Australia has one of the highest residential solar PV installations in the world with over 1 million systems installed. They’re installed by home owners with the goal of reducing their electricity bill, saving money or getting a good return on their investment. How well this works is totally dependent on how well the solar power system is performing.
Any of the following this can go wrong which reduce output of a solar system:
Throwing things out is far to easy. You put them in your bin and the garbage man makes them disappear. Far too many things we discard because we no longer have a use for them still have plenty of life in them and can be used by others less fortunate than ourselves.
A number of online services make the process of giving things away just as easy as throwing them out.
There are two major things you can do for a greener house move. Firstly, avoid using cardboard boxes and secondly ensure that you recycle or re-purpose any unwanted items you find during your move instead of sending them to landfill.
Replace cardboard boxes with these plastic moving boxes that can be re-used hundreds of times. There’s also a huge functional benefit in that they’re easier to carry than cardboard boxes, they’re sturdier meaning packed items are less likely to be damaged and most importantly you don’t need to tape them up so they’re faster to pack.
There are now three major car sharing fleets operating across four capital cities in Australia along with two peer to peer networks allowing people to rent their personal vehicles to others.
A car that can be replaced by a car sharing service will most likely be getting relatively little use each year. The embodied emissions (those created in its manufacture) will likely far out weigh those produced by its use. Further more once the annual runnings costs of registration, insurance, maintenance and the owners time are tallied up, the per use or per km cost will often be significantly higher than the equivalent car sharing service.
There’s been a flurry of wireless, smartphone, bike lock products over the last year. Unfortunately to date none of these projects has resulted in something that you can place an order for immediate delivery. Most have been delayed or completely stalled.
Of those we found the Noke U-Lock by Fuz is looking most promising given their history of previously delivering a similar product. Watch this space.
They’ve long been the domain of cycle couriers in Australia’s capital cities but a niche has formed and cargo bikes are just starting to make their way into maintstream use. Even in our hilly cities such as Sydney when combined with an electric bike kit they’re a viable alternative to a second car for many families.
Whilst many local bike shops stock a handful of cargo bikes there are now a serious number that specialise in this space. They can provide you with much greater level of insight into which style of cargo bike is right for you.
Everyone’s definition of a “green” product varies across factors incorporating ethical, organic, fossil fuel free, local production, energy efficiency and more. Your own definition will be a weighted mix of these factors. You might eat only organic food but not be willing to restrict your self to garments made from organic cotton. Ensuring your personal care products aren’t tested on animals might take priority over the water efficiency of your washing machine.
A number of organisations define standards and maintain certifications of products across these areas. They’re a great quick guide to finding products that meet your own personal “green” criteria.
Recycled or sustainably harvested timber is one of the most low impact materials you can use. Timber furniture is a natural carbon sink with a purpose. An artisan movement is slowly gaining momentum that is creating beautiful works that are locally produced.
In addition to superannuation funds and ASX listed cleantech companies, managed funds with a sustainability filter exist within the ethical and socially responsible investment (SRI) space. Ethical funds use a mixture of positive and negative screens.
