 9 am. (Maggie Amy's pic) |
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| Gnangara Sustainability Strategy Workshop was held on June 19 2008. Key ecological pathways were identified as the Swan River, Bennett Brook and links to Joondalup by those in attendance. For more information about the Gnangara Sustainability Strategy, please go to www.gnangara.water.wa.gov.au |
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| Swan TAFE Australian Plants course Sounds interesting ... for more information, (it's a biggish file 2.7MB) click here |
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Apache gas explosion & fire "How did the big bang occur?
The pipe that feeds west oz burst, due to it corroding |
2 dolphins in the Swan River
for |
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We are gearing up for the June / July tree planting BPG has added another sprayer and an extra tub of paint to complete the planned 2 sites marking program for the weed treatment by the Town of Bassendean. Sadly, the heavy rains recently appear to have reduced the longevity of the paint from the claimed 4-6 weeks maybe down to 2 weeks. Indicative dates for the 2300 trees to be planted are: Ashfield Flats, Sunday June 29 Bindaring Park, Sunday July 13 Ashfield Flats (again) + BBQ Sun July 27 All plantings start at 9am ... bring gum boots, gloves, mozi repellent, jacket & enthusiasm! ALL WELCOME |
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Greg, Steve & Mick (L-R)
at Bindaring Park are working out who will be the 'boss' and who will be in the 'shoot out'. Decision over, see below. Mike the Iron Man & Straight shooting Steve  |
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LATE NEWS: |
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The Town of Bassendean are planting 1000 trees at Jubilee Reserve. Species unknown. Planting dates unknown. |
The Get Up! Fuelwatch campaign
Click on the above to see the TV Ad that the Get Up! team are trying to run. Also, check out Gary Warden's latest newsletter. |
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| 1. Understanding and Using Bushland Reference Sites – field days |
The Perth Region Plant Biodiversity Project (PRPBP) is a collaborative project between PBP and DEC. The PRPBP provides a web-based, self-guided training package for plant biodiversity information. As part of this project, forty reference sites have been selected on the Swan Coastal Plain as well as seven sites in the Northern Jarrah Forest. The PBP are running two field days in early October; one aimed at Professionals working in Natural Resource Management and the other aimed at interested community members. The first field day (Community) will occur on The second field day (Professional) will occur on Places are limited so please RSVP by 26 September to Sonia Lamond at PBP on 9213 2065 or slamond@walga.asn.au |
| 2. The WA Boneseed Blitz Boneseed is a Weed of National Significance that invades vast areas of native bushland in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. It is a fast growing, aggressive plant that threatens the survival of native plants, degrades native bushland and displaces food plants of native animals. Boneseed is a serious threat to the incredible biodiversity of Western Australia, and the entire southwest region is susceptible to boneseed invasion. |
Community groups and land managers are joining together to seek out Everyone is advised to be on the lookout for the bright yellow ‘daisy’ flowers For more information, please contact Hillary Cherry, National Boneseed & Bitou Bush Coordinator at hillary.cherry@environment.nsw.gov.au 042-710-4448 or 02-9585-6587 |
| 3. Frog Watch | Western Australian Museum and the Alcoa Foundation are holding a night walk at Beeliar. Identify local frog species by sound. Admission is free. Date: Friday 3 rd October, Time: 6 - 7:30pm Reservations can be made with the Frog Doctor – 9795 7780 or frogdoctor@westnet.com.au |
| 4. Native Tree Decline Workshop | Green Skills are running a workshop on Native Tree Decline. The workshop will cover recognition, treatment and protection of healthy trees. |
Industry can help climate by reducing meat in products
By Jess Halliday / Sept 8 2008 / Foodnavigator.com
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and winner of the 2007 Noel Peace Prize, is scheduled to speak this evening at a lecture hosted by Compassion in World Farming (CWF).
“Meat production represents 18 per cent of global human-induced GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions,” he said in advance of the event – and that figure is expected to double by 2050. “While the world is looking for sharp reductions in GHGs responsible for climate change, growing global meat production is going to severely compromise future efforts.”
An average household would reduce their GHG by more if they halved their meat consumption than if they halved car use, it is claimed.
Industry actions
While Dr Pachauri puts the onus on individuals to reduce their meat consumption, Joyce D’Silva, ambassador for CWF, told FoodNavigator.com that “it would be really good if the food industry takes the meat message to heart”.
She would like to see less meat use in packaged and prepared products, with more vegetables “and other more benign materials” used to bulk them up.
Moreover, the industry could contribute by using meat raised in compliance with higher welfare standards. Meat used in pies, pastries and other meat-centered products is often from animals reared using intensive methods, which have more of an impact on the environment than free-range practices, for instance.
D’Silva agreed that using higher welfare meat might come in at a slightly higher cost. She pointed out that organic chickens cost more because they tend to live longer.
But she said that supermarkets may mark up products as they are seen as specialty, and said it would be “snobbish” to think that people on a low income or on benefits would not be interested in higher welfare meat products.
Moreover, if less meat where used and the space made up with vegetables, which are cheaper, this would balance out the overall product cost and not have an impact on manufacturers’ margins.
Lessons from eggs
D’Silva is convinced that higher welfare meat products are already starting to garner interest in Europe, the US, and Australia and New Zealand. In the future, it could even extend to other important markets like China.
The declining use of battery-farmed eggs in the last few years is taken as a strong indication of how the market can adapt to better practices. You cannot buy battery eggs in Switzerland now, for instance, and would have difficulty finding them on shelves in The Netherlands.
“There has been a huge swing on battery eggs,” she said. “No doubt there will be an equal swing on meat”.
Moreover, using more ethical ingredients can translate into attracting marketing messages for manufacturers; notably, Hellman’s mayonnaise now makes a big deal on product packs of the fact that it uses only free-range eggs.
“It would be nice for the industry to sometimes take a lead,” said D’Silva.
In defense of beef
The UK’s National Beef Association (NBA) has responded to Dr Pachauri’s comments with “a weary lack of surprise”. It has called it “yet another unproven scare story is being devised to frighten consumers away from beef.”
Chairman Christopher Thomas-Everard questioned the 18 per cent figure, which he claims “has been disproved many times since it was first invented in 2006 in a FOA report”.
The report in question included the affect of clearing the Amazon rainforest, and this activity is said to have contributed to one-third of the 18 per cent impact.
Thomas-Everard’s comments are largely in defense of the UK beef industry. “Concerned consumers should know that grass-fed UK beef has a lower carbon footprint than any alternative,” he said, adding that all the UK’s beef cows graze grass in the summer and are either fed hay, silage or straw in winter, or in many cases remain grazing throughout winter too.
In his opinion, grass-fed UK beef may even be better for the environment and for human health than a diet weighted towards lentils, pulses and cereals, since these require tractor fuel for their production.
“It takes ten units of fossil fuel energy to produce every unit of this type of food,” he said. “In contrast, grass-fed UK beef involves less food miles, has higher health giving omega 3 levels, provides otherwise unobtainable forms of iron and vitamins and reduces the use of fertiliser used in farming because of the organic matter co-product (dung) cows leave behind.”
“It also offers an opportunity for sustainable organic farming”.
More news articles on this subject
Kings Park Festival 1 – 29th September
It’s that time again (spring!) and there are numerous events going on
at Kings Park. Of particular interest is the Friends of Kings Park native plant sale 26 – 29 September.
Check out the website for the events calendar and more information: http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/
College teams begin green-vehicle competition (USA)
NATICK, MA—Teams of students representing 17 North American universities converged at the MathWorks August 13 for a week of training that kicks off a three-year competition to improve vehicle efficiency and reduce emissions. The competition—called EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge—builds on the Department of Energy's 20-year history of sponsoring advanced vehicle technology competitions, according to Connie Bezanson, lead engineer, program planning, at the DOE.
Paul Smith, director of North American consulting services at the MathWorks, said that during year 1, students will focus on model-based mechanical and electrical design of powertrain components and controllers, using tools such as his firm's Matlab and SimuLink as well as tools from other competition sponsors, including dSpace and National Instruments. In years 2 and 3, each team will integrate its design into a General Motors-provided Saturn Vue. The entire competition, said Cindy Svestka, executive technical assistant for powertrain/vehicle integration at GM, mimics GM's own global vehicle-development process.
The program offers many benefits. Smith said that students tend to stress software in ways that industrial users don't, providing valuable feedback. Bezanson said that engineers at Argonne National Laboratory, which manages the competition for the DOE, can learn from students as the students exercise the lab's Powertrain Systems Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) software. But Svestka said that from GM's perspective, the ultimate goal is to instill in the next generation of engineers knowledge of advanced vehicle technologies that employees in GM's core businesses might lack. “We have a great hybrid team,” she said, “but it will need twice the number of people within the next 10 years.” www.ecocarchallenge.org.
The Costs of Not Building Green
by Joel Bittle
Despite the narrowing gap in cost between green building and traditional "to-code" building, most builders and home buyers still perceive the green option to be significantly more expensive. The reality is that due to increased builder education and an influx of affordable green building products, a building can be built green within the same budget as a non-green building. According to Clark Wilson, CEO of Austin based Green Builders, Inc., "It’s our job as builders to find those green products that don’t drive up the price of the home."
Rick Hunter of the St. Louis green building firm Sage Homebuilders agrees: "With proper planning and a little experience, building green, even certified green, can be done for about the same cost. We are building certified green homes at the highest levels of certification for less than 1% cost increase." For an informative breakdown on how green buildings cost from 0 to 2% more than non-green buildings, check out "The True Costs of Building Green" from the folks at Buildings.com.
Now that green building is an affordable option, it’s time to change the way we frame the affordability debate. Too long have supporters of green building been on the defensive, forced to justify the costs of building more energy efficient, healthier, more sustainable homes. Instead of focusing on the costs of making your building green, let’s talk about the costs of not building green.
Energy
For those strictly interested in a financial reason to go green, the energy savings of a green building speak for themselves. With the help of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, advances in energy efficiency have resulted in savings of 40 to 60% over non-green buildings. Greater focus on appropriately sized HVAC systems, tight construction and ducts, effective insulation, and energy efficient windows can save a significant amount of energy and money. Add in the water savings from low-flow fixtures, tankless water heaters, very efficient appliances, greywater systems, water-friendly landscaping, and rainwater collection systems and it’s clear how wasteful a non-green building can be. Save a little bit of money now by ignoring these green options and you could be throwing away money for years.
Polar bears found swimming miles from Alaskan coast
August 22, 2008 08:40 AM - WWF
An aerial survey by government scientists in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this week
found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water — with one at
least 60 miles from shore — raising concern among wildlife experts about
their survival.
WA Planning Commission -
Coastlines Newsletters - Winter edition
Town of Bassendean Local Planning Strategy
published Aug 2008
Perth's "Greenest" Suburbs - sustainable energy development office
White Gum Valley (1)
West Leederville (2)
Shenton Park (3) .... click above and find out more ...