Eco Lesbo Vego

It’s a day late this week (sorry folks), but… what have we been talking about? What’s been happening in the world?

Eco Lesbo Vego

We discussed:

• The awesomeness that is strawbale construction.
• What to do when plastic shopping bags get phased out.
• Green shopping bags – why you should use them and how to remember to bring them to the store.
• The most effective type of recycling bin, and why it works the best.

I also posted a vegan recipe - Creamy Red Curry. This is is a sweet, creamy curry of doom!

Environmental News from Australia and Around the World

IKEA’s environmental policy is moving from a top-down to a seamlessly integrated approach. Already, IKEA is a reasonably eco-friendly company. 71% of materials used in IKEA products are recycled, recyclable or both. Many stores are running on some form of renewable energy. Over 1000 environmental audits are performed on materials suppliers every year. IKEA only aims to achieve more. Although I still believe second-hand is the way to go, if you’re unable to find what you need in a second-hand furniture shop, IKEA may be a good alternative.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota has found that the production of corn ethanol is more damaging to the environment than gasoline. Now I’ve been saying for a long time that biofuels are not the way to go and here is just another piece of evidence to prove that. Although the emissions caused by ethanol are much lower, the impact of clearing the land, planting, growing and harvesting the corn and then turning it into a biofuel, end up having a massive environmental impact. I think something like hemp biofuels would be considerably better than petrol though, so the plant choice would make a difference.

The Australian Federal Government has announced an initiative which will allow Australian homeowners a free solar hot water system or ceiling insulation valued at up to $1600 per household as of July 1, 2009. The stimulus package is intended to help ward of recession and improve environmental conditions at the same time. Naturally, insulation manufacturers are delighted, although some predict that there could be long waits between ordering and installation.

The biggest news at the moment is, of course, that Australia is screwed right now. Here in Brisbane we’re safe, but we’re between two extremes. To the north of us, 60% of the state is flooded. Queensland is pretty big – that 60% is 100 million square kilometres (24 710 000 000 square acres). For the love of God and Pete, don’t go out anywhere unless you’re in a tinny – where the water is, so too are the crocodiles. To the south of us, 84 people have lost their lives in Australia’s biggest natural disaster on record – the Victorian bushfires. 750 homes have been destroyed but it’s the stories of human tragedy that have the most impact on people. Bob Brown (Australian Greens leader) rightly believes climate change had something to do with the magnitude of the fires and that these events will increase if we don’t arrest global warming now. He’s right, I think. Although country Australia has always been prone to bushfires – some of our trees are even germinated by fire – this fire is unbelievably huge and ferocious. Everyone’s thoughts are with the victims of both the fires and the floods.

Of course, there’s lots of other news, but I’m just too short of time this week. Did I miss anything particularly important? Leave a comment and let me know.