What others are doing already?
Baulkham Hills residents take household action to tackle an inconvenient truth
Date: 13-Sep-2006
As Australians are coming to terms with ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ about dangerous climate change, residents of 70 households in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills have taken action in their homes to significantly reduce their impact on the environment and do their bit to reduce global warming.
Taking part in the Australian Conservation Foundation’s GreenHome program over the last six months, the residents have made simple changes in their homes, resulting in savings of:
8 million litres of
water a year (equivalent to 8 Olympic swimming pools of water)
1787 tonnes of greenhouse pollution a year ( equivalent to taking 297 cars off
the road)
119, 808 litres of landfill waste a year (equivalent to 500 wheelie bins per
year).
Amelia Hodge is saving 110,000 litres of water a year, 14 tonnes of greenhouse
pollution a year and reducing her landfill garbage by 120 litres a week, by
making small changes such as installing a water-efficient showerhead, switching
to Green Power, turning lights off more often, using energy efficient light
globes and using her car less by riding her bike to the shops.
“At home, I have taught my "ungreen" boyfriend to switch electrical appliances off when not in use and to use a shower timer. I know I am making a difference and am getting fitter by riding my bike to the local shops” said the 26 year old Baulkham Hills resident. Amelia is so keen to spread the word, she has entered in the “Miss Earth Australia 2006”, a pageant for environmentally conscious women.
Sophie Scott from ACF’s GreenHome program congratulated the Baulkham Hills residents on achieving important environmental savings. “They have proved that if we all make simple changes in our everyday lives, we can create a cleaner and healthier Australia”.
After participating in various GreenHome workshop series’ across Sydney, 335 residents have made huge savings for the environment. “From Parramatta to Bankstown, residents have saved 31 million litres of water, 3000 tonnes of greenhouse pollution and 250,000 litres of waste from going to landfill.
GreenHome is national program that helps Australians take action in their own lives and homes to save water, reduce greenhouse pollution and cut down on waste. For tips and tools for making your home a GreenHome, visit www.acfonline.org.au/greenhome. ACF’s GreenHome workshop series will run in other Sydney suburbs throughout the year. The GreenHome program is assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.
First GreenHome results show household action makes a difference
Date: 19-Aug-2005
The results of ACF's first GreenHome workshop series show that simple changes around the home can add up to important savings for the environment. Two hundred Bankstown residents participated in the pilot GreenHome program, making changes to their houses and lifestyles ranging from installing rainwater tanks and worm farms to using their cars less often.
The combined results of their actions resulted in total annual savings of 12.75 million litres of water, 650 tonnes of greenhouse pollution and a 30% reduction in landfill waste.
ACF's GreenHome Coordinator, Suzie Brown, congratulated the Bankstown residents on the changes they'd made and the results they'd achieved. "It proves that by working together we can achieve significant resource savings - even by starting with small changes everyone can make a difference." she said.
GreenHome participant Isabel Sukkar had always been interested in caring for the environment, but as a renter, she didn't think there was much she could do in her Bankstown home that would help. "I found there were actually a lot of small things I could do to make my home more environmentally friendly," said Isabel. "I'm now composting my food scraps and I've replaced a lot of my lightglobes with more efficient compact fluorescent globes. By replacing my old shower head with a AAA water-saving one and other water saving measures I've cut my water usage by 20,000 litres a year. I also switched to 100% green power electricity for my home."
The Bankstown participants found that it wasn't difficult to make simple changes to their houses and many of them are keen to continue making their lifestyles greener and healthier.
The savings achieved by the 200 Bankstown GreenHome participants:
- 12.75 million litres of water per
year (= 12.75 Olympic swimming pools of water)
- 650 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year (= the volume of 650 3BR homes)
- Reduction in waste to landfill of 30% (= on average about 290kg of waste per
household NOT going to landfill per year)
Changes made by the group include:
- Reduced shower times by a total of 4816 minutes per week and 140 fewer baths
per week (Saves a total of 4,494,800 litres of water and 251,120 kg greenhouse
pollution per year.)
- 56 old showerheads replaced by water efficient ones (Saves 2,248,400 litres of
water and 149,893 kg greenhouse pollution per year.)
- Replaced 78 old lightglobes with compact fluorescents (Saves 2,574 kg
greenhouse pollution per year.)
- Turned off the lights to a total of 350 hours per day (Saves 9,581 kg
greenhouse pollution per year.)
- 166 appliances were turned off standby power (Saves 14,608 kg greenhouse
pollution per year.)
- Driving the car 180 hours less per week (Saves 128,700 kg greenhouse pollution
per year.)
- Reduced garden hosing time by 2210 minutes per week (Saves 1,953,640 litres of
water per year.)
- Running the clothes washing machine 102 times fewer per week (Saves 563,680
litres of water per year.)
- 198 fewer dishwashing loads per week (Saves 308,880 litres per year.)
- 94 toilets were converted from single flush to reduce water (Saves 960,680
litres of water per year.)
- 70 people started or increased composting (Saving 560 plastic bags per week.)
Source: ACF
Kenyan Nobel laureate launches 'Billion
Tree Campaign' at UN climate meeting
by Otto Bakano Wed Nov 8, 1:07 PM ET
NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai launched a massive
drive aimed at curbing global warming and related environmental damage by
planting a billion new trees by the end of next year.
On the sidelines of a key UN climate change conference here, Maathai announced
the start in January of "The Billion Tree Campaign," to combat rampant
deforestation, reverse desertification and reduce soil
erosion.
Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Greenbelt Movement
she founded to promote human rights and sustainable development by planting
trees first in her native Kenya,
then throughout Africa and the world.
"In the year 2007 we shall target over a billion trees," said Maathai,
the first African woman honored by the Nobel committee, noting that trees
provide natural protection against the effects of climate change.
"We want to commit ourselves to action and we want to call the whole world
to participate in this action," she said, calling on people everywhere to
get their hands dirty while diplomats haggle over
treaties.
"This is something that anybody can do," Maathai said. "Anybody
can dig a hole, anybody can put a tree in the hole and water it and everybody
must make sure that the tree they plant survives."
"We know the signs and we know the data ... but what is really important
even long after this conference is what we do," she said. "That is why
this campaign is so important."
Trees are vital to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
generated by the use of fossil fuels. Every year an average tree converts 12
kilos (26 pounds) of the gas into enough
oxygen for a family of four per year, according to the United Nations.
But replacing trees lost by deforestation over the last decade would require
planting an area the size of Peru, a task equivalent to planting 14 billion
trees every year for a decade, the UN says.
Although trees may not be able to absorb all of the world's emissions of
greenhouse gases responsible for raising global temperatures, they can also
restore lost water catchment areas and reduce erosion,
officials say.
The Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that is hosting the conference
said the initiative, sponsored by Maathai and Prince Albert of Monaco, was
crucial to citizens participating in fighting climate change.
"Action does not need to be confined to the corridors of the negotiation
halls," said UNEP chief Achim Steiner.
"The Billion Tree Campaign is but an acorn, but it can also be practically
and symbolically a significant expression of our common determination to make a
difference in developing and developed
countries alike," he said.
The Billion Tree Campaign encourages not only groups to plant trees in damaged
forests, parks and public areas but individuals to place them in private gardens
and also seeks pledges of money, saplings and seeds.
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