Friday, May 30, 2008

Students of Sustainability 2008

Students of Sustainability (SoS) is a five day conference for anyone interested in creating a more ecologically and socially sustainable world.

SoS '08 will be held at the University of Newcastle from the 5th to the 9th of July, with camping close by. Students, community and Indigenous activists, academics, public intellectuals, environmental educators, social change agents of all stripes and from all over Australia will come and participate in a range of educational, practical and participatory forums and workshops. SoS is about imparting the inspiration, tools, motivation and education required for participants to inspire and educate others when they return to their own communities.

The conference includes
- Workshops on environmental and social justice issues
- Planning for a sustainable future
- skills and planning sessions for taking real action
- High Schools Day (Monday 7th July)
- Community Day - Linking the local to the global

Serviced campsites provided

The conference will take place at the University of Newcastle from 5th-9th July.

For more information check out the website

The conference will be followed by the Camp for Climate Action, which is also being held in Newcastle from 10th to 15th July

World Environment Day Movie

The Arid Lands Environment Centre is hosting a film night at The Lane on World Environment Day, Thursday 5th June.

The film, The Future of Food will start at 8pm and will be followed by DJ's

Cost is $5/$10

Wear warm clothes

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Muster up your old mobiles

The mobile muster program recycles old mobile phones. Over 90% of materials in phones can be recycled. There are 3 drop off locations in Alice Springs; Cartridge World, Telstra and XLcom. In Tennant Creek, you can take them to town council. You can even post your phone free of charge. Information on your nearest drop off point and the free mailing labels can be downloaded from the mobile muster website.

Materials in mobile phones that can be recycled include: nickel, cobalt, cadmium, gold, silver and plastic. One tonne of mobile phone circuit boards can yield the same amount of precious metals as 110 tonnes of gold ore, 123 tonnes of silver bearing ore and 11 tonnes of copper sulphide ore.

Launch of carbon calculator / Environment day library display May 31st

The Alice Springs carbon calculator will be launched on Saturday, May 31st at the Alice Springs library. Come along between 9am to 1pm and give it a go.

Representatives from ALEC and Alice Solar City will be there too.

The display celebrates World Environment Day (June 5th).

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Learning to Change - Changing to Learn

This is a great video entitled "Learning to Change - Changing to Learn" which looks at learning for the 21st Century. It describes our present situation as 'the death of education, but the dawn of learning' which could be a very exiting place to be - if we can get there in time!



For some reason the sound is not in sync with the picture on this version - if you are accessing this from somewhere where YouTube is accessible, you might like to go to the YouTube version

k-12 Online Conference 2008

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!

8 ways to reuse a 2 litre drink botle

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

NOT JUST ANOTHER ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR

The Global Footprint Network is pleased to announce a new Ecological Footprint Calculator!

Currently they have calculators available for the U.S. and Australia, with more countries being added all the time.

www.footprintnetwork.org/calculator

AUSTRALIA 2020 SUMMIT- INITIAL REPORT  

The Initial Report from the 2020 Summit to the Prime Minister, sets out thekey results of discussion by 1000 Australians over the weekend of 19 & 20April in Canberra.www.australia2020.gov.au/docs/2020_Summit_initial_report.doc

ENERGY AND EQUITY - Preparing Households for Climate Change: Energy, Equity and Immediacy

Energy and Equity, a report produced by Australia’s leading environmental, consumer and welfare organisations, says energy efficiency is potentially the quickest and cheapest way to cut greenhouse pollution. Energy savings of 30% are possible using immediately available effective technologies. The report recommends that efficiency improvements be complemented by appropriate utility tariffs and safety net measures.

The report, a joint project between the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and CHOICE, says five percent of existing homes should be retrofitted each year with energy and water saving technologies such as insulation, solar hot water and rainwater tanks to offset inevitable increases in utility prices resulting from emissions trading and other factors.

http://www.acoss.org.au/upload/publications/papers/4204__EnergyEquity%20low%20res.pdf

AAEE Awards

AAEE Executive and the Award Recognition Committee invite nominations for the 2nd Annual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Education in Australia. The Award is presented to a person who has made an exemplary contribution to the field of environmental education. The Award is coordinated through the recognition committee within the Australian Association of Environmental Education. Prior Chapter nominations can be entered again. Please send your suggested nominations toyour Chapter representative: NT Birut Zemits: birut.zemits@cdu.edu.au

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Be informed about Uranium

Concerned about the idea of a Uranium mine near Alice?

Worried, as some people say this could contaminate our water supply?

Heard there will be some benefits?

Don't know what, or should that be who, to believe?



Dr Gavin Mudd, Environmental Engineer from Monash University Department of Civil Engineering can help you to sort the facts out from the fiction.

Dr Mudd has been an active researcher and advocate on the environmental impacts and management of mining for over a decade. He has been involved with many aspects of industry with a particular specialty in brown coal wastes, uranium mining and environmental management. His work has been showcased in several international journals and conferences. Gavin maintains an independent perspective, and has undertaken research for mining companies, community groups and aboriginal organisations. In particular, Gavin has had extensive involvement in examining the underlying scientific issues associated with uranium mining in Australia, with detailed knowledge of the Australian uranium mining sector as well as globally. With strong qualifications and experience, he has developed a unique understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of the environmental aspects of mining in Australia and globally, culminating in a distinctive view on how to quantify an apparent oxymoron – that of “sustainable mining”. Additionally, Gavin has active research interests in urban groundwater issues, groundwater management and assessment, especially with respect to climate change and sustainability.

Gavin will be the keynote speaker at a public meeting about the Angela/Pamela uranium deposit being held at Anzac Hill High School tomorrow

6pm, Wednesday 7th May, Anzac Hill High School