Enjoy this imaginative look into the future!

A great radio program:
"Gavin Gilchrist is the managing director of Big Switch Projects, a company set up ten years ago as an advisory group on energy efficiency and carbon management issues to business and government. In this program Gavin jumps into the future for a look at what life might be like five years from now, in a seriously carbon-constrained world. In 2015 Kevin Rudd's running the United Nations, Julia Gillard's prime minister and the National Climate Commission has taken some tough decisions. All short-haul airline flights have been banned, there's a high speed rail link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and our houses, offices and factories have been transformed. Gavin Gilchrist is chair of the National Climate Commission and he's been invited to Melbourne's Federation Square to give an update on what's been achieved in taking Australia down a new low-carbon path."


Read the transcript or download the audio file. 


Source: ABC Radio National "Ockham's Razor"


Mr Gilchrist published a book in 1994: The Big Switch: Creating Jobs, Saving Money & Protecting the Environment in the 21st Century


I think it is out of print now but you can pick it up second-hand through www.abebooks.com

OK, No more Mr Nice Guy, now I'm a spammer too...

Today I sent emails to 22 of my friends and acquaintances to encourage them to vote on GetUp to tell our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, that we are not happy with his decision to put aside any further action on an ETS (Emissions  Trading System) for Australia.

It is worth visiting the GetUp site to see the video of Kevin Rudd promising us action on Climate Change.

Ethical Dilemma:
Do I risk annoying people by 'spamming' them, or do I go ahead and send the emails?
Decision:
I sent the emails. I will respond personally to every email I get that tells me they did not like getting the email from me.

Ethical Dilemma:

Do I go with what I feel about this issue, or do I make excuses for Kevin Rudd, like "the situation is very complicated, and there may be reasons for what he is doing that are rational, and with which I might agree, if I had all the facts"?

Decision:

I will never know all the facts. I am actually angry about this. He got elected with the support of Green Voters. When it gets tough, he backs off. I want a politician with the guts to stick with his principles, even if it loses him the election. 

I sent the emails, and I am even more committed to political activism!

Doing enough blogging to stay visible

I am delighted to discover that just over 1000 pages of my blog have been viewed since I began writing it.

Most visitors come from Australia but there have been some from Europe and North America.

I am still waiting for my first email message from a visitor..  You can do this by clicking on "View my complete profile", just above "Themes in my blog" in the panel on the left. Go on - be the first...

Testing a link

I am going to a meeting with these guys this evening

Consumption of cars in China

The investment community learned last week that China has blown past the U.S. to become the largest car market in the world.

The Chinese bought 13.6 million cars in 2009... 52.6% more than in 2008.

U.S. consumers bought just 11.2 million, a far cry from the 17 million sold in 2005.

Source: Green Chip Stocks

My 100th Post!

Was the one below about hydrogen...

A great Good News Item for #100

New developments in hydrogen production

- Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new way to biologically split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight - with a kind of virus.

The virus was engineered specially for the project. It is shaped as a wire, and can bind with molecules of catalyst (iridium oxide was used) and a biological pigment (zinc porphyrins was used).

The process copies the way plants split up water, using natural pigments to absorb sunlight, and catalysts to promote the water splitting.

The pigments capture the light and transfer the energy down the virus.

The virus acts as a kind of scaffolding causing pigments and catalysts to line up with the right amount of spacing to trigger the reaction.

All of the components have been used before, but they have not been organised in this way.

To stop the virus wires clumping together and losing effectiveness over time, researchers put them in a microgel matrix so they would keep their arrangement.

The virus is a "kind of biological scaffold," MIT says.

The virus enables sunlight to split up the water directly.

The splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is actually two "half reactions" - and of these, the oxygen splitting is more technically challenging, so researchers focussed on it.

Now researchers hope to develop a similar system to produce hydrogen- currently the process just produces separate protons and electrons, rather than hydrogen atoms and molecules.

The team is also looking for a less expensive catalyst than iridium oxide.

The researchers anticipate developing a prototype device which can split water into oxygen and hydrogen, which is self sustainable and durable, within 2 years.

The research was published in Nature Nanotechnology on April 11, 2010.

(Source of this information)

Project JOAD is coming along

I don't know whether I will ever read any of the books!

I have 53 on the mailing list

We now have 14 books in the 'bought' category, and another 25 on the wish-list. It's all in an Excel workbook with 3 worksheets (Buying, Lending, Giving). I spent a fair bit of today getting that done.

I have scoured my shelves for books in good enough condition to add to the list, as 'already bought'.

I have another 8 books ready to add to the wish-list. 

Water consumption

The book advertised here has been reviewed as: "... the definitive work. It's clear, thorough, modern, practical, profitable, and inspiring. Buy it, read it, practice it, publicize it." -- Amory B. Lovins, CEO (Research), Rocky Mountain Institute, August 2001
------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, back in the sticks...
I have been checking how much water is used in the apartment complex where I live. I discovered we were using about 3% more than the city average, not as good as I had hoped, but at least within reasonable limits.


When these apartments were built water was so cheap they only installed one water meter per 28 apartments. As you may imagine my consumption is extremely low, undoubtedly much lower than my neighbours, though I have not tried to measure it.


While hunting around on the net for water consumption comparisons I found this information about Melbourne:


"Over the period 1995 to 2006, Melbourne's rainfall, and that in [their] catchments, has fallen by 75%, most probably as an effect of climate change."


According to the Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Maryland, USA
"A range of 20 to 40 liters of freshwater per person per day is generally considered to be a necessary minimum to meet needs for drinking and sanitation alone, according to Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security. If water for bathing and cooking is included as well, this figure varies between 27 and 200 liters per capita per day"


The average where I live is 166 litres per day. At least it's within the limits for all domestic uses. 

Transition Towns

I can't believe two days have gone by without a blog post from me!

I have been occupied with friends, family, and getting a better broadband service. 

I am going to share a little personal stuff, ignoring the advice from three friends that nobody cares about it. I am tired - that's my excuse, and I want to keep posting on most days.

I spent this morning with five male friends, with whom I have been meeting for about eight years. I want to celebrate the support we have given each other over the years.

Yesterday I helped Jean and David get their hire car dropped off, and had a farewell coffee together, before they leave Australia to go back to the USA, via Istanbul and Tiblisi, Georgia, where their son is teaching.

I have made a two year contract for broadband services which I expect will be far better than my current arrangement.

I have been to meetings for the last three evenings on Climate and Sustainability issues, and community group management. This afternoon I also went to a talk with a great title:
"Climate change, economic justice and the political process - why democracies struggle with the bleeding obvious", by Richard Denniss 

I took some notes - maybe I could post the answer to that tomorrow!
------------------------------------------------
Finally I came home from a small meeting of five people interested in moving along with the concept of "Transition Towns". I found it a most impressive concept and will stay in this group.

Here is something from their internationally oriented website:

"A Transition Initiative (which could be a town, village, university or island etc) is a community-led response to the pressures of climate change, fossil fuel depletion and increasingly, economic contraction. There are thousands of initiatives around the world starting their journey to answer this crucial question:
"for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly rebuild resilience (to mitigate the effects of Peak Oil and economic contraction) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of Climate Change)?""

There is a handbook, which I will describe when I am less tired. I must sleep or I will burn out (again).

More:
"What we are convinced of is this:

• if we wait for the governments, it'll be too little, too late
• if we act as individuals, it'll be too little
• but if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time."

Population growth underlies all environmental problems

There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. 

Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and necessary. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess. 

What is lacking is not sufficient knowledge of the solution but universal consciousness of the gravity of the problem and education of the billions who are its victims.     

Dr. Martin Luther King

Did you know?

Two of the greatest men who ever lived were born on the same day in 1809:

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

Extreme weather events are increasing

"According to scientists in the joint CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR) human-induced climate change is likely to be a major cause of [the Australian drought]. 

This is due to two factors: decreasing rainfall associated with increasing atmospheric pressure in the region, with the rainfall belt moving further south, and increasing evaporative losses from plants and remaining wet surfaces.

Attribution of this long-term “drought” to human-induced climate change is greatly strengthened by global climate model results that indicate that for a greenhouse-warmed world the rainfall belts in both hemispheres will move poleward. 

Drying is thus predicted to occur in “Mediterranean-type” climates (climate with winter rainfall maxima) in southern Europe, California, southern Africa and Australia, as has been observed.

As average temperatures rise due to global warming so too does the frequency of extreme high temperatures.

A major heat wave in 2003 is well documented for Europe. There were an estimated 35,000 additional deaths.


In 2008 Adelaide experienced a heat wave with 15 days over 35°C, estimated to have a frequency of 1 in 3000 years based on the past record.

The southeast Australian heatwave of late January 2009 caused an estimated 374 excess deaths in Victoria according to the Victorian Department of Human Services, more than twice the 173 deaths in the bushfires of “Black Saturday”, 7 February[...]. 

Adaptive measures could reduce some of the damage or deaths from heat waves."

Source:

"RECENT AND CURRENT ECONOMIC COSTS

OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO AUSTRALIA"

Authors:  Barrie Pittock [1] and Andrew Glikson [2]

[1] Dr. Barrie Pittock, PSM, is the Author of “Climate Change: The Science, Impacts

and Solutions” (CSIRO Publishing, 2009). See above.

[2] Dr Andrew Glikson is an Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Visiting Fellow at the

Australian National University, Research School of Earth Science and School of

Archaeology and Anthropology.

The Joad Report

Today my Joad Project is one week old!

I have a mailing list of 54, lost six, gained two. I will send out my first report today.

Report summary:
Three books bought; two books read (by the same person); and four buying partners

Being considered for purchase:

1. Eleven books 
2. One DVD

Passed 200 and got a new source of information

Visits to my blog have passed the 200 mark!

I plan to do fewer posts of better quality.

I have had permission from Jeff Siegel to add information to this blog from

"Feel free to republish any of our material.  

All we ask is that you provide a link back to our site" Jeff Siegel. 

So here is their site. 

It's "Crunch Time" already...

What a great title for a book!

I spoke with the author on Wednesday night. A very down to earth guy.
He has been Australia's ambassador to Poland and Cambodia and served in Australia's Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister’s departments. 

He worked and wrote earlier for refugees, but now thinks Global Warming is a more critical policy issue. 

I bought the book, as you may imagine, using the Joad Principle I am developing. See my post on Wednesday at 7:05 pm called "Announcing Joad"

I bought it in shares with two other people. 

I am last in the queue to read the book, so I cannot review it for you yet.

Is the world getting warmer?

Hear or read how Climate Scientists (Climatologists) are at a disadvantage in the media in comparison to the media expertise of the pushers of Climate Skeptic viewpoints, who are funded by corporate interests and right wing think tanks:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2010/2859986.htm#transcript

What a fantastic collection of talks on the Climate debate in the mass media...
Thank God for the ABC!

One of the speakers is Stephen Schneider from Stanford University; check out his book (left)

Taking a new direction

This morning I sent an email to a company in Arizona that has been send me a free e-newsletter for a few months. They sell investor advice by annual subscription. 

I have no interest in investing myself, but they publish very interesting articles on environmental issues, and on the technologies emerging to supply renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery products and so forth. 

I have asked them for permission to republish some of their articles, or to abstract from them, so I can put the material on the websites that are allowing me to add content. 

Today I am advertising one of the books that have come out of this group. See 'Green Chip Stocks' posted later today. 

The Coming Famine

Julian Cribb is a well-known and respected journalist, who writes for 'The Australian', a national newspaper owned by News Limited (Rupert Murdoch)

He has published a book about world food supplies called "The Coming Famine"

I have not yet read it but I plan to!

I will be suggesting it to my 'Joad' members
JOAD = 'Joint Ownership and Donation'

Someone will review it among the buying partners.

I will keep you posted...

Electric cars in London

A late night new item, ABC TV's Lateline program, described the enlightened government policies being implemented in London, England. 

Electric cars will be allowed to park without cost, and will be excused from the Sterling Pounds 8.00 congestion tax levied on vehicles in Central London. 

One driver of a compact electric vehicle said his running costs were 10P per day. 

The aim is to have 100,000 electric cars on London's streets by 2020. Every Londoner will be close (?) to a charging point. These may have a payment process similar to a mobile phone. 

The Nissan "Leaf" car will be manufactured in England. 

I never thought I would sponsor advertising

So far I have not wanted advertisements on my blog site

Today I researched 'targeted advertising' and decided I would have enough control over the type and placement of ads to make an experiment worthwhile. 

I hope to limit my ads to products close to what I would buy myself, and that might be genuinely useful to my readers. 

Email me your suggestions by going to my full profile, and tell me if there were any adverts that you particularly objected to seeing. 

A low energy meal of beans and potatoes

Today was the first cold day of the autumn. 

I needed some warm food so I boiled some green string beans and pontiac potatoes on an electric stove. The heat from the stove gave me winter warmth in the apartment, in which I use no space heating. 

I boiled a kettle with just enough water to cook the food, because I believe it saves electricity to use an electric jug instead of heating a pot, to bring cold water to the boil. 

I used an electric timer to let me do other things, while the food cooked. 

I added the beans after the potatoes began to boil, thus saving water and energy by cooking them together. 

After cooking I poured the cooking water into a mug and I am drinking it right now. 

To the food I added tabasco sauce and tamari, a type of salt-free Japanese soy sauce, and ate with gusto!

The bowl and cooking pot are soaking in a little cold water, which will be easily enough to clean them later. 

Cold weather food

Listening to "The Health report" - viruses

Eating porridge with sultanas - cold day - max 17degC forecast today

It's 17C in my home right now - looking forward to walking down the road for a coffee, need to warm up.

Lots of posting today - seeing how it affects the number of hits on this site

I am up to 174 now

The Breakfast Show - ABC, Radio National

Need a coffee already, after a good night's sleep.

Listening to ABC "breakfast" show

Geraldine Doogue is hosting the show. Fran Kelly is sick (again? What's up Fran?).

The topic is refugees. "Boat people"

I am drowning in information and opportunities.

I have no appointments to meet people today, so I will blog more later...

Two days without blogging

Starting this blog has really cut into the time I spend on other things. So Friday and Saturday were catchup days, deliberately not blogging.

But I want to keep my site visible, so I am making more than one entry today.

Two friends have told me to leave out the details of what I had for breakfast etc !

So I will be editing the blog to get rid of some of that detritus.

On Friday I was occupied with family matters and with getting a newsletter printed and delivered. These were done by bicycle and therefore took some time.

On Saturday I saw a movie called "The Age of Stupid", about Climate Change. More later...

Announcing "Joad"

On Saturday afternoon (April 10, 2010) I sent this letter to 58 people:

Dear friend

This email is going to a number of people, anonymously.

I recently bought "Why We Disagree About Climate Change" by Mike Hulme, in shares between three people at a cost of $11.60

[To my favorite bookshop: I did not buy this book from you because I thought you would not have it. It was easier to buy online.]

This purchase crystalized some ideas I had been having, along the lines of,

"How can I get books to read without going to a library, which won't have the ones I want anyway?"

"How can I get my impulse to buy books under control?"

"How can I get someone else to pay for my addiction to books?"

Not really. Just kidding...

and

"How can I share my love of books with my friends in a way that does not send me broke, and allows me to let go of them wisely, when I am done with them?"

Then this idea popped up:

"Project Joad" !!

Joint

Ownership

And

Donation

(of books to begin with...)

Here's how-

Several people get together to buy a book they want to read, but don't need to keep.

Some ideas:

The fastest reader takes the book first

After that we decide who is likely to read it fastest, and so on, down the line

One reader could write a review (Hmmm.. I knew there would be catch)

After the buying partners have read the book (quickly of course)

The book is donated to one of the following

• The buying partner who can convince the other partners that they really, really need it (! LOL !)
• A local library (the one we agree is most suitable)
• A charity (ditto)
• or someone who, we agree, could make intensive use of it to benefit our community

This method could be used for other "durable, shareable, short-consumption-time" items,

such as DVDs, quality journals and magazines

(eg. I would like to read some monthly and quarterly publications, but I can't afford to) ,

and...

you tell me what else...

Let me know how you feel about this, and I will launch the project!

PS.

[To my favorite bookshop: this could help sell you more books]

Tell me if you don't want to hear more from me on this topic, because I have put you onto one of my mailing lists.

Reply to this email with the words "Get lost!" or something more polite, and you will be removed from the list instantaneously.

Rest assured, I will not be sending many emails on this subject.

==============================

Four people have politely asked to be taken off my mailing list.

Eight people sent me emails, ranging from enthusiastic to "I am too busy to make use of it"

Nuclear Debate yesterday

Yesterday I drove XX kilometres with Patience to attend the debate on Nuclear energy for Australia. It was terrific.

I thought the proponent for nuclear power argued his case more effectively than his opponent.

I have not made up my mind where I stand on this issue. In the past year I have begun to feel less opposed to nuclear power for generating electricity.

Later in the day I found one of my green friends 'M' was still adamantly anti nuclear.

[ later...]

'M' told me to check out these resources:

"A clean energy future for Australia" By Mark Diesendorf, Dr Diesendorf works at the University of New South Wales, Institute of Environmental Studies.

"Beyond Zero Emissions" an Australian non-profit organisation based in Melbourne.

Sleep, think, act

I slept well for over eight hours, and had some good ideas for an essay I plan to write. It will be published on this site when it's completed.

My problems with sleep seem to be increasing as I get older. I am trying to walk more so that my body becomes exhausted. Otherwise my mind and body seem to get out of sync.

Today I am going to attend a debate on Nuclear Energy. My friend Patience will take me in her car. I see that use of a car as justifiable.

Two of us are travelling in one car. It is a journey that would take us several hours if we did it by bus and on foot. The number of kilometres is not great. Using the ideas I encounter, I will publish something for others to read. I will pass on the knowledge I gain to my friends. I will become a better informed commentator on the Global Warming Debate.

My current view is that this justifies the pollution we will be adding to the atmosphere. But it gives me an obligation to make the journey beneficial to as many people as I can reach.

I will try to estimate the number of kilometres later (if I remember!).

My ideas and practice are being continually refined. The more I think about things the more I find I am able to make changes in my lifestyle.

Many of the costs and benefits are immeasurable, which is why I keep coming back to my basic position: only an intervention in the financial system and the taxation system will push us to solving the crisis in atmospheric pollution. The cost of our activities and purchases will then begin to reflect the environmental damage we do in the course of everyday life.

I am becoming more open to the nuclear option for Australia. The dangers from radioactive waste have to be balanced against the dangers from greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. I will share my thoughts on this in more detail later.

I am back on my old dial-up access to the internet after using up half my monthly broadband download limit downloading music. Dial-up at 50kb is entirely adequate for what I am doing now - mostly writing and thinking. No need today for speed to get new images for my newsletter or my blog.

Hmmm... The Slow Movement! Is that another theme I could use in the blog?

As usual your comments are invited.

Music not as cheap as I thought

Early night tonight. Visits counter is at 144

Last night I found some French music that reminded me of my childhood so I bought an album of 100 songs and began to download them. The internet response was good and it poured down. Best speed ever.

Then I found I could pause it. Just as well. I had used more than half of my internet allowance for the month! Fortunately I can load them a few at a time each month.

The ISP sent me a friendly reminder email. I phoned and found out that it was going to cost me more to download than to buy the music. Just as well I kept the dial-up service...

Blogging may slow down this month...

The Science Show

There was a lot of good radio through the night, and I downloaded a podcast of one program that I missed the first part of. This is a terrific service from the ABC.

I realised I almost always miss an excellent program 'The Science Show', because I am rarely at home or awake to hear the broadcast.

Blogging will have to be limited today. I have a newsletter to produce and I may do some work for another Climate Change related site.

Tara Winkler on ABC TV

Just inspired by the story of Tara Winkler in Cambodia, of the Cambodian Children's Trust.

More later...

Check it out.

Coal ship grounded on the Great Barrier Reef

I had hoped to use the 'Two for one' label in this blog for tips on sustainable living.

Now we have a 'two for one' environmental disaster.

A coal carrying ship, containing 60,000 tons of coal, bound from Australia to China to fuel coal fired power stations or steel mills (1), has gone aground (2).

Oil is leaking and threatens the reef. The Chinese captain was traveling through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and should not have been. The Queensland Government failed to provide a pilot to take the ship safely away from the Marine Park, and safely through the dangerous waters of the reef.

Ethical Dilemma: I have heard that more coal miners die in China than anywhere else, seven per week on average. Should Australia export coal to China on humanitarian grounds, or ban exports (fat chance) because coal burning contributes to Global Warming?

If China mined all it's own coal, the death rate would rise. The quality of its coal is probably lower, containing more other pollutants. As against that, thousands of people throughout the world are already dying because of atmospheric pollution, and especially as a result of Global Warming.

My verdict: close down coal mining everywhere. Renewable energy is available in many forms and locations. What is lacking is public awareness, public outrage and activism, public engagement in politics, political courage, corporate responsibility, research and development, investment.

Blogress continues

My blog is beginning to take off; it has had 122 visits now.

Thirteen today and counting...

My neighbour has returned from the hospital. The doctors will examine her partner tomorrow.

I have worked on my next letter to the local newspaper. Wish me luck!

Issues of the heart

On my way back from the coffee break, I found my neighbour waiting for a lift to see her partner in hospital. He has been there for a week and I had not found out about it.

He has had a stroke which surprised me because he looks young and healthy, and is slim and energetic. I have offered to help. Keep you posted...

My friend 'Big John' was a victim of crime a few days ago.

An opportunistic thief took advantage of John's trust in human nature to steal a suit of clothes. The thief will probably throw the clothes away when he finds that they are of no use to him. But for John and his wife, and others, this has had an impact beyond anything you might imagine.

John is one of my 'local heroes'. He never turns away someone who asks for help. He uses this special suit, with accessories, in his role as a singer in a small group. The suit was stolen, while he was packing up after a show in a club.

At least one other singer is looking for new clothes, so that they can continue to have matching outfits.

John sings mostly to elderly people. On this occasion it was at a club, but just as often he goes to sing in 'Old Peoples Homes' (nursing homes) or in retirement villages. As far as I know he never gets paid for any of his singing.

John is a big man, in every sense of the word. Especially a big heart. Good luck John! You will handle this. You always do...

Time for a coffee break.

I have just discovered I can get email from Gmail forwarded to another email address. Cool!

I have resisted using the phrase 'Cool!' until now, but relentless pressure from my daughter has worn me down...

Must go. Dying for a coffee...

Please introduce yourselves

I know you are out there!

I have added a method for contacting me (email) which you can find by clicking 'View my complete profile' on the left sidebar under the personal info about me.

It would help me to test that I have got it right, if you send me an email (love to know where you are from)

Please... please!!

Easter Monday is a public holiday in Australia

Up early after nine hours sleep. Still not quite fully rested. Fell asleep last night in front of the television.

This morning I am trying to 'stop following' another person's blog. It's not very active and I followed it only to see how it was done.

I need to work on the 'back pages', which are found by using the buttons at the top. That's where the best content will be eventually. I need to draw the attention of the reader to these buttons. Here goes...

Easter Sunday

Today I will begin on a monthly newsletter, for which I am the editor. I have less than a week to get it done. This may impinge on my blog time!

This morning I was exploring what other facilities I can use through Google.

I am getting more skilled as a blogger and 'internet content provider'. I was very happy with a small post I put up on another environment oriented site I have access to, on electric cars.

I will attend a Faith Community this morning, as I do almost every Sunday.

I expect to spend time on the internet today, unless my broadband network is loaded down with other users, and the response time drives me nuts!

Ciao

Thoreau understands retirement

Another short sleep tonight. Too much coffee?

Trying to understand IP addresses this morning.

The art of life, of a poet's life, is, not having anything to do, to do something.

Henry David Thoreau

Landmark reached!

Finally I got my 100th visit!

Included the 'AddThis' into my blog. That might increase the traffic...

Better go to bed before we switch the clocks back from Summer Time...

Two for one

I had an idea for the blog today: to record the ways in which I do two or more things at once, For environmental reasons, instead of doing just one thing. I have created a new 'label' for these 'posts' called "two for one". The 'labels' are shown under every 'post'.

An example:

Today I washed some spinach for tonight's meal under a running tap, and kept the plug in to collect the water for dish washing later. We are very short of water in Australia after a prolonged drought. I use as little water as possible. More details on another day...

I wanted to blog at least once today to keep the blog active. I think it helps keep my blog visible to search engines, and therefore to collect a few more visitors. I have had 97 now. Soon pass the 100 mark!

I have had a quiet day. Took a nap to make up for lost sleep & make sure a slight cold did not get a grip on me. Listened to the radio when I woke up, and discovered someone who sounded very interesting - "Elliot Tober" - a philosopher. I will follow him up and add him to the blog if it seems useful. Keep you posted...

Phoned my daughter and another close friend. Went through several notebooks to gather all my To-Do list into one notebook. Tidied up a bit at home.

Discovered Bruce (not mentioned before) will be moving further away soon. A pity. I was just becoming a closer friend. I will try to stay in contact. He is concerned about world population growth and says it will nullify anything we try to do for the environment, unless it is brought under control. He thinks we need to reduce the world population by 75% !!

A friend sent me a URL (web address) after I asked her to check out this blog. Have not had time to look at it yet.

I hope to add a post tonight to a website I have had permission to update, so that will do for now.

I am still pondering: how much personal stuff should go on the blog? Leave a comment please!

Finishing for today

We now have 95 visits recorded!!

Not long till we reach 100!

Good Friday

This morning I am up to 90 visits to the blog!

Looking forward to celebrating the 100th.

Looking for a place that's open for coffee and reading the paper...

[later...]

I could not believe it - everything local was busy and packed.

The guy in the fish shop told me it was the busiest day of the year.

I should have guessed...

Life of an activist, third letter published

Yesterday I had my third 'Letter to the Editor' published in my local paper!

I will add the text of it later to the blog.

Broadband went down. Sorted through the pile of newspapers I have accumulated while watching whether anyone wrote responding to my letters to the editor.

Monitoring my blogress

Blogress = Blog progress

(You heard it here first. I claim the fame of thinking of it first!)

Number of visitors is 79

Number of posts is 62

Can't wait to reach 100 of either!

Shopping responsibly

Nearly 6 am. When I get up early I wear out after a while and go back to bed for a nap before getting up. I have to buy fresh fruit and vegetables this morning.

I normally shop for food using a bicycle. I shifted my shopping habits after getting a bicycle, from one big expedition per week using the car, visiting a market and a supermarket, to shopping one shopping bag at a time in a basket on the back of the bike.

This is easy for the supermarket. I can walk to mine.

It is harder for fresh fruit and vegetables. There are three places I can reach by bike. Each has shortcomings, but I still do most of the shopping there.

I take the car to a larger market when I have other things to do close by. Two groups of friends are there. Going by bus is not an option.

I make the least possible use of the car and almost sold it a couple of weeks ago. More on that later...

Buying books again...

I bought two of Clive Hamilton's other books at his book launch of 'Requiem for a Species'.

They were 'Affluenza' and 'Growth Fetish'. I will post more on them later.

I have always loved books and like to own them. I rarely go to a library.

Now my income is reduced I try not to buy books, but I lapse occasionally. Addicted.

Decluttering[1]

I sold my swag to Helen yesterday. She came for a flying visit. I gave her a short garden hose with a sprinkler attachment. - no need for that any more in an apartment.

For the non-australian readers, a swag is a piece of camping gear, like a hybrid between a small waterproof tent and a sleeping bag. The term 'swagman' is a derivation of swag ("Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, under the shade of a Coolibah tree...")

The swagmen wandered Australia in the nineteenth century and the Great Depression, carrying their possessions wrapped up in a bedroll of blankets - their swag. They had no need to declutter. Decluttering comes with affluence.

Helen lives near the scene at the top of my blog.

I tend to hold on to things after I no longer need them. I hate to see things wasted or thrown out as garbage. Soon I am going to try to find books I could let go of. It once took me hours to just choose ten books. Here we can give them to a charitable organisation, but there are only few drop-off points and they changed them all. The public libraries used to take them but don't any more.

Fortunately I have a friend who lives close to a drop off point and she will take them, keep any she likes, and pass the rest on.

It's blogrise before sunrise

Yesterday I met with a group who are developing a local website for local community groups. I am helping them out a bit. We had an interesting discussion about how to attract visitors to their site.