Ask your government to prioritise safe alternatives to desalination
This month’s lead Futuremakers story focuses on desalination’s impact on our environment. WWF’s June report on the issue was met with significant support from people in areas where desalination plants are being implemented.
Many of you wrote in to express your disappointment and concern over the elected government’s decision to progress local desalination plans without community consultation, against environmental groups’ legitimate concerns, and governments’ own coastal planning guidelines.
You can take action to stop the construction of desalination plants in coastal communities. If you are concerned about desalination and the impact on the environment, take steps to write to your local MP (if you’re not sure of your electorate, you can find it here) or State premier, or to the Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Ask that priority be given to safe alternatives to desalination. Such alternatives include localised water collection such as rainwater tanks, water efficiency projects, demand management and leakage reduction.
Photo: re_birf @ flickr
WWF was the global green partner for the Live Earth series of concerts and was astounded by the number of supporters who attended the Sydney event.
Despite the huge international turnout, there was ongoing media debate following the concert questioning whether Live Earth fulfilled its mission to create an international movement to combat climate change.
Like WWF’s Earth Hour campaign (which was recently launched for 2008 - more on that soon!), Live Earth was a success in that it got people thinking about climate change, inspiring them to make simple changes on a daily basis to reduce their emissions.
I’ve mentioned previously that Apple Australia has been lagging behind its U.S.-based parent in providing recycling for it’s products.
So I was glad to read that they’ve now launched a local program.
As far as I can tell it’s for a limited time and only available in Sydney and Melbourne. I’m not sure if the program will be extended, or future dates will be announced. For a limited time they are extending the offer for computers and peripherals from other manufacturers, not just Apple products.
It’s a good start - but hopefully the program will be extended into the future, and perhaps not be limited to specific dates.
If you live in Sydney you may want to check out the Live Green festival which is happening at Victoria Park, Camperdown on 25 August.
The blurb for the event says:
Green city living made easy…. Showcasing information and practical ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle in an urban environment.
With green shopping, talks & seminars, and music. Celeb chef Kylie Kwong is getting behind the festival as well - no doubt lending her skills to the cooking activities that are listed on the event site.
The event is just down the road from where I live so I’m hoping to catch it. Drop a comment if you’re heading along - mebbe we can arrange a Futuremakers meetup or sumtin?
GreenerComputing reports that the recent announcement from Apple regarding its environmental policies has placed it in the top ten green electronics manufacturers in a report released by Greenpeace.
Previously Apple placed last - in part because Apple’s policy was to not disclose any environmental information about their products. Steve Jobs’ recent letter pretty much changed that, resulting in the change of placing for Apple.
The report is a good resource if you want to check out which manufacturers are the greenest. Of course all electronic equipment uses resources, produces waste and consumes energy, both in manufacture and in use - I’ve thrown together a quick checklist when buying electronic equipment if you are concerned about the environmental impact of your purchase:
- Only buy if you need to - can you get another 6 months out of that computer or phone before upgrading? Holding off extends the life of the computer (which makes better use of resources) but also means you can take advantage of the upgraded models that are no doubt just around the corner.
- Recycle your old stuff - did you know you can recycle your old mobile? There are options available for recycling other equipment like computers as well. Check with your local council.
- Get off standby - standby power consumes a lot of energy - between 5% and 10% according to some estimates. Look for equipment with a true “on/off” switch (some equipment only has a standby option) and also check that it has low standby power consumption as well, so that when it is on standby, your using the minimum amount of energy possible.
