1 August 2011 – New Zealand has released a report on its Emissions Trading Scheme and it shows a strong upswing in support from businesses since the scheme was introduced two years ago. Highlights from the report include that 68 per cent of business... 
Read More > >

By Lyn Drummond 27 July 2011 – Burbank hopes to achieve a 7-star House Energy Rating for its high density apartment building within Victoria’s revitalised Dandenong project, 30 kilometres west of Melbourne. Work will begin by mid 2012 on the $300... 
Read More > >

25 March 2011 – Favourites: Brendan Gleeson, former director of the Urban Research Program at Griffith University, is one of the more challenging thinkers on Australia’s urban systems. On the eve of his departure for a three year secondment... 
Read More > >

This  text formed the basis of a speech today by climate change minister Greg Combet at the Law School at the University of Sydney 28 July 2011 – It is a great honour to be here at the Sydney University Law School this morning to release the exposure... 
Read More > >

By Lyn Drummond 28 July 2011 – The Green Building Council of Australia said on Wednesday that there was evidence that illegally sourced timber was used in Australian buildings and products and Greenpeace Read More > >  
Read More →

27 July 2011 – Australia’s urban congestion costs including wasted time in traffic, maintenance, fuel and emissions costs are forecast to be $20.4 billion by 2020 unless cities undertake a major review of their infrastructure, according to a review... 
Read More > >

By Jenny Towndrow Is happiness a precondition to sustainability or is it the other way around? Jenny Towndrow set out to discover the answer. 27 July 2011 – At the Happiness and its Causes conference in Brisbane, starring His Holiness the Dalai Lama,... 
Read More > >

26 July 2011 – Out of control insurance premiums are threatening the viability of existing medium and high density communities in cyclone-prone areas of northern Australia. Strata Community Australia chief executive Mark Lever says they are  an urgent... 
Read More > >

25 July 2011 – From The Economist: Carbon tax is working well in British Columbia,   Canada since its introduction in 2008. Despite the levy, its economy is doing well. What is more, the tax is popular: it is backed by 54 per cent according to a survey... 
Read More > >

By Lyn Drummond 26 July 2011 – Cuba’s radical shift to a distributed grid system, energy efficiency, renewable energy systems and a shared transport system will be the theme of the key talk at workshops Read More > >  
Read More →

Former president of the United States Bill Clinton urged Americans to paint their roofs white to combat heat and create jobs in Newsweek. The item has been picked up by Treehugger, Atlantic and now The Fifth Estate. Following is the item and the original... 
Read More > >

By Lyn Drummond 25 July 2011 – Residents of Queensland’s Ecovillage have never had water restrictions or shortages and, perhaps best of all, are exempt from council water and sewerage bills. Kerry Shepherd, sales and marketing manager at the Ecovillage... 
Read More > >

8 July 2011 – An entertaining and mildly illuminating slideshow of China’s tentative steps into the green building world is revealed by Foreign Policy magazine. Whatever you think of progress to date, the sure thing is that this has got to be... 
Read More > >

13 July 2011 – The Australian Conservation Foundation’s head office in Melbourne, the 60L Green Building, was designed to minimise its impact on the environment when it opened in 2002 but has it measured up ? Read More > >  
Read More →

It’s a story of deep resistance to sustainable change, embarrassing mistakes and scientists at 20 paces. Now the clever people have turned the spotlight to the humble real estate agent. Welcome to the wild world of the residential market. By Lynne... 
Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell 6 May 2011 – Special Report: Carbon tax or not we are moving inexorably towards a world where carbon emissions will be factored into goods and services. It’s either that or head lemming-like towards catastrophic warming of the... 
Read More > >

By Brian McMahon, principal planning consultant, PlaceMaking and Planning, Parsons Brinckerhoff 20 July 2011 – With the release of its draft consultation plan, Public Transport for Perth in 2031, the state government in Western Australia cannot be... 
Read More > >

19 July 2011: Low Carbon Australia and Wagga Wagga City Council, NSW are to   cooperate on energy efficiency  in the first agreement of its kind for regional Australia in the second major agreement for the new agency. See our recent article on Low... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 19 July 2011 – NSW Australian Institute of Architects members have been shocked by the sudden retrenchment of four key long serving staff members of the Sydney office. Institute insiders told The Fifth Estate that members... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 19 July 2011 – Forget the abysmal polls that came out on Monday and walloped the carbon tax. Julia Gillard did. Addressing the packed auditorium of about 400 people for the Total Environment Centre’s Green Capital forum Read... 
Read More > >

It’s face off time 20 July 2011 – Two men sitting at a bar, eyes blazing. One with excitement, the other with anger. Man Number 1, a serious type from the insurance underwriting industry, has a fantastic scheme to make millions from the carbon... 
Read More > >

18 July 2011 – A series of forums that sets out to redesign inner city Adelaide is currently under way and just one of a number of initiatives stimulated by the appointment in 2008 of Adelaide Thinker in Residence Laura Lee. Professor Lee’s... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 7 July 2011  – Brisbane investor Harvest Denison Opportunity Fund has leapfrogged the competition and signed Australia’s deal energy efficiency upgrade and finance deal with Low Carbon Australia. Up to six more agreements are... 
Read More > >

By Leon Gettler 8 July 2011 – Capital market players say sustainable property might soon become a better investment proposition. A carbon price will force up energy costs. In a carbon market, building owners and investors who know how to slash operating... 
Read More > >

14 July 2011 – Windwatcher by Mikala Dwyer is the latest artwork to be unveiled on the heritage-listed Irving Street Brewery building, part of Frasers Property’s $450,000 Artists In Residence public art project at its $2 billion Central Park project... 
Read More > >

14 July 2011 – Lend Lease yesterday announced agreement with the US military to reduce energy consumption in a huge defence property portfolio of housing and non-residential property by at least 20 per cent in the next two to five year.The deal... 
Read More > >

By Lyn Drummond 13 July 2011– Pacific Pyrolysis, an award winning  NSW company that converts organic waste to energy and bichar is  primed  to take advantage of expanding market interest in low emissions technology, its directors say. Slow-pyrolysis... 
Read More > >

Tina Perinotto 10 July 2011 – The Greens stood up and took a bow. The solar industry said was it was on steroids. No matter which way you look at it, the climate change package announced on Sunday is huge and it’s historic. Most important... 
Read More > >

10 July 2011 – The  federal government released its carbon price package, The Strong Growth, Low Pollution report released on Sunday. Following are key highlights: Cost modelling Modelling shows incomes and jobs will increase substantially while our... 
Read More > >

10 July  2011 –Address by  Prime minister Julia Gillard, climate minister Greg Combet and treasurer Wayne Swan. First, the avalanche of science that tells us our climate is changing. The science is in. We know that our planet is warming. We know that... 
Read More > >