Wouldn't it be nice for householders with solar panels on their roofs if domestic feed-in tariffs for electricity put back into the grid were to be based on the GROSS amount of electricity generated, not just the NET amount of power fed into the grid. Well it may happen. See the ATTACHED media release from the Clean Energy Council:
Feed-in tariffs

Measure your carbon footprint with a fun new calculator!!

Earth Day Network - http://www.earthday.net/ - has just released its newest tool to combat climate change: The new, updated, and much more fun Ecological Footprint Calculator: http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.html

In this new tool created by Global Footprint Network, you can create a three-dimensional avatar of your choosing, and tour your virtual neighborhood. Then you will be asked a series of questions about your food consumption, energy use, favorite mode of transportation, type of residence, recycling commitment, and spending habits. You can even choose to take a long version or a short version of the quiz! The Footprint Calculator will tell you how many "planets" would be necessary to sustain human life - if everyone lived just like you, and how many acres of land and tons of carbon necessary to sustain your lifestyle. You can even revisit your quiz to see where she "went wrong", and find out how to reduce your carbon footprint.

Muir Commons was the first purpose built Cohousing in the USA. It was also McCamant & Durrett's first Cohousing project. It was designed through a process starting with ads in the media in 2001, and built in 2002. Their big solar array went up in 2003. There are 26 units of clustered, attached housing facing across a central path. There are good details & photos at: http://www.muircommons.org/Brochure.html

From a distance, the agenda of the current US Government seems obvious - to maintain the American way of life at any price (i.e., political domination and hyper-consumption regardless of environmental impacts). But what do the American people actually want? Do they share this agenda? The answer might surprise you.

'Yes' Magazine - www.yesmagazine.org - has recently done a comprehensive survey of the opinions of ordinary Americans in 10 areas: Economy, Constitution, Energy & Climate, Health Care, Foreign Relations, Iraq & Iran, Elections, Criminal Justice, and Immigration. One can only hope their politicians are listening. See: www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2836 

If you have a broadband internet connection, and have ever had concerns about the interactions of religion, politics, money, lies, hatred and fear in bringing about mass manipulation, the online movie "Zeitgeist" might be of interest. It appears a little slow to start with, but is confronting, intense and persuasively argued. It is about 2 hours long but contains much food for thought. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will have peace. We have a choice, right now, between fear and love!" [Thanks to Vanda for the link]

www.zeitgeistmovie.com/index.html  

Bloomington USA - An oasis of sanity in a sea of growthist madness?

An oasis of sanity in a sea of growthist madness? Could this be happening in the Land of MORE, MORE, MORE? The City of Bloomington, Indiana, supports a steady-state economy! Yes - you heard it right….

See: http://candobetter.org/node/725

How can we get to this level of enlightenment in our own city and State?

Following the recent successful public forum in Adelaide by Dr Mathis Wackernagel (originator of the Environmental Footprint concept), you may wish to view a video of his presentation "Living Well on One Planet". He is an interesting speaker with novel ways of expressing his message.

See: http://www.unisa.edu.au/isst/
[You will need Windows Media Player to view the video.]

In responding to a student request for data on AAEV, I have this week done a “quick-&-dirty” count of dwellings built, dwellings occupied, number and gender of adults, and number and gender of children under 18. Here’s the result:
 
There are 51 dwellings now built, of which 47 are occupied. A further 4 townhouses on Tetragonia Walk are built and essentially complete but not yet occupied. In addition to the ongoing construction of the remaining 7 townhouses, construction is also under way on another 9 separate residential lots, of which 5 are approaching completion.
 
As of 8/08/08, we have 78 adults living on site, comprising 34 men and 44 women. There are also 27 children under 18, comprising 15 boys and 12 girls.
 
While I don’t guarantee the absolute accuracy of my figures, they are close enough to give a reasonable snapshot of how WE ARE GROWING.
 
Elizabeth H.

If you would like to see a nice little synopsis of how capitalism is not quite working so well toward the best interests of human and environmental health, have a look at the following link: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Allow about 20 minutes for viewing, but I think it's worth checking out.

Cheers - Tricia O'D

[If you would like to see it as a DVD so you can share the viewing with family and friends, you can borrow it from the Village Library (at 14 Hakea Walk). It has plenty of laughs but does get the message across big-time! Elizabeth H.]

Further to the successful Ecological Footprint Forum - "Living Well on One Planet" - presented by Dr Mathis Wackernagel at University of SA on 29 July, a “take home” summary has been created and can be downloaded from the following website:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/isst/ (also ATTACHED as a PDF file - 100KB)

LivingWellOnOnePlanet

It is hoped that in the near future a video of his presentation will also be available, so please visit our website for future updates.
Enquiries to Rita Mielnik, ISST, Uni SA, Mawson Lakes
Ph: 8302 5347 or email