So much fun burning oil
Went to Warrnambool, Victoria, these last three days. Warrnambool Council asked me to speak about sustainable living at their Sustainable Living Festival held on Saturday 14 January. It was a lot of fun, seeing these places and meeting so many interesting folks. Saw a great community garden at Warrnambool; info here: http://warrnamboolcg.wordpress.com/ Friday morning I flew from Sydney to Avalon airport near Geelong, about 1 hour 20 if you... Read More
Mayor Bloomberg donates $50m to fight coal
Wow. Read this: “Michael Bloomberg will donate $50 million to the Sierra Club’s campaign to get rid of coal-fired power plants. Called Beyond Coal it has helped block the construction of 153 new coal-fired power plants. Bloomberg’s donation will allow the Sierra Club to expand their staff on the anti-coal campaign from 100 to almost 200 full-time workers.They will be spread across 46 states and focus on grassroots organizing, lawsuits and social media. Most politicians... Read More
Food prices and weather extremes
The Sydney Morning Herald’s columnist, Paul Sheehan, has today written a column about food prices and weather extremes; see it here - http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/next-shock-will-be-high-food-prices-20110116-19sen.html Speaking of gardening and food, there’s lots of rain forecast for the next few weeks so it’s a good time to be planting, mulching and composting, Michael Read More
Gas drilling and fracking
Amidst the gas drilling frenzy across Australia and the limp coverage of it by our media I’ve found this recent blog by one of my favourite energy writers, James Kunstler, and some of it is here: “• The fracking fluid is a secret proprietary cocktail formula amounting to 5 percent of the liquid injected into the earth. It’s composed of: sand; a jelling agent to suspend the sand because water is not “thick” enough; biocides to kill bacteria that... Read More
How to roast your own coffee beans
Every type roasts at a different rate because of a different density When a bean reaches its individual temperature it cracks, like popcorn pops This first ‘crack’ is caused by the physical expansion of the bean as water and carbon dioxide split and carbon dioxide is released (ah, it’s everywhere this stuff!). This first crack opens the central divide of the bean and loosens the very light papery sheath that encloses it and which becomes... Read More
Engrossing analysis of the US failed climate bill
It’s in the New Yorker, here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all Excellent writing about a key moment in US and Earth’s history. Enjoy, M Read More
Two stories, one planet
Well, last week China set a price on carbon pollution as this story from a Chinese paper (The China Daily) notes: Just as the U.S. Senate was abandoning plans for a U.S. cap-and-trade system, this article ran in The China Daily: “BEIJING — The country is set to begin domestic carbon trading programs during its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) to help it meet its 2020 carbon intensity target. The decision was made at a closed-door meeting chaired by Xie Zhenhua, deputy... Read More
