News Thursday August 18th 2011
Posted on 18 August 2011 by e-news
MASG and LOCAL NEWS
Goldfields Solar Hub: New Prices announced for stage 2
As part of this program MASG and our partner the Bendigo Sustainabilty Group have negotiated a very good price for a premium product from our solar panel provider Braemac Energy.
Braemac Energy are offering quality Solar Panels from Taiwan, manufactured by AUO. AUO is the largest manufacturer in Taiwan of LCD (TV displays) products, supplying to the likes of Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, etc. AUO has gone green designing and manufacturing their own solar panels.
The inverter supplied is designed and manufactured in New Zealand by a world leading power supply and solar inverter manufacturer.
Prices start from $4,690 for a 1.6kW system and despite the reduction in rebates the prices for larger systems have dropped. Go to the Goldfields Solar Hub website for the current starting prices
Comfy Homes Project – why grow a beard when you already have one?
The friendly Beard's staff: lots of ideas on how to save you money and make your house more energy efficient
Out Campbells Creek way, Beards Hardware will stock you up with all things energy efficient and help you on your way to improve your home sustainability, heating and cooling. They carry products to assist roof ventilation, insulation, draught excluders, energy efficient light bulbs, ceiling fans, plants and more. Fun and friendly staff will be happy to assist. Where to find them: 125 Main Road, Campbells Creek. T: 5472 1270
MASG vital signs workshops: final in the series Group skills – Consensus decision making
Consensus decision making is increasingly used to help groups make better decisions, develop better group relationships, and increase the chances that decisions will be implemented well. You will learn: What is consensus and why do we want it? Basic steps of reaching consensus & roles in the consensus process Thursday 25th August, 7.00-9.00pm The Forge Bookings. RSVP: admin@masg.org.au; 54706978 Cost per workshop: $20; $10 (MASG members); $10 (conc)
CoG meeting
The MASG committee plus working groups and staff forms the Coordinating Group or CoG of MASG. This forum meets monthly and is the main forum for discussion and most importantly for making decisions and taking action. The next CoG meeting is on Thurdsay August 25th from noon to 2pm at The Forge, Barker St (opposite She Sells Seafood). For more details contact Dean on 54706978 or dc@masg.org.au. You can also download the MASG organisational structure and meeting contacts from one easy page here (61Kb)MASG map update august16 2011
Sustainable House Tour : Be part of a fun team.
The Sustainable House Tour will be held on Saturday Oct 15th and we are looking for this event to be a boomer…showcasing our Shire to visitors, providing attendees with valuable information and ideas and raising some needed $ to support MASG’s ongoing work of helping local people take action on climate change. But for all this to occur we need YOUR help.
Can you spare a few hours to do one of the following tasks on the tour day or leading up to it?
- Meet and Greet participants from other towns at the train station
- Minibus Driver (normal car licence ok)
- House Helper (on the day assisting home owners with the guests), 2 per house needed.
- Registration Desk, 3 needed.
- Set up (day before) and set up (on the day)
- Bump out (packing up on the day)
- General cats body…setting up signs etc
If you can help or for more information contact Carolyn on 54 70 6325 or kaz@masg.org.au
Growing Abundance Due to popular demand: Another Pruning Workshop
Saturday 27th August, 10am-2pm: 16 Henry st, Chewton (Off Eureka St – turn left just over railway bridge and follow dirt road around). Taught by local permaculturalist Ian Lillington, this is a hands on workshop which gives you a chance to put your new skills to work with expert guidance. Bring your own secateurs and pruning tools of choice, a ladder if you have one and some food to share for lunch. Morning tea and soup provided.
$35 waged, $15 concession and Free to Growing Abundance volunteers
OTHER NEWS
Can technology solve global warming?
Power Surge US documentary as shown on TV on Monday is available for viewing online at SBS
It highlights how there are at least 17 currently commercially avaible technologies that could be deployed in concert to dramatically cut global emissions of CO2. Dan Kammen, from the University of California, Berkeley, tells the program that the carbon problem is actually easily solvable.
“What’s hard is that we need to make a lot of change in a hurry,” he says. “We, more or less, have the coming four decades to recreate a green version of the industrial revolution that’s taken us 150 years.”
Power consumption makes historic drop
One of Australia’s largest electricity distributors Ausgrid says it is experiencing a “historic” cut in households’ demand for power. Demand for its electricity by regular households has fallen 2 per cent each year for the past four years. It is the first time the company has seen a fall in demand since the 1950s.”If you go right back to the 1950s, residential consumption has continued to rise year on year, and in around 2006, we saw that plateau,” Ausgrid energy efficiency specialist Paul Myors said the drop is caused by consumers switching to energy efficient hot water systems and light bulbs after seeing their power bills go through the roof. Read more in the ABC news.
New report: CO2 emissions cost way more than you think.
After running an independent analysis, Economics for Equity and Environment, the network of economists that published the report, found that in 2010, one ton of CO2 in the atmosphere did much more damage than the amounts proposed in earlier studies, indeed more than 12 times the US government’s highest estimate. The report notes that every tonne of CO2 added now creates greater damage than those emitted previously as we move into a more unstable climate. The report highlights how many other eonomic modelling groups, such as the US government team, failed to take into account many of the biggest risks associated with climate change, and downplayed the impact of our current emissions on future generations, and hence have greatly underestimated the true economic impact of greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis shows that the worst case cost of emitting a tonne of CO2 could be almost $900 in 2010, rising to $1,500 in 2050. If the damages per ton of carbon dioxide are that high, then almost anything that reduces emissions is worth doing. Download the Economics impact report here.
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