Articles tagged ‘Sustainability – current stories’.

Showcasing local sustainable houses
The EconoSpace is the brainchild of Irish architect and central Victoria resident, Peter Cowman. The passive solar ‘EconoSpace’ is an abbreviation of the words ‘economical space’. It is a small eco-building which can be constructed without a building permit in the average backyard.
Mount Alexander Sustainability Group (MASG) and Council are proud to be jointly hosting a sustainable house tour in Castlemaine on Saturday 25 Februar...
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Greece shows us how to protest against a failed system
Greek-protests
The rage displayed in Greek cities against austerity measures inspires all who are suffering for the benefit of banks and the rich By John Holloway, ...
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Weekend read: Study on brain shrinkage shifts to Tassie Devils
tasmanian devil
The quality of captive breeding enclosures and time spent in them may be crucial to the success of marsupials once released back to the wild, new rese...
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Weapon to smash and destroy (weeds)
Michael Walsh and the seed destructor
A weapon invented by a WA farmer to smash and destroy weed seeds is nearing commercial production after further development by the Australian Herbicid...
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Arctic scientist warns of dangerous climate change
Russian firefighter at peat fire, July 2010
The future of human kind faces dire consequences, due to arguably the first signs of dangerous climate change in the Arctic, says a leading internatio...
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Valentines Day CI competition – an outbreak of lerve
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It’s Valentines Day on Tuesday and CI is offering a great new competition! It’s called: An outbreak of lerve. (All right, it’s a bit...
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Weekend read: The biodiversity crisis – Worse than climate change
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“The biodiversity crisis – i.e. the rapid loss of species and the rapid degradation of ecosystems – is probably a greater threat than global...
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Government confirms AFP spying on coal seam gas protesters
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Minister Joe Ludwig, representing the Attorney General in the Senate, confirmed in Question Time on Tuesday that the Australian Federal Police monitor...
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Blow-ins and locals all contribute to building communities
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Regarding Two side of the same coin: Yes, very timely piece given the oil has floated firmly to the surface in recent weeks thanks to both pokies and ...
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Evidence required
kiss
I think newcomers would be fast tracked into qualifying as a local if they could prove they have had a sexual experience on the Western. (We will requ...
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Speed date a sustainable designer
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What’s the sexiest event in green building and design? Fourteen of Victoria’s leading sustainable architects and building designers will be availa...
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Government misleads World Heritage Committee on Tasmanian logging
The Australian Government has lodged a report with the World Heritage Committee that misrepresents the extent of logging in forest surrounding the Tas...
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Ten seriously positive ways to resist poker machines in Castlemaine
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By Andrea Ross 1. EPIC have done a great job thus far. But don’t be passive and expect EPIC to do it all. The VCGR may have dismissed the EPIC group...
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Two!
At the last CI staff meeting
It’s CI’s birthday! Two. How would you live without us? Let us know! Congratulate us. Conditions of congratulating us: 1. No hate bloggers...
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Scrap wasteful oil and gas tax breaks and invest in ocean protection
The Federal Government could save $2.3 billion in the 2012-13 Budget by scrapping wasteful and inefficient tax breaks to the oil and gas sector and ot...
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The meat on my plate
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Christian Monahan, The Produce Garden When I was around 16 years old I was sitting in the back of my parents’ car as we drove along on our way t...
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Council pursues Western Reserve option
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Despite widespread opposition, Council is pursuing its indoor pool option at the Western Reserve. This week Council has presented a concept design aft...
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Community wind hits the streets
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Last week residents met with the Mount Alexander Community Wind Working Group to guide the six-month strategy for Mount Alexander Community Wind, incl...
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The PM believes in fairytales (so how come she won’t disappear in a cloud of fairy dust?)
Let's make Pakistan next!
By Anonymous Since when is a meeting in a bar a “modern-day fairytale”? Did Fred and Mary have a drunken shag in the dairy and then he won...
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The critical decade
tipping
The red zone is run away climate change, what we get  if we can’t keep the global temperature rise below the ‘safe-ish’ two degrees rise. T...
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CFA chemicals linked to cancer deaths
Carcinogenic chemicals stored at the Country Fire Authority (CFA) headquarters in regional Victoria in the 1970s and 1980s have been linked to the dea...
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Why solar parity scares big utilities
… This might explain why state governments, in Victoria and NSW in particular, are happy to delay the rollout of renewable energy at a large sc...
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Indian uranium plan fails nuclear test
Yellow cake being processed
ACF yesterday welcomed expert advice that any planned move to sell Australian uranium to India would be unlawful. The confirmation comes ahead of this...
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Rally against pokies!
EPIC A4 Rally Poster_1
  Read the complete archive of poker machine stories by clicking the problem gambler at left  ...
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Minister’s investment in CSG sends worrying message to communities
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Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith, allegedly has personal investments in the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry. He has ...
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A guide to local produce
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For the past 18 months or so Ellen Madigan has been working on a great new project for the shire, and it will be launched on Thursday 24 November at t...
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Conference calls for wind farm policy change
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Victoria’s wind farm policy threatens regional development and should be changed, according to delegates at a national Community Power Conference in...
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Central Victoria Solar City seeks partners
CVSC Concept Two_V6
As a partner of Sustainable Regional Australia (SRA), the lead proponent of the Central Victoria Solar City project, your community could improve its ...
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Loan to Kiva
Verónica Natividad
CI has been loaning money to workers in poor countries through an organisation called Kiva. Verónica Natividad from Ecuador is our sixteenth loan. V...
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Leaders discuss climate change adaptation for Bendigo
Government, industry leaders and academics will meet in Bendigo this week to workshop designs for local adaptation to climate change. Victoria Univers...
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Our forests online
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Words and images by Alison Pouliot The International Year of Forests may be drawing to a close, but we need to consider every year as a year to fight ...
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Small steps
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By Peter Dewar* Conservation of the world’s wilderness areas is integral to everything Sanctuary Retreats do – and their lodges and camps ...
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New ways of seeing – connecting with forests across the hemispheres
Jura Forest_web
As the International Year of Forests draws to a close, Alison Pouliot reflects on the importance of connecting with forests across the globe. It takes...
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Talk on Take 3
Talk by Tim Silverwood at the Ray Bradfield Room, Castlemaine on Tuesday, 6 December at 7pm. Tim will speak on the Take 3 initiatives, his role as Amb...
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Growing tomatoes – and a killer bug spray
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By Christian Monahan, The Produce Garden  It’s mid-spring (apparently) and if you have a protected spot in the garden from our obligatory late ...
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