Habitat Australia articles from October 2004

Habitat Australia archives from October 2004

Green dishwashers.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... A cheaper and safer alternative to commercial dishwashing cleaners is bi-carb (Baking Soda) and vinegar--this is recommended by Barbara Lord in her book The Green Cleaner. Just put bi-carb in the powder compartment and a small amount of vinegar...

Two Fires: festival of arts + activism.(green views)
October 1, 2004... The inaugural Two Fires Festival that celebrates Arts and Activism will be held in Braidwood, "a town where history is a way of life", east of Canberra, 18-21 March 2005. The festival is inspired by the life of great Australian Poet Judith...

The lifestyle quiz.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... I have just received the latest Habitat [August 2004] and would like to make a few comments on "The Lifestyle Test". I realise that it is not a scientific test of lifestyle impacts on the environment and is really just a guide rather than a...

Sydney Branch meetings.(green views)(Calendar)
October 1, 2004... The Sydney Branch meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6pm, at the ACF office, Level 1, 29-35 Shepherd Street, Chippendale (off Broadway). On 12 October we welcome Jeff Angel, Executive Director of the Total Environment Centre...

Tasmanian ACF members night.(green views)
October 1, 2004... Come and have a drink at the Tasmanian Environment Centre, 102 Bathurst Street, Hobart (5.30-7.30pm) on Tuesday 12 October. It will be a chance to meet ACF Councillors and fellow ACF members, find out about campaigns in Tasmania and discuss...

New council members.(green views)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Welcome to new ACF Councillors, Peter Barker in the Northern Territory, Linda Selvey in Queensland (replacing Felicity Wishart) and Anthony Flaherty in South Australia (replacing Melissa Nursey-Bray).

Casual council vacancy.(green views)
October 1, 2004... Nominations are invited from members to fill a casual vacancy on ACF Council for Queensland. Candidates, proposers and seconders must all be ACF members and nominations must be received at ACF's Melbourne office, Floor 1, 60 Leicester St...

ACF's 38th AGM.(green views)(Australian Conservation Foundation)(Annual General Meeting)
October 1, 2004... ACF's 38th Annual General Meeting will be held at 6.30pm on Saturday 4 December at ACF's Melbourne headquarters, 60 Leicester St, Carlton. The agenda will include items submitted by members, plus reports from Office Bearers and the Executive...

ACF policy review.(green views)(Australian Conservation Foundation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... At its November 2003 meeting, ACF Council decided that it was time to review ACF's policies--the first comprehensive attempt in the Foundation's history. The first step has been to identify policies whose content is substantially out of...

Change in editorship of Habitat.(green views)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... This October/November issue of Habitat sees Alison Potter depart as editor of the magazine while she goes on maternity leave to have her first child. Louise Richardson will be taking up the reins as editor during Alison's absence. All...

Council regulations review.(green views)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... ROSS TZANNES, CONVENER, GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE Council is currently undertaking a complete review of the regulations under which it operates. Most of these have not been reviewed for many years. Changes in technology, business and accounting...

A word from the Executive Director.
October 1, 2004... Climate change is a hot topic and not least here in Habitat where we're running a Climate Change Cartoon Competition (page 10) to get us all fired up about this seriously uncool topic. This issue has a number of varied stories related to...

Ethical disclosure ignored.(Corporate Environmental Responsibility)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A recent ACF study found many of Australia's top investment managers are not complying with new ethical disclosure requirements, and are not adequately taking environmental considerations into account when making investment decisions. ...

Murray solutions meeting draws 500.(Rivers And Water Campaign)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A cold, wet winter's evening did nothing to dampen the sense of urgency expressed by over 500 Adelaide residents who attended a public meeting convened by ACF and the Conservation Council of SA. The crowd heard scientists, a fourth generation...

Melbourne City passes sustainable policy.(Building Green Campaign)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... On 29 July, after a year of campaigning by ACF Melbourne City Council passed their Environmentally Sustainable Buildings policy. The policy introduced minimum environmental standards for new homes and commercial buildings in the municipality as...

Sydney reactor fails its medical.(Anti Nuclear Campaign)
October 1, 2004... Australia does not need a nuclear reactor in order to have access to high quality nuclear medicines This is the key finding of an important new report by the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, a Nobel Prize winning affiliate medical...

NT says no to dump plans.(Anti Nuclear Campaign)(Northern Territory)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The NT Government has introduced historic legislation into Parliament to ban a nuclear waste dump in the Territory. Chief Minister Clare Martin said the legislation sends a clear message on behalf of Territorians that we will not accept a...

Irradiated food off the menu.(Land Management Campaign)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... In response to an increased use of food irradiation technology in Australia the public interest group Food Irradiation Watch is organising a speaking tour of east coast centres to highlight the risks and impacts of this controversial technique....

Pilgrimage marks Hiroshima anniversary.(Peace Pilgrimage Update)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Nine months after stepping away from the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia, members of the International Peace Pilgrimage were part of events to mark the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The...

Slashing greenhouse emissions.(Climate Change Campaign)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The ACF welcomed a comment by Australia's chief scientist that the Howard Government's recent Energy White Paper should have set a target for Australia to slash greenhouse pollution. At a conference in New Zealand, Dr Robin Batterham, said...

Somerville.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... WATER CONSERVATION Phase III INSTALL NEW GENERATION SINGLE-PINHOLE SHOWERHEAD. WATER REDUCTION: 97% [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DON'T GIVE FLOWERS ON FEBRUARY 14TH. GIVE CACTUS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CURB EMOTIONAL...

Once upon a time in Billa Kallina.
October 1, 2004... We all like a happy ending and that's exactly what we got in the story of the federal government thwarted plan to impose a nuclear waste dump on South Australia. ********** IF YOU LIVED IN ADELAIDE, chances are you weren't safe. Even...

Cartoons for climate change.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Humour is a universal form of communication. Climate change is a universal threat. We're putting some fun into one of the most serious issues facing our planet and all of its inhabitants today. ********** If you are frustrated with...

The big melt.(climate corner)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Inuit communities are struggling with the rapid climactic changes in the Arctic. ********** Sheila Watt-Cloutier is the chairwoman of the group that represents about 155,000 Inuit in the Arctic regions of Canada, Russia, Greenland and...

Ark to save world's historic buildings.(climate corner)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A Noah's Ark of historic buildings and monuments at risk from climate change was launched in June. ********** With 1.2 million euro in European Commission funding, the three-year project will bring together experts from 10 countries...

Increase in dead zones.(climate corner)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A dead zone has formed off the Oregon Coast in the United States, killing marine fife and leading researchers to the conclusion that fundamental changes are taking place in ocean condition in the northern Pacific Ocean. ********** ...

Increasing environmental refugees.(climate corner)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has forecast a massive 150 million environmental refugees by 2050. ********** In China, around 4,000 villages are threatened by desertification because the great Gobi desert is...

Home made values: watch Hot Property on October 20 to see the retrofitting and auction of Bill Paine's house for ACF!(Australian Conservation Foundation)
October 1, 2004... A truly inspiring gift to ACF sets a new standard in philanthropy, but the benefactor describes it as 'a simple decision'. ********** IF PHILANTHROPY WERE an Olympic sport, Bill Paine's name would be up in lights beside Cathy Freeman,...

Pushing for the big picture.
October 1, 2004... Lobbying for a better environment can be a tough gig. It's not hard manual work--sure there's heavy lifting, but it's more persuasion than perspiration. There are no real occupational health and safety issues, except for the tendency to drink...

Citizen Australia under the spotlight.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... How is Australia performing as a global citizen in the areas of the environment, foreign aid, the United Nations, overseas trade and refugees? Our record in four of these areas, the authors say, is not one "of which any nation would be proud"....

Megacity future.
October 1, 2004... This is a glimpse into the life of "David" as he goes about his business one Wednesday in a sustainable megacity of the future. It is 2050 and we are in Australia. ********** David's abode is aware. It tracks his patterns of life and...

Protecting forests, growing jobs.
October 1, 2004... ACF and the wilderness society have mapped a plan for Tasmania to create thousands of local jobs as well as protecting approximately 240,000 hectares of old growth forests on state lands. ********** LES MURRAY RECITES... to be walking...

Foretelling the waves of the future.
October 1, 2004... What global trends are in store for environment groups and how should we make our play to be effective? ********** LIKE ALL ORGANISATIONS, environment groups must adjust to the times if they are to remain effective. To assist this...

Barrow Island: preservation or geosequestration?
October 1, 2004... The in-principle approval of new gas processing facilities on the north western nature reserve of Barrow Island raises questions about the long term safety of geosequestration projects. ********** BARROW ISLAND, 56 kilometres off...

Blowing in the wind.(Opportunities)
October 1, 2004... Without a rise in the renewable energy target, much of the puff has gone out of building jobs and new industry in the town of Ararat, in regional Victoria. ********** MENTION RENEWABLE energy and most people think of wind turbines...

Ideas in print.
October 1, 2004... Smart Alliance J. Gary Taylor & Patricia J. Scharlin Yale University Press RRP $66.95 Corporate lobbyists within the environment movement love to hear a good news story about legitimate partnerships. Around the world there is a tentative...

Land lovers.(Goods & Gizmos)(ECOproperty)
October 1, 2004... The founders of ECOproperty and its website www.eco.com.au have created a shopfront for property investors who want to nurture the land. ********** IN 1996, PATTY KOLLN met Catriona Jane MacDiarmid and they found a shared passion for...

Performance enhancing club.(ACF Member Profile)(Biography)
October 1, 2004... Environmental engineer Craig Roussac worked with an Australian workers club to turn it into a model of efficiency and green systems. ********** THIS IS THE STORY OF Craig Roussac, an environmental engineer and the ACF Sydney Branch...

The thirst for bottled water.(consuming choices)
October 1, 2004... Australians gulped down over 520 million litres of bottled water last year, making it our fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage market. ********** The bottled water craze is pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of companies...