World Environment Day 2008

Today is World Environment Day.

So yes, you can probably expect another environmental ramble. Look away now if you don't want to read on. 

Anyway, the theme for this year's WED is CO2, Kick the Habit. Towards a low carbon future. If you go to the  WED website  there are heaps of simple suggestions that ANYONE can implement for reducing their CO2 output, like changing your lighting globes over energy efficient ones, switching appliances off rather than leaving them on standby, switching your electricity to green, washing on cold or 30 degrees rather than hot and of course, taking public transport or riding your bike where possible.

Did you know that by merely reducing your car usage by a mere 20 kilometres a week you can prevent 300kg of greenhouse gas emissions from  being pumped into the environment each year?

On this topic, it has been good to hear the topic of reducing our own petrol consumption being raised in the media.  It's actually pretty detrimental, transport accounts for about 25 per cent of all the greenhouse gas emissions; that's pretty staggering really. 

If you're interested in knowing more about your own carbon footprint, take this little test at the Australian Conservation Foundation's website. It is pretty simplistic, and there are others like this out there, but it is good to get you thinking about what changes you can make to your own consumption to help.  It's interesting to also have a look at what is considered a sustainable footprint for Australians; it is pretty tiny.

Anyway, my husband is off to the United Nations Environment Day Awards Presentation tomorrow night; I'm going to get him to take notes on what the meal entails LOL  But I think it will be a pretty interesting awards ceremony with plenty of inspiring stories. He's going along with a group to represent the Australian Underwater Federation who have organised the Great Australian Shark Count. It's been so successful that it has quickly become the world's largest community shark count in a short time; it's pretty amazing. My husband hasn't been involved in the organisation of the count, the brains and guys behind that live in Queensland, and it really wouldn't be an environmentally  friendly option to fly to an Environmental Awards would it. 

Interestingly, World Environment Day has been going since 1972!!  Why the heck has it taken so long for environmental consciousness to catch on. Remember in the 80s all the focus on the Greenhouse Effect, and then that prime minister we had very recently (He Who Shall Not Be Named) who didn't actually believe in the Greenhouse Effect. Staggeringly there are still people who really just don't get it!!  And the government still isn't taking enough action!!

Oh, the photo above is our roofline. You can see our solar panels, they're nearly seven years old so have been serving us quite well for some time.  There are good subsidies available to install solar hot water services and the technology has progressed so much for solar hot water even in the years since we installed ours ;)