Renovation questions
Some folks are renovating in Balmain and have asked me these questions: “Some of the questions we are grappling with at present include: Whether bladder type water tanks are a good idea. They certainly give us a bit more flexibility, and also the ability to fairly easily remove them for replacement (they will be located under the main kitchen/living area The architect is thinking about concrete for both the floor and ceiling/roof of the new back area of the house, for its... Read More
On The Renovators this week
I’ll be a guest judge on the TV show, The Renovators, this week. It’s Episode 50 which should screen on Wednesday 21st (if my calcs are right); Channel 10. It’s about how to make a sustainable office and making it was a lot of fun. Don’t know how the show turns out, of course, and as I don’t watch tele if you see it you might let me know what you reckon. Fingers crossed it works, Michael UPDATE: Click here to see Michael on The... Read More
Smartflo guttering installer for Sydney
Here is an installer to consider for your Smartflo roof gutters that I use as they are self cleaning: Wayne Miller does the majority of the Smartflo supply and fit work in the Sydney area. He lives at West Pennant Hills but travels well to all Sydney locations. He has been working regularly with Smartflo since 2005. You can contact Wayne on 0414 782 513, or e-mail : buildingonyourideas@gmail.com For information on the gutters: http://www.smartflo.com.au/SF_News.htm May the... Read More
How to make a country unsustainable
The New York Times this week ran an opinion piece by Patricia McArdle (19 June) about how the US has gutted and is ending one of Earth’s most sustainable food systems. Where would they do such a thing? In a place where they mean to do ‘good’; Afghanistan. Read this and try not to open your mouth with amazement: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/opinion/20mcardle.html?_r=1&ref=opinion As some counterpoint, however, trivial by comparison, there’s... Read More
Special series on cities
This week The Australian newspaper carries a series of articles on cities, here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/shapingourfuture There’s an interesting one about planning, here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/the-realities-and-failures-of-modern-urban-planning/story-fn8ex0p1-1226073829406 I’ve written one about the future of roads, here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/redesigning-our-city-and-homes-sustainable-living-in-the-21st-century/story-fn8ex0p1-1226073842895 Enjoy, Michael Read More
Heat island goes mainstream at last
On 30 June the Melbourne Forum will host a free conference, Combating the urban heat island. The flier for it says: Urban development dramatically changes the landscape. Buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation. Surfaces that were once permeable and moist become impermeable and dry. These changes cause urban regions to become warmer than their rural surroundings, forming an “island” of higher temperatures in the landscape. The negative... Read More
Book talk at Shearers On Norton
Shearer’s On Norton talk The bookshop, Shearer’s On Norton, Leichhardt, is putting on a talk evening where I’ll talk about the new book, what worked and didn’t over the last 14 years; this is a story of the house where no sewage has left the site (how can you keep over 1.5 million litres of sewage on your house lot?), energy and water bills are less than $300 a year, and lots of mistake and lessons were made and learnt that can help you go sustainable at... Read More
Learn how to make a vertical garden from a timber pallet
Gardeners Tomorrow when we garden from 9 til 11 am most of the time it’ll be in the ‘temporary shed’ – my back yard. We’ll make a vertical garden from a timber pallet in my back yard. Cost? $Nil – everthing will either be recycled at no cost to us or grown by us: as follows - - timber pallet (carried back from building site on City Road by Gardener Thais) - hessian backing (free from Tobys Estate) - ... Read More
A beautiful bridge
• 'Te Rewa Rewa bridge Photo: Judy Rapley The ‘Te Rewa Rewa bridge is in New Plymouth, New Zealand. My friend took the photo during her visit there last Christmas – thanks. It’s been written that ‘the 19 ribs of the bridge resemble a whale skeleton arching with the prevailing westerly wind.’ Designer Peter Mulqueen shaped the bridge to “touch lightly” on the western side of the river to honour the dead in nearby burial... Read More
Enough of me, what about you?
The Sydney Writers Festival runs from 16 to 22 May. In the city it’s at The Wharf, and out at Parramatta, and at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. The venues and program has been published and is on the Net here: http://www.swf.org.au/ It’s a terrific moment in Sydney’s life and there’s so much to read, listen to, join in and enjoy. You’ve been invited to tell others how you would save the planet. The event is called, You save the planet. The... Read More
