Beechworth Sustainability

By Gabrielle Prior

Tired of living in a winter cave with the curtains drawn to keep in the warmth?

Wish you had double glazing but can't afford it?

Renting a house so window or curtain upgrades aren't an option?

Want a way to help keep the heat in and maybe reduce your heating costs?

What you need is bubble-glazing!

No, it's not an urban myth - you really can use bubble-wrap to double the r-rating of your windows (the r-rating is a measure of the window's insulating abilities). That might not sound like much but trust me, it makes a noticeable difference.

So, what's so great about bubble-glazing?

By Charlie Robinson

Was it Kermit who sang “it aint easy being green”?  Most of the time I would dispute Kermit’s assertion but there are times when things don’t go exactly according to plan.

Here are a random collection of initiatives we have undertaken that have had their ups and downs.

Cider Making
No matter how badly I construct something, I want it to last, just so future archaeologists can marvel at the ineptitude of 21st Century humanity.  A case in point is my cider press.  Cider presses are usually made to withstand a lot of hard work and mine is no exception.  The press was bought locally and is exceedingly heavy with lots of cast iron pieces that wouldn’t seem out of place on a steam engine.  I then proceeded to build an equally massive table to support the press with steel girders for legs and several hardwood planks measuring 200mm X 45mm.  The planks were screwed to the girder supports by 12mm galvanised bolts, the table was then bolted to the concrete floor with eight dynabolts and then the press was secured to the table with even more 12mm bolts.

COP15 report from Jennifer Hawkins.

Jennifer is a local (well, regioanlly speaking!), a member of Australian Women in Agriculture (AWIA) and currently completing her Nuffield Scholarship on "The implications of Carbon Policy for Australian Agriculture". She has kindly allowed us to reproduce some of her impressions from the conference.

I have been here for 3 days and have seen  many displays, information, lectures covering a huge cross section of factors that  different groups believe impact on Climate Change Policy.  Desmond Tutu  spoke today what a wonderful 'show-man' he is and his grasp of humanity and humour was knock out.  He had the people in the palm of his hand with simple messages  " If the world disappears we disappear with it " It is a pivotal moment in history and the commitment of great people to this process makes the Climate sceptics look frivolous in their mindset. This is what I have learnt -  that the modelling and the science is fragile ---but the issues of food security, poverty, political stability, adaption/mitigation, trade, economic systems,commodity trading, third world development, credit access, land tenure, population growth, education, etc these are the issues that have grown out of "globalization" and are propelled by our basic human relationships with our environment.  So what ever they say to distract you from your commitment to the world being more sustainable in the true sense of the world we need to drown out their negativity.

I went to the IFAP Ag & Rural Development day yesterday and had a saturation of agricultural issues. Bumped into David Crombie over a cup of tea !!! ( first Australian I have met in 5 weeks )  I spent much of the day quietly writing until some bloke from US Sect Ag from California got up and said that Australian Ag had collapsed !!  So at that point I waved for the mic.  I had 2mins what did I say -  "  farmers will listen and learn from farmers all over the world.  I am very lucky to be a female farmer in a developed world and part of the 70% of the demographic that feed the world.  I want to share my opportunities and knowledge with them directly.  Women farmers need each other across the world - the capacity building starts there.  Then I used the example of our 6 years of drought to provide the guy from the US with some correct info " Australian Ag has not collapsed as my husband & I are experiencing our 6th yr of drought we ADAPT all the time to the challenges its thrown us.  Its a gradual process of adaption to our changed environment - and we have still managed to produce food for Australia to eat and export as well. ""  Then I sat down..................

suffice to say the issues discussed included:
•    business as usual is not an option MDG's & global food security will not be achieved
•    Ag practices & use of natural resources are not only part of the challenge but also part of the solution
•    effective ag adaption & mitigation activities offer the propsetcs of win-win outcomes
•    Major gaps in knowledge about ag & climate change must be addressed
•    the climate change,food security & rural development agendas need to be coherent
•    Ambitious financing & policy reforms are needed

so for those of you that THINK AG HAS A BLEAK FUTURE THINK AGAIN..... the last word of the discuss on went to a "lady farmer from Australia "  who said that the "Literacy of Climate Change Policy " need to be addressed so that all farmers can understand the issues.  To speak in an understandable language that brings the science into action.  And when at the end of the day that got into the recommendations ( communique round up ) well I nearly cried with delight !!!

I hope you have found this interesting and when I get home and get drawn into the vortex of my life  ..I will ponder upon my visit to COP 15 and know that each one of us can sometimes make a difference, but better in numbers....hope my report may have given you some insight into Copenhagen lets hope they get some outcomes because there are plenty here ......

by Charlie Robinson
Most high rise office blocks are equipped with speakers that transmit a form of subliminal static termed “white noise”.  This enables office workers to conduct conversations at reasonable volumes without distracting everyone on their particular floor.

Unfortunately, the media creates its own white noise in the form of newspaper articles and programs that distract people from the really important issues, such as the survival of the planet.  The Global Financial Crisis, Paris Hilton’s newest car, and the latest blockbuster movie, are all examples of this white noise.

Consider this. A recent Met Office report to the British Government predicts that the planet will heat up by 4 degrees C within the next 50 years.  This analysis is supported by the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) who stated on the ABC’s 7:30 Report that the planet is warming at the upper end of predictions and, at current trends, will reach 6.4 degrees C by 2100.