Eco online: environmental news, features and opinion from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Environmental news from Eco online, Sunshine Coast and Queensland environmental news, with indepth sections including interviews, sustainable business, eco adventures, green living and wildlife
Australia's first sustainable commercial building wins international recognition Yandina-based Rockcote, manufacturers of eco-friendly paints and renders, have gained international recognition for their Gold Coast showroom. The Rockcote Design Centre, Australia's first truly sustainable commercial building, is built on a former wasteland at … [Read more...]
A study finds Nambour is relatively well protected from the expected blows of peak oil, however other Sunshine Coast locations won't be so lucky. A recent study has found Nambour to be relatively protected from the pain of escalating fuel prices. As part of his environmental planning honours studies at Griffith University, Phil Woods questioned … [Read more...]
Subsidised petroleum denies reality of peak oil With oil becoming scarcer and more expensive, government policies of subsidising oil consumption are delaying urgent action and directing vital funds away from long term solutions. After growing for 150 years, the oil age is coming to an end. The term peak oil is one we will hear a lot more in … [Read more...]
Every generation has its taboo... the resource upon which our lives have been built is running out. We don't talk about it because we cannot imagine it. This is a civilisation in denial. George Monbiot Peak oil represents the most serious and immediate challenge to our prosperity and security. It will impact on our lives more certainly than … [Read more...]
Sustainable housing design and development must come out of the too-hard basket if greenhouse emissions are to be seriously combated. This edition of Eco brings sustainable development home, exploring the issues of housing in a changing climate. Ann White reports. The recent international Green Cities Conference heard that each resident of … [Read more...]
Building a house using traditional methods can result in waste and large environmental footprints, but a number of local building companies are rethinking how it's done. Their different approaches, selection of materials and careful design can reduce a home's ecological footprint during construction and over the life of the building. Complete with … [Read more...]
New housing developments need not link to centralised water and sewerage systems, according to a Sunshine Coast surveyor and town planner. Greg Downes, of the Downes Survey Group, speaks from experience when he explains his belief that the water and sewerage needs of new housing developments could be self contained in many cases. "A lot … [Read more...]
Signing up to the Living Smart Homes Project has proved a catalyst for deep changes in how one family view the environment. Image: Dayle Batistic and daughter Elleah, and the others in their household, are reaping the rewards of completing the energy and water modules of the Living Smart Homes Project. Photo: Courtesy Batistic … [Read more...]
In the job just six months, Andrew McNamara, Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, is enthusiastic about wrestling what he calls the "crouching tiger of climate change". "I live in great luxury, in a magnificent Queenslander high on Point Vernon," says the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation. … [Read more...]
The argument for sustainable urban development is about more than housing design and density, says energy expert Alan Pears. Ann White reports. The question of housing affordability is a furphy, says Alan Pears, a consultant and academic at the forefront of the energy debate in Australia. "We've got a seriously misguided debate going on at … [Read more...]
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