Sustainable living put to the test in Bondor-QUT study partnership

Sustainable housing is increasingly sought-after by Australians – but how effective are current strategies and products used in sustainable construction? A study, which sees Queensland University of Technology (QUT) team up with Bondor, aims to find out. Residential homes in each state constructed using Bondor’s innovative InsulLiving® building products, InsulWall® and SolarSpan®, will be monitored over an extended period of time to evaluate how Bondor’s high performance thermal building system meets the needs of the residents in relation to both energy cost savings and comfort. QUT’s Dr Wendy Miller and Bondor have been working closely since 2009 when Bondor first …

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It’s raining water tanks

It’s raining water tanks: top tips for keeping them healthy and efficient Article published by CSIRO 11 February 2015 Author: Adam Knight Australia is the driest populated continent in the world, and yet our water consumption per person is among the highest on the planet. For Australians, water is scarce and how we manage this resource is a concern for us all. It’s no surprise that people are looking to install some form of water catchment for their property. Recent data shows that 26 per cent of Australian homes have already installed a rainwater tank and an overwhelming majority reported that they are positive about …

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Book edited by Tor Hundloe, Bridgette McDougall and Craig Page The Gold Coast is Australia’s premier tourism destination, a city cut out of coastal vegetation, including paperbark swamps, mangroves and rainforests of worldwide significance. The Gold Coast Transformed is a collection of integrated chapters identifying and assessing the environmental impacts of the building of Australia’s sixth largest city. It traces the cumulative impacts from the day the first timber-getter entered what is now World Heritage-listed rainforest through to the present. The city’s natural and engineered environments are both fascinating and vulnerable. The construction of massive high-rise apartment blocks, on what …

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Three new wind farms to deliver 200 MW clean energy through reverse auction

Three new wind farms will be built in Victoria and South Australia as a result of the ACT Government’s first wind energy reverse auction. Australian Capital Territory Minister for the Environment Simon Corbell said the reverse auction has resulted in a $50 million direct investment into the local economy and broader economic benefits in excess of $240 million. The three winning projects were: The Ararat Wind Farm, an 80.5 megawatt (MW) wind farm developed by RES Australia west of Ballarat, Victoria The Coonooer Bridge Wind Farm, a 19.4 MW wind farm developed by Canberra company Windlab Limited west of Bendigo, …

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Renewable biofuel production avoids competition with food resources

The efficient production of both biofuel and animal feed from one crop is now possible, and can be done on a farm without the need for off-site processes. The research, published in the open access journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, demonstrates the practical potential of an alternative to fossil fuels that does not compete with food resources. ‘First-generation’ biofuels include ethanol produced from food sources such as corn and sugarcane. While recognized as a renewable energy source with potential to improve fuel security, their production has caused controversy over competing land-use for food and increased grain prices. The fermentation of non-food …

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Sustainability: Are We Winning?

Peter Newman | TEDxPerth Most sustainability talks are about the doom and despair associated with climate change. In his talk, Peter Newman compiles recent trends to show the hope that we could perhaps change enough to meet the global challenges, especially in our cities. Decoupling fossil fuels from wealth and liveability can now be seen with peak fossil fuel investment, peak power consumption, peak car use and peak oil. Peter is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and Director of CUSP. He is a Lead Author for Transport on the IPCC and was a member of the Advisory Council …

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Sustainability vs. Resilience

By William E. Rees, originally published by Resilience.org: Sustainability vs. Resilience In my opinion this article [The End of Sustainability] is poorly reasoned, and mis-represents (misunderstands?) both sustainability and resilience. Two sample quotes to illustrate (ignoring for a moment that the authors use a questionable definition/understanding of sustainability)… read the full article here

Sustainability in Business Association Education 2015

The Sustainability in Business Association will celebrate its 6th birthday this year with a change of focus and a wider business and sectoral agenda. Included in the new initiatives are; • An updated website with increased member content. This will include sustainability podcasts and papers from a number of conferences. • Members will have the opportunity to present at a selection of conferences and have their business papers published internationally with an ISBN number. Academic papers will also have the option of peer reviewing before publication. • Sustainability streams and access to member rates will be available at the following …

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