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Green Building, Renewable Energy Expo

The second Australian International Green Build & Renewable Energy Exhibition and Conference will be held in Sydney from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 June, 2007 at the Australian Technology Park, Everleigh. The event is bound to be a huge success, as it follows on from the National Green Build & Eco Show, in 2006. This year’s event will combine those exhibitors with the best of the Australian renewable energy industry to present exciting lifestyle options for anyone building or renovating. Everything from strawbale, solar electric and hot water companies, greywater recycling possibilities, speakers, workshops and demonstrations, Earth Garden and ‘The Good Life Book Club’ and many more exhibitors will be taking part in this well-run event. For many years Sydney has been needing a show like this and it’s finally here. Earth Garden will present a report on the show in the spring issue. Visit www.grex.com.au for more details about attending the show.

Now You’re Driving With Gas

People who convert their private car to LP gas can now receive a tax free Federal Government grant of $2000. And those buying a new, factory-fitted LPG or dual-fuel powered vehicle can receive a $1000 grant. Conversions cost from around $1500 to $3400 installed, depending on the type of car and system. Around three million cars in Australia could be converted to LP gas and the scheme will run until 2014.

Senior Citizens Lead Water Saving

New research from the City of Melbourne shows that senior citizens care more about water saving than the young. The 2006 Community and Household Water Survey found that people aged 56 and over are markedly more concerned about water saving than 18 to 40 year olds. The survey of 847 Melbournians found that people aged 66 to 75 years ranked the highest for believing water saving was important while people aged 75 years+ are the most concerned about water quality and pollution. Other results from the survey show that: 45 per cent of residents had either not changed or increased their water use habits in the last year; only 5.3 per cent of residents had rainwater tanks and 1.1 per cent of residents have a grey water system in their homes; nearly 60 per cent of residents have not installed a water efficient showerhead in their bathroom.

Light Globe Switch Could Close The World’s Nuclear Plants

The world’s reliance on old-fashioned light globes drains more power than is produced by all the world’s 441 nuclear plants. In the first detailed analysis of global energy use from lighting, the International Energy Agency has found that if every old light globe were replaced with an energy-efficient one, it would avoid more than 16,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2030. The equivalent would be to take every car in the world today off the road for six years. Saving energy would even be good for the global hip pocket, saving $3500 billion through lower energy and maintenance bills over the next 25 years.
The report shows that Australians have one of the highest per capita rates of lighting consumption in the world, using an estimated 62 million hours of electricity last year — equivalent to each person leaving seven 100-watt lights on year round. Our use is exceeded only by Americans (101 million hours) and the Japanese (72 million hours).
Launching the book Light’s Labour’s Lost: Policies for Energy-efficient Lighting in Paris, the International Energy Agency’s executive director, Claude Mandil, warned that governments and businesses could not afford to ignore its findings.
“Without rapid action the amount of energy used for lighting will be 80 per cent higher in 2030 than today,” he said. “However, if we simply make better use of today’s efficient lighting technologies and techniques, global lighting energy demand need be no greater at that time.” Electric lighting consumes 19 per cent of total global electricity production, slightly more than is used by all of Europe, and 15 per cent more than is generated by either hydro or nuclear power.
Australians spend $2.5 billion a year on lighting, which accounts for 10 per cent of overall electricity consumption and 25 million tonnes of the country’s annual Greenhouse gas emissions. NSW residents can receive free energy-efficient light globe packs from retailers and environment groups, which earn carbon credits in return, under the NSW Government’s mandatory Greenhouse gas abatement scheme.
But there are no such schemes in other States because NSW is the only State to have carbon emissions trading. Residents of Broome in Western Australia, however, can receive four free compact fluoro globes simply by signing a form at their local shire office. This helps reduce the amount of diesel — and later this year gas — burned to power the town. Business Council for Sustainable Energy spokesperson, Richard Wise, urged the federal and State governments to act on the International Energy Agency’s findings, and follow NSW’s lead. —The Age
STOP PRESS
February 20: Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull is announcing today that conventional, incandescent light bulbs are to be phased out over the next three years and replaced with energy-saving globes. He says this will save up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in Australia over the next few years.
Mr Turnbull told Channel Nine this action could also make an enormous impact globally.
"If the rest of the world supports us, does what we've been doing here, follows our lead, this will reduce an amount of energy, in effect make the world more energy efficient to the tune of five times as much energy as Australia consumes, so this is a little thing but it's a massive change," he said.
The Queensland Greens have welcomed the plan.
Greens spokesman Drew Hutton says he cannot see the plan causing problems for people who still use the bulbs.
"As long as you've got a proper phase in period, and as long as you've got the alternatives there, then I don't think there'll be much difficulty at all," he said.
"This is one of the easiest things in fact, that is going to be able to be done.
"A lot of people are shifting over from incandescent light bulbs already.
"I don't think we've got any left in my house, for example."
The Government is not the first to flag a ban on incandescent bulbs; last month, lawmakers in California proposed a bill to phase out the traditional light bulbs in the state by 2012.
          -ABC

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