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
By Paul Mischefski The movement towards a return to living in communities is one that is growing in momentum in Australia and world-wide. Smaller micro-communities and larger ventures are springing up alongside others that have been long-established. Yet many people also consider a move to community living with a mixture of curiosity, dread, … [Read more...]
By Sharon Green The South East Queensland Regional Plan has predicted that the population of the region will grow from 2.8 million in 2006 to 4.4 million by 2031. The Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning claims that this rapid growth will create the need for an additional 754,000 new homes. As the state government … [Read more...]
Cob builders use their hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with clay, straw and sand. It is a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is very easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and … [Read more...]
How many times do green groups need to shout if from the roof tops? Roof tops that could easily be covered in green, clean energy. Clean energy and energy efficiency industries will create more than 28,000* new jobs by 2020, according to ground breaking economic modelling released today by the Clean Energy Council (CEC). CEC Chief Executive, … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Sustainable housing is often promoted in the mainstream market as an easy fix; add a bunch of systems on to a building that offsets the power and water usage, throw in some ‘family friendly' features and you get the Big ‘S' badge. Only a handful of companies in the mass market are genuinely promoting responsible material choices and … [Read more...]
How can householders effectively tackle climate change at their own level? Noosa and Caboolture Councils have looked closely at this issue and the result is the Living Smart Homes Project. Officially launched in June, the project gives householders ways of measuring and reducing their consumption in the areas of energy, waste, water and … [Read more...]
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