Last Thursday, AYCC chair and leading Aussie environmentalist Anna Rose faced off against former Senator and renowned climate sceptic Nick Minchin on the ABC1 special I Can Change Your Mind About Climate. The documentary (and Q&A panel afterward) heavily divided the public, much like the issue of climate change – and its associated ‘realness’ or ‘urgency’ – continues to. In the lead up to the release of her new book Madlands, we caught up with Anna to pick her brain about dealing with climate change sceptics and new ways forward for environmental action. (more…)
No, this is not a strange experiment in ultimate Jenga, it’s a fully functional wall that stretches 10m created from a kaleidoscope of bricks. The amazing creation belongs to the South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre in New Delhi, an organisation dedicated to advancing human rights in partnership with United Nations. (more…)
I bet you could name a thousand ways to reuse a milk crate, but what about the bottles they once carried? Turns out that strangely textured white plastic can be used for much more than a funny looking flower vase. Brisbane design store Luxxbox have just launched their new Calcium collection which features a rather stylish range of chairs, stools and tables all made from, you guessed it, the humble milk bottle. Each chair is made up of some 157 bottles and is 100% recycled, recyclable and UV resistant – making them perfect for a life out on the deck under the year round Queensland sun! {View at artisan gallery until May 20}
Before you go kicking your current smartphone to the kerb as soon as there’s so much as a whisper about a new Apple release, consider this: your iPhone has had quite a life before it landed in your pretty little hands, and it will continue to have one the moment it leaves them. To give you an idea of what we’re talking about, developer Jen Rhee and her team have come up with a clever interactive graphic that shows you exactly what goes into – and comes out of – our mobile other halves. (more…)
Shockingly, there are only 55 Maui dolphins remaining off the waters of New Zealand’s North Island, and only a few hours left to sign a petition to help save this rarest of dolphin species from extinction. This is just one of a range of marine conservation projects supported by designer Miranda Brown and the Free the Sea T-shirt campaign, which will officially launch in May. A range of custom tees made from 100% organic, biodegradable materials will soon be available to purchase online with $5 from every sale going to Forest & Bird, Project Jonah and Enviroschools. Fight the good fight and help free the sea!
What are you doing this long weekend? In the sugar-coma haze which will inevitably descend, I think we’ll all be craving a bit of a freshen up, and what better way to do it than by a detox! Don’t worry, we don’t mean any sort of ‘put down the chocolate and drink only lemon water’ type detox – we’re talking instead about cutting the bad habits and waste from our lives and giving them a healthy and sustainable makeover. This clever little video by Green Villages Sydney will get you started, with ideas on self-sufficiency and strengthening your local community to boot! See their other clips here if you haven’t already, including how to detox your home and revamp the way you eat. After Easter, you’ll certainly be thanking them for it!
There was once a time when all of life’s moral advice came via the art of animation. (I think this time was around 1989, when Care Bears dominated the airwaves and all our problems could be solved via our furry friends in the clouds). Though that time has passed, there is new animated hope on the horizon thanks to Green Villages Sydney. We’re loving their clever Seed to Plate and Chemical Free Home animations, demonstrating the ecological impacts of (and solutions to!) hefty food miles and household waste in just one-and-a-half short, sweet minutes each. Speaking of impacts on the planet, don’t forget – WWF’s Earth Hour is tomorrow! Get those candles ready and check out Green Villages’ advice on how to take your contribution Beyond The Hour here .
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’, a wise man once said. But what if those seeking change united? One Million Women are an organisation connecting mothers, daughters, grandmothers and sisters who want to make positive change in climate, communities and for the future. Their goal is to inspire one million Australian women to take action and cut one tonne of carbon dioxide from their lives each year. The 1MW team are hosting a SAVE Summit at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Monday, March 26 featuring entertainment, speakers, demonstrations of sustainable cooking, fashion and green DIY – as well as a take-home action plan for you to save $1000+ on energy, waste and pollution through simple actions. Sweet deal!
As the summer heat dies down and that blissful Autumnal chill creeps into the air, what better time than to reach for your gardening gloves and get those green thumbs back into action. To help us all get motivated, Grow It Local has just launched a new, national kitchen-garden project focused on fostering backyard, balcony, community and windowsill food farming. Stop by the Grow It Local website or Facebook page for recipes, ideas and important tips on what and when to plant, how to maintain your garden and advice on keeping bugs at bay the natural way. Thirty lucky participants will also be chosen to attend a Local Growers’ Supper in Sydney, where they will have their own backyard produce whipped up by gourmet chefs. But hurry – you must register your patch by this Friday, March 23rd, to be in the running for one of these golden tickets!
