Catherine Mohr - Building a truely green home - Another great TED talk

In her quickfire (6 minute) TED talk, Catherine Mohr explains how she is using embodied energy (the amount of energy required to make something) to guide her decisions in building a green house. You can find more info on her own blog.

In cutting through the waffle and examining the numbers Catherine shows how the places you can make the biggest savings might not be where you'd expect. And also answers the question, will building a new energy efficient home save energy in the long term or should I have kept my old place?
You'll have to watch it to find out.......

In the discussion on the TED site, Catherine also responds to questions about whether building the house cost more:

"The five main areas I identified as saving embodied energy turned out to be either cost neutral or cost savings over traditional. Deconstruction cost more in labor, but there were salvageable materials whose value offset the labor. High flyash concrete was cost neutral, the cellulose insulation was cheaper than either foam or fiberglass, the wood windows were cheaper than the vinyl (although maintenance will make that advantage disappear), and the wooden and concrete floor could be cost neutral to carpet, but I chose reclaimed wood for its beauty"

So I guess the answer is not really, if you do it right.

100% Renewable

A few of us got together on Sunday morning to support the 100% Renewable Community Campaign. http://www.100percent.org.au It is more critical than ever that we make our voices heard given the government's lack of commitment to action.

Climate reality week - John Cook from Skeptical Science.com to speak at UQ

UQ Climate for Change is running several cool events for Climate Reality week. A nationwide event organised by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), this week aims to remind everyone that we cannot escape the realities of climate change by ignoring the problem, we need to take action.

On Friday May 7th, John Cook, author of the website Skeptical Science will be giving a lunch time talk at the University of Queensland about "The reality of climate change" and true scientific skepticism (map).

After John's talk there will be a panel discussion also featuring:

Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg - Director, Global Change Institute, UQ and expert on coral reefs and climate change
Jessie Wells - Oxfam Australia
Megan Evans - UQ Climate for Change

Click on the poster below for all the details


As mentioned by Philip in the comments, there is a free Skeptical Science iPhone App. All the science straight to your phone (very handy for dealing with your climate skeptic cousin when you see them at your next family get together).

TED talk from Transition founder Rob Hopkins - Transition to a world without oil

TED talks bring some of the world best thinkers and doers together to share "Ideas worth spreading". Along with its once a year conferences in California and Oxford, TED affiliated events are now held around the world and many talks are put online for all to see.

Here's Rob Hopkins talking about the transition to a world without oil at TEDglobal in Oxford last year.

There are lots of other great TED talks available on the website, many along the Technology, Entertainment, Design subject areas but increasingly others too, such as A Greener Future? I'll be posting some more interesting talks in the near future.

Green Ideas and Drinks at The Apple Tree, Thurs May 6th

Transition Kenmore are having our first Green Ideas and Drinks on Thursday May 6th.
It's a a relaxing informal way to hear what others are doing, share an idea, be inspired and to meet people interested in building community and living more sustainable lives.

Invite you neighbours and friends for a chat, a coffee or drink and something to eat, perhaps after they have done their shopping or are on their way home from work.

Meet you in the courtyard at:
The Apple Tree
2060 Moggill Rd
Kenmore
from 6:30pm!

Debunking Monckton (with videos)

Recently, Lord Christopher Monckton was in Australia. Arguably the most prominent climate change "skeptic" in the world, Monckton's visit drew enormous press (over 10x that of Prof James Hansen, arguably the most prominent climate scientist in the world, on his recent visit).
While in Oz, Monckton had a number of things to say, but is he truthful or credible? In the entertaining videos below Peter Sinclair examines some of Monckton's claims.

Have a look.

After watching these videos, you may (like me) wonder how someone who goes around claiming that global warming is a conspiracy to impose a communist world government, and that he has has invented a drug which is being showing promise against AIDS and a host of other diseases is taken seriously and gets so much press?
Although it is "somewhat" understandable that many journalists would not have the scientific expertise to examine some of his other claims, do they never stop to ask "Is this guy credible?" Or is it simply that no credibility is required to be a prominent climate skeptic?

Don't Palm Us Off - Zoo's launch petition for labeling of Palm Oil in consumer products

Zoos from around Australia and New Zealand are running the "Don't Palm Us Off" Campaign. A petition to FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) to have mandatory labeling of all food products containing Palm Oil. You can sign the petition here or here.

Currently deforestation and habitat destruction on a massive scale is occuring in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia to clear rain-forests for Palm Oil plantations. Not only is this a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions but the loss of habitat is threatening species such as "the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant, Asian rhino and other rain-forest species with extinction".

The palm oil from these former rain-forest areas goes into a huge number of consumer products and so the Zoo's are running the "Don't Palm Us Off" campaign to introduce mandatory labeling of which products contain Palm Oil so that customers have the option to not buy products contributing to the devastation of rainforests in South East Asia.

Why take this step, Taronga Zoo explains "To help support sustainable palm oil sources, the first step is for palm oil to be labelled on food products. Currently, with no mandatory labelling, consumers do not know what is in the products they are purchasing."

Fans of Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords might enjoy this little video too.
Petition is here