How many is too many?

We know that babies add more to global warming than anything else in our home. Isn’t it time to cut back? [1]
Many people don’t like talking about our ever increasing human population, more than 6 billion, and likely to be 9 billion by 2050 [2]. For some, population policies bring to mind the human [...]

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If the price of electricity rises…

…use less electricity.
The daily Perth newspaper has been running lots of articles about the projected rise in electricity prices in the next few years. At the start of April the price increase was thought to be
10% in 2009-10, with similar annual increases to be phased in over the following six to eight years. [1]
In [...]

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Cheap Coal for Sure (CCS)

I know I should try to write shorter posts, but once I get started, I can’t seem to stop. So make a cuppa before you start reading.
The New South Wales state government is about to privatise NSW’s electricity generation and the retail electricity market. Former Executive Director of The Australia Institute Clive Hamilton, investigated [...]

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Learning about Climate Change

The Australia Institute, with funding from Australian Ethical Investment, put together a series of teaching materials on climate change for high school teachers of Year 9 and 10. High school teachers and university academics were consulted in compiling the nine modules.
Teaching climate change cuts across a number of different school subjects, including Science, Society [...]

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Kyoto ratified

Australia’s newly elected government has ratified the Kyoto Protocol [1], as the next stage is discussed in Bali, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference opened yesterday. [2]
Australia will now enjoy full participation in negotiations for a post-Kyoto treaty to fight global warming. [3]
ACF has previously said ratification will:

strengthen Australia’s ability to urge China and [...]

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Government tall tales

Australia is holding a federal election on 24 November 2007. In the past I haven’t voted, but I live in the marginal seat of Stirling and my uncle told me that if I didn’t vote I would be solely responsible for the Howard government staying in power. Perhaps I’ll have to change my anarchistic ways. [...]

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The Concrete Jungle

Sometimes I quite like the concrete jungle because I skateboard and I wouldn’t be able to without smooth concrete surfaces, although I’ve seen a skate video where someone is skating boulders in the US desert and it looks like fun. Other times I hate all the concrete and asphalt of our cities.
Scottish crofter Stonehead mentioned [...]

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Carbon neutralling your life

Going carbon neutral helps, but it’s not a silver bullet [1]
I had a solar water heater installed at the start of the year. Recently the company that manufactured it sent me a bumper sticker that says,
My solar water heating offsets the emissions from my car
I have issues with the concept of carbon neutrality so [...]

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Why aren’t there Big Solar Projects in Australia?

Businesses developing renewable and energy efficient technologies search in vain for a sympathetic ear in Canberra. (p.66)
Matt from The Coffee House and Environment Solutions asked,
Are there not any big solar building projects going on in Oz?
My original answer to Matt was,
The University of NSW and Australian National University are internationally recognised in solar technology development, [...]

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Coal and its Consequences

Clive Hamilton, the executive director of The Australia Institute, and George Monbiot, journalist and environmentalist, have been writing back and forth about the ideas presented in Monbiot’s book Heat. This started with Hamilton’s review of Heat in the New Left Review.
Hamilton has most recently written,
I was taken aback at Monbiot’s endorsement of carbon capture and [...]

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