Your Sustainable Community 2011 by Echo Publications

Your Sustainable Community 2011 YOUR GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING ON THE NORTH COAST

ANOTHER GREAT

PUBLICATION

Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

What’s in it for you – a look inside… The era of cheap energy is gone p4

Simplicity a key to design p13

Get used to doing more with less

Tutor explains the clean, green house

Mr Walker walks the organic talk p5 One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure p14 This farmer has gone organic

Your Sustainable Community AN ECHO SUPPLEMENT

THE BYRON SHIRE

www.echo.net.au

THE TWEED

Bargains can be found just about anywhere

Learning to build smart is crucial to Making textile recycling the new survival p6 Lessening the use of resources in construction fashion hit p15 Local councils do their part p7 Yes, they’re promoting sustainability too

Farming, food and our future p8 Local farmers speak from experience

A brief history of socially responsible investing p10 Put your money where your eco-mouth is

Saving energy in your office p11

‘Less is more’ is the new black

What’s a good sustainable idea for our community? p16 Local folks have their say

Sustainable transport and the psychology of change p17 Jump start your mind as well

Windy times at Hayters Hill p18 A man installs a turbine

Put down that nuclear paperclip, Dilbert!

Foodies raise awareness of Mother The ocean is your backyard, too p12 Earth’s needs p19 Find a soft spot for our seafood

Look after Mother and Mother will feed you

Who came first?

Survey Results are in!

Thank you to all the 400 folk who completed Council’s Compost Survey last year. The feedback gained is being used in Council’s Organics Education program.

25 lucky folk

(56%)

(29%)

Said they did not compost properly

(29%) Said they wanted to learn from others

Did not know which compost bin to get

(72%)

Said they wanted to compost at home and not pay for a service

(72%)

Said composting was good for the environment

took home prizes ranging from compost bins & worm farms, to $50 farmers markets vouchers & movie passes. Ocean Shores Public School had the most school entries and won a hollow log parrot home for their school grounds.

Survey results indicate there was strong support for:

(80%) Said Composting made good sense

(54%)

For Compost demonstrations & workshops

(75%) For training children at Schools

(73%)

(61%)

For subsidised or cheap compost bins

For kerbside garden waste collection

(43%) Wanted a home visit to help get them composting!

Since July 2010 Council has conducted over 50 compost sessions at farmers markets in the shire. Compost bins and worm farms are still available cheaply at $35 and $45. The next compost workshop will be held at Mullumbimby Community Garden on Sunday 17th April - call Jude Mason at Byron Council to book a spot. Be quick! Limited places Ph 6626 7077 <echowebsection=Your Sustainable Community>

www.tweedecho.com.au Editor: Michael McDonald Design & Production: Ziggi Browning Advertising Manager: Angela Cornell Client Liaison: Amanda Bennett Front cover: Photo Eve Jeffery (www.treefaeriephotos.com), digital wizardry Ziggi Browning, many thanks to model Grace Jeffery-Kingston for enduring the ant bites. Contributors: Nina Bishop, Victoria Cosford, Joe Ebono, Mary Gardner, Daniel Harper, Eve Jeffery, Kel Raison and Lani Summers. Photographers: Eve Jeffery, Victoria Cosford, Nina Bishop, plus images from Stock.XCHNG www.sxc.hu. © 2011 Echo Publications Pty Ltd ABN 86 004 000 239 Village Way, Stuart Street, Mullumbimby Phone 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 Byron Bay: 95 Jonson St. Ph 6685 5222 Printer: Horton Media Australia Ltd Reg. by Aust. Post Pub. No. NBF9237. Printed on recycled paper

Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

The sustainable life requires attitude ‘What we are trying to suggest is that the solution for a cluttered, frustrated existence is not merely in moving to the country and attempting to practise “the simple life”. The solution is in an attitude towards human experience which makes simple physical and economic arrangements almost a moral and aesthetic necessity. It is the larger purpose in life which gives to its lesser enterprises – the obtaining of food, shelter and clothing – their essential harmony and balance.’ – from a review of Living the Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing, published in the Manas journal (www.manasjournal.org) of March 23, 1955, and reprinted in Henry Miller’s book Big Sur. (Nice site by his daughter Valentine at www.henrymiller.info.) An interesting quote. The description of obtaining food, clothing and shelter as ‘lesser enterprises’ doesn’t ring true. In the ‘developed’ world, music and art may seem separate from and greater than the tribal life of hunting and gathering but it is in attention to the natural world that art and music began and flowed through the tools of these ‘lesser’ enterprises. The reviewer is right, however, in pointing out that the simple life lies in attitude to what we do every day. You might not call it ‘reverence’ but surely respect for what nature offers – and a healthy understanding of its manifold dangers – enriches the way we dig the garden, fetch the water and chop the wood. And now we know our actions in total as the human race can destroy our chances of surviving on Spaceship Earth, the need for a sustainable attitude becomes not only obvious but critical.

Scott and Helen Nearing, pioneers of the ‘good life’. Helen and Scott Nearing, the subjects of the review above, were extraordinary American pioneers of frugal and ‘purposeful’ living from the

1930s on, espousing rich social philosophy and love of the arts as well providing practical tips to carry out the ‘lesser enterprises’. Their work lives on

at www.goodlife.org. I read their books in the 1980s and marvelled at their determination, endurance and lively sense of fun. You could get exhausted by just reading their description of building a dam by hand with pick, shovel and wheelbarrow! If the Nearings were living in the time of global warming, they would face it head-on. In fact, if everyone in the developed world had lived like the Nearings, the warmth would have been less of a threat. Not all of us will have the Nearings’ fortitude but we can still take steps to make our lives more sustainable. In the following pages we outline some practical methods towards that goal, interview some inspiring examples and point out a few pitfalls. We hope this supplement will be of some use to you and inspire you to undertake more of the exciting journey towards a sustainable life. – Michael McDonald

Interior pic : Christopher Frederick Jones

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

The era of cheap energy is gone – get used to it Joe Ebono

supply, fuel prices were yesterday’s news. Executive salaries, As this article goes to press oil government regulation of the prices are set to pass $US100 financial sector and the cost of per barrel, again. an ageing population led the The only other time this financial news. Energy did not has happened, 2008, events figure at all. in Venezuela, Russia and Iraq For a fleeting moment we conspired to squeeze supply understood energy economics, at a point where demand was then, suddenly, we forgot that at an all time high. Speculawe ever had. tors began to stockpile, and Despite recognising that gamble, on a rare commodity cheap energy has created and the price soared. the affluent society we have Within months, the first signs been born into, we resist the of what was to become known notion that it might be a lucky as the Global Frock Crisis – in accident. We believe it is our some circles Finance was the birthright. preferred F word – appeared This explains the second and an economic slowdown oversight: the supply of oil reduced demand and cooled has not exceeded 2008 levels the market. and may never do so. We may The half-century-long realalready have seen the peak of estate property bubble burst energy consumption on planet and governments dipped deep earth. into their pockets to preserve Limits to energy the status quo, causing less robust governments – Greece, growth Spain, Ireland – to face up to their crime of being almost rich. The fundamental limiter on In the months that fuel pric- future energy production is an es soared, everyone became arcane concept known as nett aware of energy’s role at the energy profit. core of the price of transport, The easiest way to define refrigeration, medical services, nett energy profit is to start manufacturing etc. It became with the fact that oil and coal commonplace to observe are petrified plant matter that that a small rise in the cost of has been buried for billions energy might lead to runaway of years. Plants capture the inflation. energy of sunlight by using Once demand dipped below it to combine carbon dioxide

and water and build complex carbohydrates. Animals eat plant material and consume that energy to live. So do our machines. The rate at which our machines consume it however, is incredible. In 150 years, we have consumed almost all the oil and easily accessed natural gas on the planet, and are getting well stuck into the planet’s coal reserves. Billions of years of sunlight, released in decades. The Beverly Hillbillies were rich precisely because they did not have to do anything, except drill a hole. Their story is the story of the American Century.

As soon as we start having to manufacture oil using algae, generate electricity by converting sunlight, extract gas by washing fractured coal seams, or electrolytically splitting water the energy is no longer free. We are now working really hard to make the same energy which we got for nothing only decades ago.

Escape clause? Energy companies dig desperately for alternatives. Coal seam gas for example is an energy (and water) intensive method of collecting gas from low grade reservoirs under-

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ground. From an energy point of view, the most significant factor is that coal seam gas is only marginally profitable. The technocrats talk of a hydrogen economy. But hydrogen is manufactured by pumping energy into water, or by breaking down an existing energy source such as methane. Hydrogen is a storage medium, not a source.

Energy of the future Renewable energy is obviously the energy of the future. Captured from sunlight, either directly by solar mirrors, solar panels, algae or plants or indi-

rectly through wind and waves, it is relatively harmless to collect. Most importantly, it does not release fossilised carbon as carbon dioxide. While it is limited to the currently available sunlight, there is more than enough renewable energy to provide the world’s energy needs. The problem is, however, it can never be as cheap as oil. You have to invest a significant amount of energy to capture renewable energy. The amount of economic activity consumed by the production of the energy then has to be absorbed into the cost of all the other goods that are manufactured with that energy. Even though we can use nature to do most of that work for us, allowing algae to produce oil, for example, the era of cheap energy is gone. The inevitable outcome is that the cost of energy will rise. As a result, all our worst fears about the impact on the cost of food, commuting, bricks and the very fabric of life itself will come true. Brace yourself. It will not be pretty. n Joe Ebono is an environmen-

tal author, broadcaster and consultant with a background in technology and media.

Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Mr Walker walks the organic talk Story & photo Victoria Cosford Frank Walker turned organic about ten years ago, largely for reasons of health. ‘I used to look at these old blokes in their 60s, buggered because of the chemicals they were using,’ he tells me. Frank is a fourth-generation farmer whose family owns property at Murwillumbah and Burringbar. The main growing farm is on 600 acres at Burringbar and while cattle are the chief source of income, pumpkins and bananas are what Frank brings weekly to the Byron Farmers Market. He grows pumpkins all year round, last year producing one that weighed 20 kilograms and which made it on to the front cover of an organics magazine. ‘It ate well too!’ he says. It isn’t only the health factor that persuades Frank in favour of organic farming. He says it is also the improvement in soil, a ‘phenomenal production’, and of course the superior flavour. Customers come back to him every week to tell him how good his pumpkins and zucchini and sweet potatoes taste, especially compared with ordinary store-bought ones. ‘Even their kids are starting to complain about the taste of nonorganic vegetables,’ he says. While it is obviously more

expensive – not to mention time-consuming – to grow crops organically, Frank is determined not to pass those extra costs on to his customers, priding himself on the fact that his produce is among the cheapest around. ‘That surprises a lot of people,’ he says. ‘It was never about the money.’ He agrees there is definitely a movement of farmers going organic ‘because people are realising a lot of the pesticides used aren’t good. If their kids stay in the game, farming, then

thing, though, throughout the whole market.’ Frank says that there was never really anything else he wanted to do, although he did work in an office for seven years at one stage, continuing to work on the farm on weekends. He loves the fact you are your own boss. ‘You can work your own hours,’ he says. ‘They’re long but they’re your own. ‘The main thing I love is the markets, meeting the customers, people coming to you every week and giving you feedback.’ The worst thing is the hours – and the lack of holidays. Frank tries to remember when he last had a holiday, then recalls that it was last year, the first he had taken in four years, when he turned 50 and went on a trip up to Cairns the parents don’t want them with mates for an extended handling all that stuff. weekend. ‘I bought a boat in ‘But having said that, I’ve got 91 and it’s been out of my shed nothing against conventional three times!’ growers. There’s a good mix of But it is a lifestyle he loves. He us at the markets – and there’s tells me about his sister-in-law’s a place for everyone.’ grandmother who at 99 was still He adds that the Byron Farm- mustering horses. ‘She wasn’t ers Market is a great one. ‘It’s just riding horses,’ he says, ‘she saved a lot of farmers.’ was mustering them.’ Last season was terrible. And then there is Frank’s ‘You couldn’t physically get own father. ‘He dropped dead on to the ground as it was too in the paddock at 77,’’ he says. wet. We lost rockmelon and ‘He loved it. To this day he was watermelon crops as well as the hardest working man I pumpkins. have ever known. That’s what ‘That was a pretty common keeps you going!’

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

Learning to build smart is crucial to survival Joe Ebono The mountains of plasterboard, plywood door skins, chipboard cupboards and flimsy, fabric-covered furnishings after the Brisbane floods were a stark reminder that we live in a throw-away society. The impermanence of Australian settlement is often identified as an overriding first impression by European visitors born and bred in stone towns and cities, centuries old. That outback icon of human frailty, corrugated iron, has made a comeback as an urban building material because is relatively light to transport, easy to work with and so cheap to erect. Even our city skyscrapers and concrete bridges are designed to last decades, not centuries. If we want to build smart, throw-away cities, we need to mimic the traditional Japanese approach and build them from bamboo and paper.

Affordable smarts Given the flimsy nature of our built environment, then, it is all the more alarming that houses are so unaffordable: that the return on investment is so low that rental properties are not being created quickly enough to meet demand.

As a nation we should now be investing in smart building programs that produce affordable dwellings in community settings that minimise energy use and resource consumption. We all have a rough idea what that settlement pattern looks like; it has evolved independently in all cultures, on all continents, across millennia. It generally involves roughly hexagonal networks of villages within a day’s walk of each other and a market town. A larger town, or city, that provides occasionally required services such as universities and hospitals is generally a day’s ride away by whatever high-speed transport is available to the rich or the desperate. The buildings themselves are either lightweight and replaceable, or permanent structures that last for generations. Sleeping quarters are generally separated from functions such as bathing, cooking and fabric care and those functions are often communal. Smaller, simpler dwellings are cheaper to build, cheaper to rent and have less impact on the environment. Communal facilities have greater utilisation rates and are so more efficient, less resource intensive and cheaper to access as a result. Smart affordability building programs are sustainable

Passive solar design Breezy open plan living Solar hot water Solar electricity LED lighting ECO paint Beautiful

rate strong local communities, local food and energy production, and water and waste recycling solutions. There is no point all popping a solar panel on the roof and a grey water plant under the laundry if we won’t share anything.

Recasting regulations

because they use resources effectively and do not need to be rebuilt constantly.

the housing crisis? That will satisfy property developers and money lenders but can hardly be seen as an investment in the Pipedreams v future. We have innovative engipragmatism neering solutions, entire archiIf the vision is so obvious, why tectural movements based on are our housing affordability walkable communities such programs bogged down in as New Urbanism and a range compensation percentages of emerging technologies that and our sustainable settlement minimise construction costs, committees in zoning water and energy consumption arguments? and that produce and re-use How can an incoming state energy, water and food locally. government seriously promote This is not to say that subura return to new suburbs on ban dwelling is itself unsustainthe city fringe as a solution to able. Just that it must incorpo-

ecological • environmental • economical po box 1187 mullumbimby 2482 t 02 6684 2100 f 02 6684 2155 www.e-construct.com.au

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Government regulations drive unsustainable building practices, but they are intimately bound up in many of our values as a society. The fundamental problem is the notion of property as an investment. The returnon-investment model relies on increasing property prices. Thus, successive Australian governments have provided ever more generous incentives to fuel this investment. The ridiculous, artificial, high house prices we now face are a direct result. It has also fuelled the ecological disaster of a rampaging increase in house size as punters invest more and more in their primary asset. It also explains the pathetic attempt at creating affordable housing by compensating developers for forgoing a portion of their capital gain, by making a percentage of their housing stock cheap enough to live in.

The centralisation of planning powers to favour property developers who have the ear of a central government only exacerbates this problem. More significantly, it makes it impossible to develop innovative approaches to regulation where rates are levied on hard surfaces that require additional water infrastructure, for example.

The U Factor Finally, it is our selfish desire not to share things with our fellow humans that drives the push into greenfield development and the duplication of expensive infrastructure that could be communal. When petrol prices shot up suddenly in 2008 many tree changers considered moving ‘into town’. Despite pride in their sustainable values, the enforced reduction in their carbon footprint was delayed until petrol prices fell. The oft repeated justification? ‘I couldn’t bear to be that close to my neighbours.’ Face it, baby. That ain’t sustainable. n Joe Ebono is an environmen-

tal author, broadcaster and consultant with a background in technology and media.

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Local councils do their part to inform residents While the rough and tumble of politics is often the focus of local government, both the Tweed and Byron shires are enthusiastically involved in promoting sustainability to the wider community. The Tweed Council website describes sustainability as ‘a concept that has emerged over the last 20+ years as a result of worldwide recognition that our environmental problems and solutions are closely linked with the state of the economy and the health of our community. ‘Sustainability has three core components: ‘1. Balanced decision making based on environmental, social and economic goals; ‘2. The focus on equity and fairness and the recognition that we cannot ignore the effects of our actions on others in an interdependent world; and ‘3. Recognition that while a strong economy is necessary to meet the needs of today, it must not be at the expense of future generations to meet their own needs. ‘It is important to recognise that sustainability is a journey, not a destination. It’s about government, industry, business, institutions, households and individuals making informed decisions for the benefit of the natural environment,

coming together to strengthen community, conserve natural resources and restore local ecosystems through the Sustainable Streets program. ‘Steps include energy and water efficiency, local food production, recycling and composting, backyard biodiversity, restoration of local bushland, ethical shopping, transport options and community participation.’ The program has seen a substantial reduction in resource use in the areas of power and water. Interested groups have formed at such places as Uki, Mullumbimby, and Cabarita.

social equity and economic resilience. ‘If the guiding principles of sustainability were distilled into a single sentence, a candidate would have be the Native American proverb: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”’ Byron Shire defines sustainability as ‘the capacity to maintain quality of life both now and into future. Sustainability relies on: ‘• fair, just and dynamic communities, ‘• healthy and diverse

environments, ‘• innovative thinking and creative solutions, ‘• active and robust economies.’ Both the Byron and Tweed sustainability officers have been actively involved in supporting community programs on the ground and providing information about projects such as Northern Rivers Food Links and Northern Rivers Carpool. One of the successful community programs is Northern Rivers Sustainable Streets. ‘Neighbourhoods across the Northern Rivers of NSW are

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The Uki group has its own website at http://sustainablestreet. gostart.com.au. Byron Shire has also undertaken a ‘preliminary identification and economic assessment of renewable energy resources across the Byron Shire, including detailed wind mapping of the Shire. The Ssudy provided valuable information about the viability of local wind and solar resources that may facilitate investment in renewable energy across the Shire. ‘The study indicated that Byron Shire’s wind resource is highly variable and constrained for reasons such as tree cover

and scenic protection. This suggests that the wide-scale deployment of wind turbines is unlikely to occur, although small pockets of land may support smaller wind turbines, whether privately owned or through a community share program. However, the study identified solar power as having a strong financial basis and an obvious choice for deployment due to its widespread and evenly distributed nature.’ n See more at www.byron.

nsw.gov.au/sustainability and www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/ sustainability.

5 Byron Street, Byron Bay 6680

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

Farming, food and our sustainable Story & photo Nina Bishop

According to Phil, the scale of production at a regional How are you going to keep North Coast level is restricted them down on the farm? due to the cost of land and Sarah Thompson, NSW Farm- topography rather than due ers’ Association Rural Affairs to the skills shortage that is afCommittee Chair, said recently fecting agriculture at a national that, at present, there are a lim- level. Our undulating region ited number of young people is not ideal for agribusiness, in Australia’s agricultural indus- which requires good access try resulting in a skills shortage to irrigation and a centralised in the farming industry. distribution system. Centralised ‘A specific example of systems work best for large this problem can be found retailers’ profit margins but not in research recently comfor small producers. missioned by the Australian ‘So many products now are Council of Deans of Agriculture sold via large supermarkets Protecting and rehabilitating the natural environment of the Tweed that concluded that there which require large volumes on were probably fewer than 800 an ongoing secure basis,’ says agricultural science graduates Phil. ‘Small farms find it near each year to meet job market impossible to compete in that demand of 2,000,’ Mrs Thomp- market, which is why regional son said. farmer’s markets are critical I wondered if this were true to many of our fruit and veg MINYON FALLS at a local level, and interviewed farmers. Ever changing seasonal menu a few people in the know ‘In Queensland there are local organic produce about farming. single banana operators that guaranteeing freshness & new sensations are bigger than the entire NSW Vegetarian and gluten free catered for PHIL HARVEY is the head banana industry.’ Phil believes Beautiful forest views & bushwalking teacher of agriculture at Wolthat this is likely to have a ﬁne art • ﬁne food longbar TAFE. His definition of negative regional impact as it’s management and infrastructure provision A pleasant 30Coastline min drive from Byron sustainable agriculture is ‘if you favouring a limited choice in or Lismore can make a living and conthe supply chain. www.thewrensrestminyonfalls.com.au tinue without degrading your ‘Rather than diversity, we’re resource base with minimum ending up with what is conveadverse effects elsewhere’. But nient for a large retailer. BusiBYO we all know supply is just one ness competition of this kind, Minyon Falls Rd side to the equation – it’s what in the long term, is bad for the Minyon Falls happens in the marketplace, consumer and the producer. the type of demand that influ- Specifically fruit and vegetable ences the way farmers grow. farmers.’

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Natural Natural Resource Unit Resource Management Management Unit Protecting and rehabilitating the natural environment of the Tweed Natural Resource Management Unit Protecting and rehabilitating the natural environment of the Tweed

Protecting and rehabilitating the natural environment of the Tweed

Photo: John Van-Den-Broeke

Delivering projects that improve catchment health

shift toward a more biological approach with less inputs and more emphasis on managing and maintaining soil resources. ‘A lot of our current training is focused around the macadamia industry and organic fruit and vegetable production as well as beef production for smaller coastal landholders. ‘We also run a lot of short courses in the areas of product quality assurance and agricultural pesticide use. As well as meeting legislative requirements these courses result in better farming practices.’ SILAS LONG at age 39 is one of the rare young farmers in this area. ‘Land was way too expensive close to Byron; we had to move another 35 km out to Lismore shire,’ he said. ‘Most of the farmers I know have advised their kids not to stay on the farm but to get a career. I’m aware of only a few farmers under 40 who are producing primary produce. ‘The word is to get bigger or get out. Small-scale farms are considered and treated as if they’re disposable. If I send a box of good produce to the central markets they may either reject it or buy it for as little as possible. If they do accept the produce they can take up to six weeks to pay. ‘At farmer’s markets we

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‘A lot of it relates to consumer expectation, the way consumers want a capsicum 12 months a year, so what follows is that large supermarkets seek a large supply all year round and if an Australian large producer can’t meet that demand they look overseas, hence the prevalence of Chinese garlic and apples. Demand created by seasonal eating is critical for the viability of small crop farming on the north coast.’ In recent years Phil has seen a huge change in demographics with those wanting to work the land and learn how at Wollongbar TAFE. ‘Before it was mainly sons and daughters, now it’s new farmers across all age groups, and for most, the farming is a secondary income. ‘Wollongbar TAFE agriculture section originally concentrated on training dairy farming apprentices at a time when north coast milk production was expanding. Today there’s a fraction of the dairy farms that were in production at that time, and very few younger people entering the industry.’ Wollongbar now runs more specific short courses upskilling existing and new farmers and focusing on specific skill areas rather than general farming. ‘There’s a drift toward organic farming and a very strong

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

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Farmer Silas Long is a fan of farmers markets as opposed to central markets.

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Locally hand made, hand screen-printed market bags made from recycled fabric. Proceeds will support the NBFM sponsored ‘Local School Food Garden Project’. On sale at the market from 24 Nov. New Brighton Farmers Market, 8am - 11am, rain or shine, New Brighton Oval Tel: 6684 5390.

GREEN POWER TURNED ON AT HEAD OFFICE

a major point: that, above economic viability, high cost of land, climate variability and lack of training support structures, the power of consumers is of the utmost importance. Consumers making wise choices, supporting farmers making wise choices, will make local organic farming into the future sustainable. Poisoning our land and waterways is not a sustainable option.

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Fresh at the market $8.

in another field, or are farmers who want to learn about biological methods requiring less expensive inputs such as nonorganic fertilisers and sprays. According to Dave, ’Nearly all of these farmers agree that climate variability is on the increase, though not always believing that humans are responsible or indeed influencing this climate change. Nonetheless, making a living on the land is challenging now more than ever. Recent seasons have seen a lot of properties up for sale.’ Dave Forrest wants to make

Mull

Dave said. ‘The dilution of the required training program is just one of factors that makes the choice for a career in agriculture less favourable. ‘The high capital cost of setting up a productive farm is DAVE FORREST has taught also prohibitive with residential Sustainable Agriculture and land values being applied in Organic Farming at Wollongbar our region. TAFE for the past 30 years. He’s ‘Even the sons and daughseen a steady decrease of train- ters who have the opportuing support structures needed nity to continue on the family for young people to enter farm often find the economic agricultural industries. ‘The climate is not conducive to training for those who either remaining in the industry.’ wish to work for themselves or Many of the people Dave someone else is considerable,’ teaches now have had a career

Mull

get paid a fairer price for our produce and we’re paid on the day. We can also experiment with the market and try out a variety of produce which suits a mixed farm model.’ With a mixed farm the aim is to create a biological cycle that lessens the need for inputs, and is therefore more environmentally friendly. For someone selling to a central market you need to be geared for large quantities and diversity loses out every time. ‘Farmers markets are wonderful. We don’t need to protest against Woolies – if they don’t make a profit here, they’ll move elsewhere. We just need to support our local farmers markets and shops who sell local produce. ‘McDonald’s have only had one café fail in Australia. It was in Newtown where I lived in the 90s. People were just not interested and it inevitably closed down.’

MULLUMBIMBY

Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

A brief history of socially responsible investing Socially responsible investing, also known as sustainable, socially-conscious, or ethical investing, describes an investment strategy which seeks to maximise both financial return and social good. In general, socially responsible investors favour corporate practices that promote environmental stewardship, consumer protection, human rights, and diversity. Some (but not all) avoid businesses involved in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons, and/ or the military. The areas of concern recognised by the SRI industry can be summarised as environment, social justice, and corporate governance (ESG). The origins of socially responsible investing (SRI) may date back to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In 1758, the Quaker Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prohibited members from participating in the slave trade – buying or selling humans. One of the most articulate early adopters of SRI was John Wesley (1703–1791), one of the founders of Methodism. Wesley’s sermon ‘The Use of Money’ outlined his basic tenets of social investing – ie not to harm your neighbour through your business practices and to avoid industries like tanning and chemical production, which

can harm the health of workers. Some of the most wellknown applications of socially responsible investing were religiously motivated. Investors would avoid ‘sinful’ companies, such as those associated with products such as guns, liquor, and tobacco.

Boycotts The modern socially responsible investing movement evolved with the political climate of the 1960s. Economic development projects started or managed by Dr Martin Luther King, like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Operation Breadbasket Project in Chicago, established the model for future socially responsible investing efforts. King combined ongoing dialogue with boycotts and direct action targeting specific corporations. Concerns about the Vietnam War were incorporated by some social investors. During this time, social investors increasingly sought to address equality for women, civil rights, and labour-management issues. In the late 1970s, SRI activism gave increasing attention to nuclear power and automobile emissions control. From the 1970s to the early 1990s, large institutions avoided investment in South Africa un-

der apartheid. International opposition to apartheid strengthened after the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. In 1976 the United Nations imposed a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa. The subsequent negative flow of investment dollars eventually forced a group of businesses, representing 75 per cent of South African employers, to draft a charter calling for an end to apartheid.

mentally sustainable development. Many investors consider effects of climate change a significant business and investment risk. CERES (www.ceres. org) was founded in 1989 by Joan Bavaria and Dennis Hayes as a network for investors, environmental organisations, and other public-interest groups interested in working with companies to address environmental concerns.

Climate change

‘Booming market’

Since the late 1990s, socially responsible investing has become increasingly defined as a means to promote environ-

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is a booming market in both the US and Europe. Assets in socially screened port-

folios climbed to $2.71 trillion in 2007, an increase over the $2.16 trillion counted in 2003 according to the Social Investment Forum’s 2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States. From 2005 to 2007 alone, SRI assets increased more than 18 per cent while the broader universe of professionally managed assets increased less than three per cent. According to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (www.responsibleinvestment.org), responsible investment is ‘the preferred approach for an increasing number of institutional and individual investors as an alternative to conventional investment practices’. The evidence for this, says RIAA, is in a ten per cent increase in managed responsible investment portfolios, a 50 per cent increase in responsibly invested financial adviser portfolios, and a 29 per cent increase in Australian signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investment over 2010. Each year since 2002 RIAA has commissioned research into the size and growth of responsible investment in Australia and New Zealand. The objective of this research is to gather data on the various forms of responsible invest-

ment and to present analysis of growth in the sector in comparison with the total investment market. According to RIAA, the benchmark report ‘shows that not only is responsible investment a smart choice, it largely outperforms the average mainstream funds over one, three, five and seven years for Australian shares and international shares. Balanced growth managed funds outperformed mainstream funds over five and seven years. ‘Since the difficult times investors were facing in 2009, the RIAA report reveals that core responsible investment (a combination of specialised managed funds, community finance, green loans, RI charity investments and financial adviser portfolios) rose 13 per cent from $AU16.15 billion to $AU18.19 billion. ‘Furthermore, managed responsible investment portfolios alone rose 10 ten per cent from $AU14.02 billion to $AU15.41 billion. Growth in responsible investment portfolios fared better than the broader market of managed portfolios which rose 9 per cent in that same period. – abridged from Wikipedia source http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Ethical_investing and RIAA data.

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Saving energy in your office

Daniel Harper Electricity prices are going up 20 per cent in July and are set to raise by up to 70 per cent within three years.* While no-one wants to spend more on basic necessities, rising electricity prices, like rising petrol prices, are a certainty. So now is the time to be embrace energy efficiency which is simply to be aware of your electricity use and find ways to use less of it. Because not only does increased energy efficiency save you money but it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of climate change. In fact, increasing energy efficiency is one of the major reasons for the federal government introducing a carbon tax. A carbon tax will increase coal-fired electricity prices, encouraging Australians to consume less electricity while also making renewable-energy generation more financially viable. Renewable energy, solar hot water, insulation and compact fluorescents have all been encouraged by the government with subsidies and rebates in the past. These incentives have been generally directed at residential properties and have been well received. But now with a carbon tax the government is using the stick instead of the carrot. So if you are serious about saving money and helping the planet, energy efficiency is an area that you would be well advised to look at.

Energy Efficiency Offices around the world are a large source of electricity consumption and carbon emissions. Fortunately there are a variety of things that even a small office can undertake to increase energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. The biggest areas of electricity use in an office will nearly always be air conditioning, lighting and computer equipment.

Air conditioning In our subtropical climate air conditioning is often the largest area of electricity use in an office. Reducing air conditioning (and heating) use takes into account two main areas: thermal performance and the energy efficiency of the cooling/heating unit. Thermal performance looks predominantly at where heat is entering and exiting the building envelope (the office building or structure in this case). Looking at the thermal dynamics of a building

There are a number of ways to create a greener office and reduce your workplace’s carbon footprint. From the Nature Conservancy www.nature.org/. Photo © Office Now/Flickr Creative Commons can get quite involved and doing it properly will encompass: orientation, ventilation, insulation, shading, thermal mass and glazing. One of the first steps to improving thermal performance is to determine where heat is entering the building – is there a large window that gets direct sunlight? Is there sufficient ventilation to remove heat generated in the office? After determining the problem, discover the solution, which could involve insulation, heat-reflective paint, window tinting and awnings to reduce heat gain, while installing exhaust fans, roof ventilators and vents can encourage heat loss in the office. There other aspect to look at: is simply the efficiency of the air conditioning/heating (AC) unit. Looking at the star rating on a AC unit will give a good idea of how efficient it is. Star ratings are calculated by dividing the unit’s output power (how much cooling power it can generate) by it’s input (how much electricity it consumes). This figure is called the EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio); anything over 3.2 is generally considered efficient. To further increase AC efficiency, ensure there is adequate and accessible control of your AC and encourage awareness of usage by staff. Set the temperature slightly higher in summer; one degree difference will make a 10 per cent difference in your AC costs. Remember to keep windows and doors shut when the AC is on. If you need doors open, installing an air curtain is often a viable solution.

Lighting Significant lighting savings can be made through behavioural change. Simply turning

off lights in parts of the building that aren’t being used is often an easy solution. Putting in multiple light switches for large banks of lights can help give more control in reducing the lights that are on. Educate staff on best practice and consider installing sensors and timers to also limit ‘on’ time. Installing skylights and opaque roofing to enhance natural light can be another good option. Delamping (taking out bulbs in over-lit areas) is free and can give instant savings. In The Echo’s art room they took three tubes out of a bank of 12. The light was still ample and they achieved a 25 per cent saving that was free and took five minutes. Upgrading old lights to the latest and most efficient types can offer great paybacks (time it takes to recoup initial outlay through energy savings). Incandescent lights can be cheaply changed to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) which are now dimmable and can have a ‘warm’ light. Just about everyone has now done this, but check hallways and storerooms that may have not been upgraded. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are regularly getting cheaper and brighter making them viable alternatives for halogens. LEDs have no mercury, less heat, run much more efficiently and last five to 15 times longer than traditional lighting sources. The most common lighting source in offices by far are fluorescent tubes. Fluoros, while reasonably efficient compared to other light sources, can be cost-effectively upgraded to more efficient models. T8s with magnetic ballasts are the prevalent kind of fluoro consuming around 45 watts per lamp and are used over 95 per cent of the time. Upgrading to a T5 with

electronic ballast that consume 30w give a saving of 33 per cent and over the many lights typical of an office adds up to a significant saving. Payback for these upgrades are generally between two and five years.

Office equipment The best rule with office equipment is to turn it off when you can. Printers, photo copiers and computers should all be turned off when possible. Office Equipment on standby continue to consume energy and should be turned off at the switch. Computers should be put on their most efficient settings, putting hard drives to sleep and turning monitors off after short periods of inactivity. When purchasing new equipment compare how energy efficient it is, as the running costs are generally higher than the original purchase price. So there you have it: simple ways to save money and increase the environmental performance of your office space. Remember you don’t have to own the business to make these changes; some of the best ideas and impetus for change come from within the organisation. * ‘An Australian Industry Group study finds the annual bill for a typical Sydney household will climb from $1257 to $2012 between 2009-10 and 2012-13 if the carbon price is introduced at $26 per tonne. Even with no carbon price, the bill is set to climb to $1705. ‘ The Sydney Morning Herald, February 21, 2011. n Daniel Harper is an energy

assessor and founder of Coolplanet coolplanet.com.au.

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

The ocean is your backyard, too, when eating seafood Mary Gardner

and the impact of the harvest on other marine species. To live by the sea has traditionThe AMCS guide rates hoki, ally meant living on local seaor blue grenadier, as a bad food. But even here in Australia, choice. So are bluefin and that’s an outdated nursery southern tuna, most Pacific and tale like the one about family Atlantic farmed salmon, and farms full of happy barnyard nine other species. But each of animals. Since the 1950s, global these fish can be sold under a industrialization of fishing has variety of names. As fillets their overwhelmed indigenous, identity can be completely lost. small commercial and recreaThere is no process in place to tional fishing. Seafood for sale guarantee fish identity. Internain Byron Shire follows a pattern tional undercover ‘stings’ based seen throughout the world: a on DNA samples of fish reveal lot of it comes from other parts incorrect names on anywhere of the country or, more often, from 30 to 80 per cent of from other countries altogeth- product. er. Can we make any choices as shoppers and as citizens that Bad practices are at all ‘sustainable’? As with ‘sustainability’ on Another complication is land, the answer is problemat- that a species may be fished or ic. In the past decade, indefarmed in a number of ways. pendent groups such as the Hoki is caught with disruptive Monterey Bay Aquarium, World bottom trawls. Tuna are also Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), caught with trawls or hook and New Zealand’s Forest and Bird line. Australia, like parts of the Society and the Australian Mediterranean, pen endanMarine Conservation Society gered wild tuna in marine (AMCS) all published sustainfeedlots before sale to Japan. able-seafood guides. Quick Farmed salmon relies on use guides are sheets that can be of antibiotics and meal made downloaded from the internet. from other fisheries. All of Comprehensive guides are these practices are destructive searchable databases, based in different ways. on the names of fishes. Each Many guides detail all fishing species for sale is rated acmethods per species. They cording to the information (or also weigh up the impact of lack of it) about the stock. Also by-catch. Seabirds, turtles, seals, considered are fishing methods dolphins, whales, other fish

for harsh overfishing? In Canada, USA and the EU, certification and seafood choice guides are important in raising the alarm with consumers. This year, similar campaigns start in Asia too. Chefs, fishmongers and multinational supermarket chains are taking up the cause. Sustainableseafood cookbooks such as Paul Johnson’s Fish Forever are award winners. The Marriot Hotel in London has revised all its seafood menus accordingly. Hundreds of other restaurants advertise that they source ‘sustainable seafood’. Sushi bars, first in California and now throughout the world, are dropping tuna and other troubled options. Their new selling point is offering exciting ‘sustainable sushi’.

Overfished Spanner crabs can be found in north coast waters. Photo from www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/commercial/fisheries/otl-fishery – there can also be found the juveniles of the target species. Unmanaged by-catch is why both Australia and New Zealand guides rate hoki so poorly. The warning against hoki is doubly controversial as this New Zealand fishery was the first to be certified in 2001 as

‘sustainable’ by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This NGO was created in 1996 by WWF and Unilever, a multinational seafood company. Since then hoki stocks have dropped by two thirds. The quota has also dropped. Is this sensitive management or a camouflage

The alarm about fisheries is valid. Internationally, 80 per cent of fisheries are overexploited. Since 2006, of 100 key species managed by NSW, 40 are fully fished or overfished. Of the other 60, not enough is known to make a call. Over half of the 70 species managed by the Commonwealth are also fully fished or overfished. Official reports are that a fifth of Australian commercial operations routinely violate fishing

regulations, involving from 20 to 60 per cent of all fish caught. And to complicate things, recreational catch makes as great an impact, equalling commercial hauls. What to do? We can insist our supermarkets, fishmongers and restaurants offer recommended seafood as well as boycott threatened species. Our award-winning sushi bars can raise the bar nationally. Imagine the genuine tourism value in promoting Byron Shire for its sustainable seafood cuisine. As citizens, we must hold our politicians on course for sustainability at home. They must further Australia’s Securing Our Fishing Future program. Since 2005, fishery quotas were set up, marine parks created, fleets downsized and licences bought out. The program finished in 2010 but marine ecosystems are not yet secure. We also need proactive legislation supporting our international trading partners in sustainable fishing. Environmental justice for wild fish and humans depends on votes we cast as well as purchases and boycotts we make. n Mary Gardner is a writer,

biologist and tutor. See more of her work at www.tangleoflife. org.

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Simplicity a key to design

Your Growing Resource for Sustainable Farming BOOKS • DVDs • eBooks

www.sustainableinsight.com.au BYRON REGION COMMUNITY COLLEGE Leading the Community in Sustainability Courses A Dave-designed drying room also doubles as laundry, yoga space, verandah and outdoor office Story & photo Eve Jeffery

about your needs and what you can afford. Dave Lawrence’s interest in ‘Your needs will change with sustainable house design goes time so make it adaptable. Only back a long way. Dave even two things are fixed: the locahelped design the family beach tion and the aspect. Everything house in New Zealand in the else can change so don’t buy 1970s when he was just 17 years based on variables.’ old. Dave and his partner Ruth, Dave says that simplicity is who is an interior designer, the key; if you get too complidesigned and built an energy- cated then things can get out efficient house in Margaret of hand. ‘You need either a lot River, Western Australia, in the of time or a lot of money. It will early 90s but realised that as generally cost twice as much as much as they loved the house, you hope it will and take three they were 3,000km away from times as long as you initially where they wanted to be. thought. Keep it simple.’ The couple moved to the north coast in 1994 and bought Costs vary an existing inefficient house in Byron Bay. They set about retRefitting your house is an rofitting it to show some ways option for anyone who doesn’t of improving existing houses. want to leave their current Dave set up a business specifi- home. When asked the cost cally focusing on retrofitting of an average refit, Dave said houses for energy efficiency. ‘how long is a bit of wood?’. This brought about the idea of Costs do vary according to your teaching others about energy needs so you can pay as little efficiency. Enter ACE, now as $1,000 for a small saver and known as Byron Community up to $300,000 for a complete College. Dave has been teach- overhaul. ‘Basically allow $2,000 ing courses on energy-efficient per square metre if you are house design since just about using a builder; it may be less if day dot. you are attempting it yourself (maybe more if you make too many mistakes).’ Do homework Of the college course, Dave He advises doing your home- says he finds that a more work before buying anything relaxed approach to teaching and go along to ask Council a far more effective method. about your intended property. He says interactive classes are He says they are impartial and more fun and students also very helpful. ‘Spend more time have knowledge to impart to on the design than you think each other and Dave himself. you need to; it is much cheaper ‘I have witnessed firm friendthan rebuilding.’ ships being made every year Dave says that what damthat I run the course, possibly ages houses the most is water. from the sharing of similar Timbers rot, steel rusts, paint interests and the casual nature bubbles, damp rises, leaks of the class.’ travel, waterproofing fails, Dave has either designed flashing is often simply forgot- over 120 new or refit homes ten or ignored, retaining walls and has taught hundreds of collapse, soil swells, concrete students in his course, which cracks. It’s important to pay covers a lot of the mind-bendattention to keeping it dry. ing stuff that without guidance One of the secrets, he says could become too daunting to is having a master plan and approach. Approval processes, a plan B. ‘Have a contingency BASIX and bushfire certificates plan for when you can’t afford are subjects covered as well as your first choice. Really think tours through homes that Dave

has designed from scratch or refitted. After 12 years he says one of the most satisfying things is touring the home of past students as an example for the new ones. Past student Paul Davies couldn’t be happier with his refitted home. ‘When my partner and I decided to rebuild our one-and-a-half bedroom fibro beach shack, we were extremely fortunate in obtaining the services of Dave,’ says Paul. ‘Dave drew up the plans for a new house employing solar passive design principles. Now, instead of the hot, un-insulated sauna box that we used to live in, we are proud owners of a cool-insummer, warm-in-winter, threeand-a-half-bedroom home.’

Eye opening Paul says he and partner Suzi were intrigued by the solar passive approach and eventually did Dave’s Energy Efficient Housing Design course and were able to understand, often in retrospect, the reasons certain things were there in the plans – such as clerestory windows, louvres, and minimal glass on the western side. Paul says the course and rebuilding has opened their eyes to the potential ways in which we can all use a simple, commonsense approach to constructing dwellings that require minimal energy for comfort and avoid any possibility of ‘sick building syndrome’. Dave, who feels that the future of eco-housing will include green (living turf ) roofs, says that expecting a house to be more than it is can be the biggest problem. ‘Don’t expect more than a house can deliver. Live simpler with less clutter; sometimes subtraction is the best addition.’

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure Story & photo Eve Jeffery The modern catchcry for shopping sustainably is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, but how far can you take this in your everyday life? Obviously things like food and toiletries have only a one-time-use option, but there are so many of our modern needs that can be filled on a shopping list from the ‘pre-loved’ outlets all over the Northern Rivers. If you also calculate the shopping miles against the new-versus-secondhand factor, you don’t have to travel far to save the Earth. Since the 80s it has been

cool rather than embarrassing to visit the op-shop. You really can find everything from shoes to bras and even retro year 10 formal gear on the shelves and racks of your local Salvos, Vinnies, Lifeline, church or animal rescue op-shop. Your dollars not only save lives, children or creatures, they help save the Earth by getting more out of discarded items. Things have changed in the last thirty years and these days most oppys have lost the seedy smell and have stock on their shelves to outfit your cutlery drawers, your crockery shelves and your glassware cupboards

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as well as the drawers, shelves and cupboards themselves. Several commercial options to the traditionally charity-based idea have also sprung up and these still house great bargains for the avid fossicker. The other end of the opshop spectrum is of course the antique shop. These quite often have items that, even though they cost a bit more than they did in 1920, are still cheaper than a new designer option.

Antique bargains Antique auctions are also a treasure trove. Mostly people who are after something particular at an auction scan the list, buy what they want and leave. A few years ago I saw a solid wood dining table with turned legs the size of the rugby player’s in the most beautiful honey timber. The piece would have taken four strong men to lift and it went for a measly $80 – you couldn’t even buy the wood for that today. Deceased estate auctions are also great. I used to get really sad about the sale of the residue of life. I got sentimental at the memory that Depression glass jugs and stoneware bowls evoked in me – visions of my Nana’s hands making scones at the kitchen bench and the smell of her baking gone forever. But I came to realise that reusing

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Guerilla shoppers pick up a Gauguin from the nature strip. set all over the lawn for the homeowner to have to wrangle at sunrise. According to Byron Shire Council’s website in the Frequently Asked Questions about kerbside cleanup and people scavenging from hard rubbish piles, ‘Council is aware that this may happen, but cannot police this practice. Council is happy Raiding the pickup to see secondhand items being used, however asks that resiAnother place that many dents seeking materials keep an enterprising teenager and piles neat and tidy. Piles that surely a few business-minded are spread apart are difficult to secondhand dealers find good clean up and add to the cost of stuff is the the hard rubbish pickup. Now don’t be shy –most providing this service.’ It probably is a really good of us at least have had our eye caught by something and con- idea to be super careful of templated returning after dark. electrical items found and probably a good idea for rubbish I know I have. My loungeroom depositors to snip off the cords boasts a very nice coffee table of items that are stuffed. thanks to the hard rubbish left As for garage sales, I reckon out at New Brighton. this area should be renamed Now I am certainly not advocating this practice but if you do the Garage Sale Capital of Australia. I have seen more Sathappen to find yourself in the urday morning sales here than situation and you have looked anywhere else in the country. sideways up and down the What can’t you buy at a garage street and no-one will see you, sale? Nothing. In fact I believe there probably are some manyou could build a material life ners that need to be adhered from scratch just from garage to before you take the plunge. sales around here. They also Don’t make a mess of people’s nature strips. It’s just not cricket satisfy a certain hunt-and-gather primal need. Just be nice to to pinch the cricket set then leave the remains of the croquet the grannies, folks: it might be someone’s stuff and putting it to good use would probably make them really happy, validating the value they first saw in a small piece glass on a department store shelf, and if their offspring or their grandoffspring really wanted it, they would probably not be hawking it on grandpa’s front lawn.

Call Rous Water on 6621 8055 or visit our website at www.rouswater.nsw.gov.au for more information

really hard for them to part with hubby’s old golf set for $7.

Build your house Now that you have managed to clothe yourself and outfit the house, one of the last things many people think of is the house itself. You can actually build a house almost entirely from secondhand materials – everything from timber, roofing iron, floorboards, windows, doors, toilets, bath and vanities, taps and even carpets and rugs can be sourced from within the Northern Rivers and most of the large towns, certainly Lismore, Tweed, Murwillumbah and Byron Bay, have secondhand building and plumbing materials for sale. And don’t forget the rubbish tip. Many council tips in our area have a shop where discarded items that have been given a bit of a brush-off are displayed for your shopping pleasure. So, the gauntlet has been thrown down – there is no excuse to not create a home and life entirely from pre-loved items. The money you save can be spent on a nice bottle of bourbon to pour into that designer deco glass ‘that I just bought at a garage sale over at Federal’.

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Making textile recycling the new fashion hit Kel Raison Sitting pretty in your carbonoffset Pumas, (partially) organic cotton Levis and bamboofibre t-shirt? Well not for long, because in an industry that has a long list of ecological nasties across all lifecycle phases, one of the largest sustainability, or unsustainability, issues facing the fashion industry is textile waste. Textile waste comprises approximately four per cent of Australian landfill. That makes nearly two million tonnes of textile waste ending up in landfill in one year. And the figures are on the rise. As it decomposes, which can take up to 30 years for synthetic materials, textile waste contributes to the formation of leachate. Leachate is a general term to describe liquid that moves through or drains from landfill, picking up chemical nasties from decomposing products which contaminate groundwater. Large amounts of ammonia, which is highly toxic both on land and in aquatic environments, are also produced during the decomposition of materials, namely organic fibres and wool. And last but not least we have methane, one of the most significant greenhouse gases contributing to global warming, which is also

produced in large amounts during the decomposition of natural fibres. So what is the solution? Aside from the obvious reducing and reusing of fashion garments, textile recycling offers a viable solution to the exorbitant waste produced by this consumer-driven industry. According to Kerryn Caulfield, author of a discussion paper, Sources of Textile Waste in Australia, textile recycling not only prevents the presence of fashion items in landfill but turns out to make good ecological and business sense as well. Marry this to the research conducted by the Mobium Group, which valued Australia’s sustainability market at $19 billion in 2009 and estimated it will reach $27 billion by the end of 2011, and the Textile and Fashion Industry Australia’s recent efforts to bring sustainability to the agenda of the Australian fashion industry players by hosting two sustainability forums, and tada! A green industry is born in Australia. Currently in Australia the recycling of post-consumer fashion is the domain of charities such as The Smith Family and St Vincent de Paul. A UK study revealed that only 60 per cent of clothing donated to charities is sold on and an

gone upgrades including the establishment of a second manufacturing line to broaden the range of textiles produced and raise the output of recycled material from six to ten thousand tonnes annually. Textile recycling facilities, although commercially viable, have huge startup costs considering the plant and machinery required, and Caulfield asserts that government policy aimed at encouraging investors towards this sector is a necessity. ‘The recycling industry’s alarming 25 per cent is sent to contribution to protecting the landfill. There were no comenvironment would not be parable figures available for possible without its significant Australia. These figures become expenditure on often highly more disturbing when the UK- sophisticated plant, machinbased Recycling Association ery and equipment... industry estimated that 95 per cent of invests around $ US20 billion textiles that reach landfill each each year on new equipment year can be recycled. and research and developHowever, there is light at the ment. To that end, government end of the tunnel. The Smith policy is the instrument that Family’s Commercial Enterprise will encourage investment in (TSF) located in Villawood, an industry that will regenerate Sydney, is a manufacturing textile waste,’ Caulfield said. facility that turns textile indusAnother government try waste and clothing that is initiative cited by Caulfield unsuitable for resale into nonthat could be implemented is woven fabrics. Products made the compulsory labelling of at the facility include carpet materials in Australia to indiunderlay, furniture removal felt, cate recyclability, like the one weed-suppression and waterintroduced by North American retention felts. based Secondary Materials and The facility was established Recycled Textiles Association in 1987 and has since under(SMART).

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In the US there are more than 500 textile recycling companies; 17,000 people are employed while annual gross sales of $400 million and $300 million apply to primary and secondary processors respectively. In Australia, if each textile recycling facility regenerated the same amount of textiles as

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SMC’s facility, we would need at least 200 facilities to deal with our yearly output of textile waste. Based on US figures that could entail nearly 7,000 jobs and a combined income of $280 million. What are we waiting for? n Kel Raison is a freelance

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Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

What’s a good sustainable idea for our community?

Top left, Mungo MacCallum, political commentator: ‘The most urgent need is to stop wasting good drinking water down the toilet – recycling or better still composting (all those nitrates make great fertiliser) should be mandatory.’ Top centre, Rebecca Smith, receptionist: ‘A great idea would be to give the gift of food. Whenever you buy a present for someone, choose fruit trees and vegetable or herb seedlings and if it’s a larger gift like for a wedding, add a compost bin and a mulching guide.’ Top right, Obi McDonald Saint of Mullum Mac: ‘A great sustainable idea is the the Byron Shire Green Pages – it’s an online directory that allows people to promote their business, support the environment and be seen to be green.’ Right, Ash Grunwald, musician: ‘Buying locally massively reduces your carbon footprint – a big ask in some places but it’s pretty darn easy in the Byron Shire! As our society weans itself off fossil fuels, we might have to stay put a little more but that’s not really too hard when you live in paradise!’

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Centre right, Kathy Norley, president, South Golden Beach Progress Association: ‘If everyone had both a wind turbine and solar panels on their roofs, we could create enough energy to power everything a village needs.’ Above left, Dhinawan, Indigenous entertainer and educator: ‘I think that councils and governments should plant out all public spaces, from schools and parklands to the grounds of hospitals and public buildings, with nutrient-rich food trees. This will aid a healthier diet generally and benefit the poor and homeless.’ Above right, Jan Barham, Byron Shire Mayor: ‘Community gardens support sustainable community; they bring diverse people together to produce local healthy food that reduces our carbon footprint and creates friendships.’ Interviews and photos Eve Jeffery

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Sustainable transport and the psychology of change Lani Summers

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‘The rumour was that in 2010, Volkswagen would be releasing a one-seater car with a fuel economy of 258 miles to the gallon, costing just $600 each. If it sounds too good to be true that’s because it is. ‘But the truth of the matter is still pretty interesting. Since 2002, VW has been working on a car called the L1. It seats two people and is made from carbon fibre so it’s super light at just 290kg. The body is flat and narrow, and even includes a little bit of storage space. ‘The prototype has a single-cylinder diesel engine (though that could change), anti-lock brakes, driver’s airbag and an electronic stability program. It holds 6.5 litres or 1.72 gallons of gasoline and does in fact get 258 miles per gallon with a top speed of around 74 miles per hour. ‘Volkswagen is calling it the world’s most economical car but the price tag is not going to be $600. Reports say it will be more like $25,900 and that VW will be making a limited number for release in 2010.’ – Leslie Berliant at www.energyboom.com. So, it doesn’t use much petrol but it does use petrol or diesel, which will become a problem when peak oil – and China’s growing consumer base – hits home.

dent in this region’s commuting total. Car pooling is another example, where many individuBrain battle als agree that it is a good idea conceptually, but few are willNeurologically speaking, behaviour change is a little bat- ing to leave their cars at home. What if the price of petrol tle within our brain between our older, more primal instinct doubled or trebled; would the uptake of organised as well for immediate gratification, as informal car pooling reflect and our newer evolving dethose figures? Most likely the layed gratification centre. The former is fairly constant, and is answer would be yes. Direct economic impacts stimulate designed to keep us alive and happy now. The latter is mostly that instant gratification centre switched on by visual stimulus, to change immediate behaviour for immediate benefit. and is evolving us to evolve a happy future. Are the victims of the recent Gratification floods more likely to sign up A lot of technologically based for car pooling, or to take up solutions also seek to stimulate cycling? Perhaps a little, but the immediate gratification by at greatest changes occur when least maintaining current levels the stimuli are rewarding. Peo- of comfort and convenience ple more often invest money without necessarily being of long term when they imagine a long-term value, or by chalwealthy future for themselves, lenging current behaviours for rather than imagining the the long-term good. If we all aversion of poverty. Can we bought a new hybrid car, we evolve fast enough to create would all benefit in the short a sustainable future? Climate term from reduced fuel bills; change is only one of several we could continue our lifestyle motivators in the case of susunaffected and seemingly tainable transport. Peak oil and reduce emissions; however, at its economic impact on global some point we would need to oil prices is also a motivation, account for the impact of the as is pollution reduction and a energy consumption used to need for physical exercise. create the cars, as well as disAfter its first year, the pose of the obsolete ones. Northern Rivers Carpooling Truly sustainable transport has a whopping 609 registered technologies may be slow and participants, which is a great steady solutions that incorachievement, yet only a small porate adaptation of existing

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models and infrastructure, and can scale up with minimum environmental impact. That is not to say that emergent technology doesn’t hold some answers; we just need to keep checking in to the long-term values and impacts as well as the more immediate.

Clean air Next time we drive our car two kilometres to the gym, so that we can run eight kilometres on a treadmill or its equivalent, perhaps we could use that time to exercise our delayed gratification centre. We could picture nature at its healthiest, people at their happiest – not as a flashback to The Secret, but to stimulate changes in our evolving mind and to support us to adjust our individual behaviour for the greater good. Picture vehicles that clean the air, and produce fertiliser as a byproduct; picture lightweight weather cases for bicycles and even lighter-weight silver jumpsuits for teleporting. Also, law of attraction aside and with an understanding of the twenty-year delayed carbon cycle, as a backup plan a few of us might start picturing what a modern Ark might look like: two solar panels, two LED digital TVs, two ensuites. n Lani Summers is a freelance

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Q: How many environmentalists does it take to change a light bulb? A: Four. One to research the latest in sustainable light bulb technology, one to upgrade the fitting to utilise the latest technology, one to realise that the technology has since been superseded and one to light a local organic beeswax candle while the first one resumes researching the latest in sustainable light bulb technology.... Jokes aside, a bigger question to be asked is this: With appropriate technology and alternative behaviours known and available, why are people, even those of great environmental awareness, slow on the uptake? All the polls and surveys I found on climate change indicated that most Australians believe climate change is real and happening. Most of our population also believe that modern greenhouse gas emissions are a considerable contributor. Though we know that existing weather cycles such as El Nino and La Nina still create their signature weather patterns, too frequently we are hearing an increase of use in the meteorological phrase ‘another record extreme’. While the climate may be changing rapidly, we as individuals and societies are much slower.

Your Sustainable Community – March, 2011

Painters cut carbon emissions

Windy times at Hayters Hill

Consumers are being urged to use new heat-reflective coatings technology to help cut carbon emissions. According to not-for-profit program GreenPainters, this technology should be considered as a way to significantly increase building energy efficiency, by cutting cooling costs. ‘Nano-ceramic paint technology is one of the most significant advances in the coatings industry’, says Daniel Wurm, GreenPainters manager. ‘It means that we can cut cooling costs of a building by up to 40 per cent, simply by helping the building reflect solar radiation before it causes heat build-up inside. ‘This results in lower airconditioning energy use, saving money and cutting carbon emissions.’ GreenPainters, a national program for sustainability in the painting industry, has partnered with Astec Paints, a major Australian manufacturer of heat-reflective coatings, to promote the new technology. ‘We chose to work with Astec because they are leading the industry in research and devel-

Story & photo Victoria Cosford

opment of the technology, and they have a proven track record here in Australia and overseas. We want to see Australia adopt this technology the way it has been used in Asia and the US.’ The coatings, which are applied to the exterior surfaces of a building, work by reflecting the infra-red wavelengths of solar radiation. According to GreenPainters, this property allows them to efficiently reflect heat regardless of the colour used. ‘Of course, lighter colours will always result in higher reflectance values, but these products also offer significant

results when darker colours are used. Specifiers who want the best results should try to choose lighter colours to achieve the highest reflective efficiency’, says Daniel. ‘It’s also important to choose a manufacturer who meets all the other environmental considerations, such as manufacturing process and VOC levels.’ GreenPainters has helped developed a training course that educates painters to understand how the products work and the importance of using them. Check www.greenpainters. com.au for more information.

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Owen Trevor-Jones’s new toy is supposed to pay itself off in seven years. The sleek and slender wind turbine stretches six metres up into the sky from his farm at Hayters Hill, visible to anyone who is commuting to Bangalow from Byron on Bangalow Road. To Owen’s knowledge the only other one in the region is a nine-metre one near Tintenbar. He told The Echo that it had been erected in December 2010. ‘It’s supposed to be a business venture because we got in on the tariff,’ he said. ‘It’s producing electrical energy straight into the grid. It’s monitored and we get paid 60c an hour. ‘It wasn’t fully commissioned till January so we’ve only had two months out of it.’ Rewind Energy is the company responsible for it, and every two years they will send someone out to check up on it. For Owen it is, however, maintenance free, and so quiet you can barely hear the murmur of the spinning blades. Owen said that as far as his neighbours are concerned, ‘most comments have been positive. Someone was aghast that it had popped up in his line of sight, though – and we

didn’t manage to appease him. But the surfers are able to tell which beaches to go to by seeing which way the wind blows. A lot of people think of windtowers as a beautiful thing.’ In the event of cyclonic weather conditions, the 5-kilowatt turbine has three braking systems, effectively turning itself backwards and using its

own electric generator to turn itself off. Owen said that the average wind speed for the cape is 20 kilometres an hour. ‘When you can’t see the blade it’s blowing up to 25-30 kilometres an hour,’ he said. Wind turbines are a cheap and efficient source of reliable renewable energy sources. They date from around 50 BC.

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International aid agency Oxfam Australia has urged the MultiParty Climate Change Committee to consider directing a portion of funds raised from a price on carbon and then an emissions trading scheme toward helping poor people in developing countries adapt to the devastating impacts of climate change. Oxfam Australia Climate Change Policy Advisor Kelly Dent said Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement on the introduction of a price on carbon is an important step forward, and hoped revenue from it would be used to contribute to Australia’s international commitments to climate finance. ‘The Australian government

has committed to contribute to a $US100 billion fund to help adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, but so far has not announced how it plans to source this money,’ Ms Dent said. ‘We hope these new schemes will be used to help meet these commitments as poor people in developing countries are facing increased floods, droughts and other impacts of climate change and desperately need support now,’Ms Dent said. Ms Dent also said Australia is currently on a course which increases its emissions and that the scheme must be used to reverse this trend. ‘In their deliberations over

the architecture of a carbon price and emissions trading scheme, the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee must not lose sight of the overall goal to deliver meaningful reductions in carbon pollution. ‘At the moment, Australia is on course to actually increase its emissions by around 19 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. As the biggest carbon polluter in the developed world on a percapita basis, Australia has an obligation to set the bar high. ‘Globally 2010 was the hottest year on record and more than twice the number of people died due to weather related disasters – such as floods, storms and droughts – than in 2009.’

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• City Centre Produce Market - every Thursday evening from 4.30pm onwards in Magellan Street in the heart of the CBD

The Northern Rivers Carpool is a free webbased service that matches travel details of like commuters, with over 600 members.Carpooling for just two days a week could save you $750 a year and reduce your carbon footprint by 2.6 tonnes. To register, simply visit www.nrcarpool.org Helping people ‘grow their own’ The Lismore Community Garden is a joint project of Rainbow Region Community Farms Inc and the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, and Council supports the garden by providing the land at the corner of Brewster & Magellan Streets. Visit the site, or go to www.rrcf.org.au/lcg Supporting local food producers There are a range of farmers markets now

• Rainbow Region Organic Market - every Tuesday 8am to 11am at the Lismore Showgrounds • Lismore Farmers Market - Every Saturday from 8am to 12pm at the Lismore Showgrounds • Blue Knob Farmers Market - Every Saturday from 9am -1pm at 719 Blue Knob Road, near Nimbin

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Your guide to sustainable living on the north coast

Foodies raise awareness of Mother Earth’s needs its purpose was one question being mooted. Given the increasing rise of other regional food-related groups and organisations such as Northern Rivers Food and Northern Rivers Food Links, which appear to be espousing Slow Food philosophies and doing similar things but at a more grassroots and locally pertinent level – not to mention a disenchantment with what some regard as elitism within the international movement – the answer would appear to be yes. It was not possible to form a new committee as there were

no nominations to fill the main three positions: those of Leader, Secretary and Treasurer. Those present were divided as to the merits of continuing to operate the convivium in its present form, assuming the positions were filled, or to dissolve it completely, possibly to go on and create a similar, less formal organisation. Given the voluntary nature of the organisation, a key issue with most was the time and energy required to devote to event planning and administration in particular. Incumbent secretary Janene Jarvis subsequently emailed all current and past Slow Food

members advising them of the status quo and asking for expressions of interest in filling committee positions, as a last cry for help. Should the local convivium close, existing members are free to join another convivium of their choice. It was generally agreed that the local group had had a wonderful ten-year run. Janene Jervis can be contacted on 6685 5022. n Victoria is an Echo journalist

and food writer, and author of Amore and Amoretti, a memoir of her time in Italy (Wakefield Press http://www.wakefieldpress.com.au).

Victoria Cosford

solutions to common problems crisis present us. Yet these are with coffee growers from Ethio- the people least considered by By now most people are pia; Turkish bee-keepers talk politicians and media.’ familiar with the Slow Food bees with Mexican ones. Much later, when it was Movement – and yet not all The format is deliberately all over, he said that ‘durknow about the network it international, with presenting the Terra Madre opening coordinates, called Terra Madre. ers speaking in their native ceremony, representatives of Translated as Mother Earth, it languages. Participants don indigenous peoples were the is a body composed of about headsets which relay simultaones who understood how to 12,000 farmers, food-makers, neous translation, akin to the dig deep into our soul, because cooks, chefs, students and presentation format in United many of us have had our souls New online store academics from all over the Nations General Assembly sold, while they are defending world, whose aim is to build meetings. them. They are fully aware of Wholesale portfolio available global awareness of the chalAt Terra Madre last year the value of what they do, of Function and Wedding packages lenges of food sustainability (2010), the conference was the importance of memory and and the wonders of ‘small, slow opened by members of indigdiversity. They have much to food’. Terra Madre is the means enous communities from five teach us.’ whereby these people are continents. Representatives He said that all those who www.theorganicwinemerchants.com.au given a voice. from Australian Aborigines, the had attended left charged by Every second year this body Gamo (Ethiopia), the Kanchadal the desire to do more for a comes together at an inter(Russia), the Sami (Sapmi terri- better food system ‘that can national conference in Turin, tory, northern Europe) and the restore the pleasures of life to Italy, a companion event to Guarani (Brazil) spoke of the us’ – a fundamental aim of the Slow Food’s huge biennial food plight of their native peoples entire Slow Food Movement. event called Salone del Gusto and the importance of preserv(Hall of Taste). 2004 was the ing their values and traditions Local perspective year it was launched, attracting for future generations. In the nearly 5000 delegates represpeech given by Slow Food To date there has not been Working with the community to improve the health of local senting 1200 food communities International’s President and any local representation at BE BUSHLAND FRIENDLY from 130 countries. founder Carlo Petrini, he talked Terra Madre in Italy by producabout the importance of a ers or farmers, possibly due to • Remove environmental weeds from your garden dialogue between science and the prohibitive costs involved Food future • Plant local native plants traditional knowledge. as well as time constraints. • Don’t dump rubbish and garden waste in the bush The Byron Bay convivium of There were farmers and • Keep pets out of bushland and inside at night the Slow Food Movement held fishermen, processors and disFront line • Join a Landcare or Dunecare group its AGM in early March, with tributors, cooks and agricultural about 24 in attendance. The specialists; two years on they ‘The main holders of this main item on the agenda was were joined by 1000 chefs and knowledge are native peowhether or not to continue, cooks and 200 university techples, women, farmers and given the fact that member nologists. At the end of that first elders. Not only should they one it was widely agreed that be listened to, but they should numbers had plummeted over BE BUSHLAND FRIENDLY - Reduce your impacts the last few years. Has the Slow it had surpassed everybody’s be at the front line for the www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/BushFutures Food Movement out-served expectations. It had allowed the challenges this world and the delegates to meet and discuss the issues most important to them and enabled the attention of the international public to be directed to the gravity and the variety of factors on which the future of agriculture and sustainable food production would be built. Each Terra Madre is composed of workshops and panel discussions which explore issues like biodynamic farming, genetic engineerFor more information on the Northern Rivers Food Links project and how this Northern Rivers ing, organic certification, rural council co-operation project is working towards food security for the region, go to the project communication, rare livestock website www.northernriversfoodlinks.com.au or subscribe to the newsletter by emailing breeds, small-scale fishing and info@northernriversfoodlinks.com.au indigenous agricultural systems. Bulgarian berry foragers meet Canadian wild blueberry This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government gatherers; coffee growers from through its Environmental Trust. the Honduras discuss possible

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