July Green Drinks - Thrusday 1st at the Apple Tree

Kenmore Green Drinks is on the first Thursday of every month. Turns out that's the very first day of the new month. So get July off to a friendly & sociable start and pop on down.

Green Ideas and Drinks
In The Coutyard
The Apple Tree
2060 Moggill Rd. Kenmore
From 6:30 p.m

As Carol says: "These are super evenings where we can make stronger connections or new connections and discuss the latest Green Ideas".

Last Green Drinks I came away from a free pumpkin, so there can be other benefits of going along as well!

Hope to see you there.

Renewable Energy Solutions - Online version of Phillip Machanicks talk

The first speaker at our recent meeting on renewable energy solutions was Dr Phillip Machanick.

He has been kind enough to put his talk online at www.scribd.com and I have embedded it below.

Don't forget to check out Phil's blog as well.


Clean Energy Options

Building a chicken tractor - In pictures

At our World Environment Day 2010 permablitz, folks from Transition Kenmore built a chicken tractor.
Chicken tractors come in various shapes, sizes and designs but the essential point is that they are a "movable chicken coop without a floor". This allows the chickens to live outdoors but with some protection from predators. It also allows then to peck, scratch, eat and fertilize the area. Once they are done you can move the tractor to a new area and plant in the newly fertilized space they leave behind.

Here's a few pictures of the chicken tractor we built, based on the book: "The Permaculture Home Garden" by Linda Woodrow. There are of course lots of other possible designs (just do a google search for chicken tractors)

Setting up the frame

Covering the frame with a wire mesh

Ready for their new home. A roost has been added, which is hidden by the covering.

Ploughing starts immediately

Permablitzing Anstead - Pics from our World Environment Day blitz

A couple of weekends ago Transition Kenmore carried out its June Permablitz on a sunny but temperate Sunday morning.

Holes were dug

Coffee trees were planted

The soon to be Chia patch

Shoveling soil and compost

Ready for planting

On goes the Chia

Relaxing afterwards. Thanks to everyone who came.

Annerley Sustainability Fair - This Saturday

Transition Annerley have been busy organising a sustainability fair, there's a whole heap of stuff going on, so if you feel like an outing on Saturday this look like a good bet.

Annerley Sustainability Fair

Saturday 19 June 9 am—4 pm

Junction Park State School – Sports Hall

Waldheim Street, Annerley

See the full program, maps and further information Online

Everyone is invited to join in a great day, featuring stalls, presentations and demonstrations, plus organic food & beverages to enjoy!

• Transport alternatives
• Water and energy saving ideas
• Waste options
• Recycling initiatives
• Organic food & beverages for purchase

The future's electric

Or at least it will be if Shai Agassi has his way. Another great TED talk, this time from the CEO of electric car start up Better Place.
2010 marks the launch of a number of plug-in electric cars including the much talked about Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. Unlike the major automakers Agassi plans to decrease the cost of electric cars by not requiring car owners to buy the batteries; and increase their convenience by creating battery exchange stations much like petrol stations today.

For more, watch the video...

Renewable Energy Solutions: Transition Kenmore June Meeting

It's Time for Renewable Energy Solutions!

Renewable energy has the potential to prevent climate change and make both countries and individuals energy independent.
So come and hear what is happening with real solutions in renewable energy.

The speakers on our Renewable Energy Forum will be:

Professor Paul Meredith a QLD Smart State Senior Fellow, Professor of Physics, and Co-director of the Centre for Organic Photonics & Electronics at the University of Queensland.
Prof Meredith will discuss Solar Photovoltaics (Solar PV) for residential and commercial-industrial scale generation, including cost, quality, energy produced and payback.

Dr. Patrick Glynn from CSIRO who has spent more than 35 years working in R&D will be speaking on Low Cost Micro Grids and how they can reduce CO2 emissions from power stations by 25%.

Dr. Philip Machanick, a computer scientist who is now working in a biology lab at UQ but has followed alternative energy developments for some time will chair the panel and present an overview of innovative energy solutions from around the world.

Wed June 16th 7:30 p.m
The Uniting Church Hall
982 Moggill Rd Kenmore

Graham Readfearn is back with a new blog.

Ok, so he probably never really "left" but former Courier mail journalist and everyone's favourite "Greenblogger" Graham Readfearn is back on the intertubes with his new website/blog: www.readfearn.com

I happened across Graham a few days ago in the lobby at my work, where he told me he has been freelance writing for a few different magazines and the ABC among others. He also has his new website, where he is posting about all things environmental, or as he says; "sustainability, climate change, environment, coffee and stuff".


So pop on by and say hello.

Permaculture co-founder David Holmgren Coming to Brisbane

(This is an cross post from the Brisbane Transition Hub)

Transition Kurilpa and the Brisbane Transition Hub are hosting an evening with:

David Holmgren, co-founder of permaculture.

on Future Scenarios

JUNE 15th

South Leagues Club
Davies Park, West End (map)
DOORS OPEN 6PM FOR TASTING AND A 6.30PM START

Cost $10/5

“The simultaneous onset of climate change and the peaking of global oil supply represent unprecedented challenges for human civilisation. In this workshop I will present an integrated approach to understanding the potential interaction between Climate Change and Peak Oil using a scenario planning model. In the process I introduce permaculture as a design system specifically evolved over the last 30 years to creatively respond to futures that involve progressively less and less available energy.”

NASA: Last 12 months is warmest on record

Global temperatures continue to march upwards

Global surface temperature index. Using 12 month running mean.
Volcanoes and El Nino/La Nina index is shown at bottom.

Jim Hansen and his team of climate scientists at NASA maintain a temperature record of the earth going back to 1880. With the release of their April 2010 data the last 12 months just become the warmest since the instrumental record began.

Or as they say in a draft of a new paper:

"The 12-month running mean global temperature in the GISS analysis has reached a new record in 2010. The new record temperature in 2010 is particularly meaningful because it occurs when the recent minimum of solar irradiance."

"we conclude that there has been no reduction in the global warming trend of 0.15-0.20°C/decade that began in the late 1970s"

Baring a strong La Nina, it also looks likely 2010 will be the warmest calendar year as well.

More coverage at Climate Progress, and here's a link to their paper draft if science/graphs and oodles of data are your sort of thing.

Permabltiz for World Environment Day

This week is World Environment Week

Transition Kenmore is ending the week with our next Permablitz out at Anstead on Sunday June 6th from 8am.
We will be planting some food trees, sowing a small crop and building a chicken tractor!

Please email transitionkenmore"at"gmail.com if you would like to come and want to know the address.

There are a number of other great event happening around SEQ for world environment day/ week. You can find out more about them on the CCNQ website

Here's a brief summary

Saturday 5 June:

Morningside festival         3pm – 7pm
Really Really Free market          10am – 4pm
Logan Eco Action Festival LEAF         10am – 5pm
Boonah festival          9am – 3pm
Plastic Fantastic !?!         6pm – 8pm

Sunday 6 June

Sunshine Coast Environment Festival          9am – 4pm
Tea and Seed Stories          10.30am and 2pm
Transition Kenmore Permablitz          8am – 11am

Saturday 13

June Gold Coast 'Green Day Out'

For more info go here

Green Ideas and Drinks - June 3rd at The Apple Tree

A reminder this Thursday is our monthly Green Ideas and Drinks get-together.
It is a great opportunity to get to know new people, hear what others are doing, and be inspired!
See you there for a Sip and Chatter about all things Green.

When: Thursday 3rd june....from 6:30pm
Where: The Apple Tree
The Courtyard: 2060 Moggill Rd Kenmore

Green Ideas and Drinks is a relaxed way to introduce your friends and neighbours to the ideas of transitioning to a lower carbon lifestyle.
We are planning for Green Ideas and Drinks to occur on the first Thursday of each month, last month we had a good turnout with lots of new faces. So come down, say Hi and share you Green Ideas.

Electric bicycle world tour

Electric bicycles are a cool piece of technology that can allow you to ride around a hilly and hot city like Brisbane without breaking a sweat. Despite their advantages, which include being an extremely environmentally friendly and efficient method of transport, electric bikes don't have a very big profile here in Oz. This is in contrast to countries like China where it is estimated there are 120 million electric bikes on the road.

In an effort to raise the profile of electric bicycles Spaniard Guim Teruel has undertaken an electric bicycle world tour. Starting in Beijing, Guim's cycles have so far taken him through parts of Asia, New Zealand and down the eastern sea board of Australia. Currently in Sydney (he appears to have been in Brissie last month but unfortunately I wasn't aware of it) Guim has been powering his journey with solar panels attached to a small trailer that he tows which charge his spare battery.



Guim has a website where he has been documenting his travels. Check it out and check out electric bikes.