Spring has arrived at last! Take the time to shake off the winter chills and get out and about in this lovely warmer weather. A perfect time to make a compost heap or rejuvenate an old one, plant some vegetable seedlings, or cycle or walk to work or school more often.

Thank you also to Pine Rivers CAN members who participated in and assisted with the following events during August -

• National Day of Action on Coal - Demonstration outside Qld Parliament House to support farmers from Darling Downs
• Walk Against Warming
• Aspley Seniors talk on Low Carbon Living with Ngaire McGaw from Sustainable Jamboree
• Film Screening of One Man, One Cow, One Planet at the new Samford Tennis Club
• Lowlands Festival at Osprey House
  

Remember, every step towards sustainability counts, and together we can make a difference!

Enjoy,

Kirsten Kennedy
Co-ordinator, Pine Rivers CAN

Renewable is Do-able!
Sustainable is Attainable!

P.S. Spring cleaning has taken on a new meaning for my family this month as we prepare for the arrival of our new baby in just a couple of weeks time. We're hoping for lots of rain to fill our water tanks to wash all those nappies! Thank you to everyone for your best wishes, and we will keep you posted…    KK

• Climate Change Basics
• Reducing Waste in our households
• What is 350?
• Upcoming Events Around Brisbane
• Pine Rivers CAN Calendar of Events for 2010, and more...

Green Street - sign on, reduce your emissions & track your household sustainability

The Samford Valley Green Street Schools Challenge has seen students from four schools in the region in the race to see how many households can sign up for to the Green Street website www.greenstreet.net.au by 30 September.

The website is a great online tool to help reduce your carbon footprint and connect with others in the community to share your sustainability stories. Have you signed on yet? Be sure to join or create a group in your area so that you can create truly "green streets" in your neighbourhood.

Inspired by William Bryant Logan's acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, "Dirt! The Movie" takes a humorous and substantial look into the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and will later return to.

One teaspoon of dirt contains a billion organisms working in remarkable balance to maintain and sustain a series of complex, thriving communities that impact our daily lives. Over the three years of location filming for Dirt! The Movie, directors Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow got a little dirty. In that time, they filmed in more than 20 locations, including Argentina, Brazil, France, India, Kenya, and several regions of the United States. The choice of locations was driven by a desire to interview the renowned global visionaries who are leading the charge to repair this natural resource. Dirt!

The Movie will make you want to get dirty! To view a trailer for the movie, click here.

WHEN: 6:45pm Saturday 25 September, 2010
WHERE: New Samford Tennis Club, Mt Samson Rd, Samford
COST: Gold coin donation to cover venue hire.

At the end of the film we will have a short discussion by Kirsten Kennedy Coordinator of the Pine Rivers Climate Action Network and a surprise guest speaker.

Weekend Workshops run monthly screenings of films that inspire, educate, raise awareness & are just not available in mainstream media. We believe this film is a life changing documentary and proof that we are not helpless; each one of us can make a difference to our planet!!

To RSVP to this event, please contact Kirsten from Pine Rivers Climate Action Network on 3889 1634 or Isabella from Weekend Workshops online at http://weekendworkshops.com.au

We have heard the phrase climate change (or even climate crisis) so often over the last 3-4 years it is sometimes worthwhile going back to remind ourselves of what this actually means to the planet, and to us personally.

So in a nutshell, human activity has increased the level of carbon dioxide in the air by 38% from pre-industrial levels 250 years ago. According to UNESCO, we are currently at the highest concentration levels of CO2 in the atmosphere than recorded in the last 60,000 years, and probably, the highest in the last 20 million years. Additionally, the rate of increase has been 10 (possibly up to 100) times faster than at any other time in the past 400,000 years. The resulting energy imbalances in our climate system is what truly makes this situation a crisis.

Continuing with current consumption levels of our planet's natural resources and the resulting inevitable increase of greenhouse gas emissions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conservatively estimate that earth's atmosphere will rise by 4 degrees by 2100. However, just a 2 degrees increase in global mean temperature levels is seen as the threshold to which we should try to limit global warming. With an increase of already 0.8 degrees there is no time to lose in stopping runaway climate change and avoiding dangerous "tipping points" to further increases. (To learn more about each degree of warming read Six Degrees: our future on a hotter planet by Mark Lynas or watch Could Just One Degree Change the World? a 2009 documentary by National Geographic.)

As a result of this enhanced greenhouse effect due to human activity, we can expect to see more extreme weather patterns including droughts, floods, more intense storms, bushfires and extreme heat waves. Sea level temperatures rising are already leading to the loss of polar ice, glacial ice, and permafrost, sea level rises in low lying coastal areas, as well as acidification of the oceans which threatens all levels of marine life at a global scale. Rising temperatures threaten biodiversity of our flora and fauna, our water supplies, affect the agricultural sector/industry and food security of people worldwide, and is already displacing inhabitants of some of the planet's poorest people.

Business as usual is not a sustainable path for us to be following.

Statistics sourced from Climate Code Red: the case for emergency action by David Spratt and Philip Sutton, 2008; The Weather Makers: the history and future impact of climate change by Tim Flannery, 2005; and Now or Never: a sustainable future for Australia? by Tim Flannery, 2009.

Reducing Waste = Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

The decay of a family's food and garden waste generates almost one tonne of greenhouse gas each year. How? In a landfill of poorly managed compost heap where there is no fresh air, organic material (food, garden waste, paper and cardboard) breaks down to form a mixture of gases, including the very active greenhouse gas, methane. And with up to 30-40% of our household garbage going to landfill being food waste, that is contributing substantially to stress on our planet.

So how can we fix this? Every kilogram of food or garden waste that is composted instead of going to landfill saves one kilogram of greenhouse gases. Hooray! So here are three easy steps that we can take to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill.

1. Compost your food and garden waste into a well aerated - turn or tumble the pile regularly. If the compost smells, there is not enough air and it is producing greenhouse gases. Similarly, a worm farm is also a worthwhile investment and a fun educational option! For those with limited space in the backyard, invest in a bokashi bin for kitchen scraps (including meat). See www.bokashi.com.au.
   
2. Shop sensibly and don't waste food. Make a list and stick to it when buying the groceries. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season and plan what you will eat for the week to make the most of your purchases. For more tips on being foodwise, head to http://foodwise.com.au/did-you-know/fast-facts.aspx
    
3. Re-use, then recycle your paper and cardboard. Up to a quarter of landfill in Australia consists of paper and cardboard. As an organic material this releases methane when decaying without oxygen. Write on the back of printed sheets, mailouts, and newsletters; re-use envelopes (especially the pre-printed ones enclosed with many mass mail-outs - just stick a label over the pre-printed address and re-use!); and most importantly - into the recycle bin when it has reached the end of its use to you.

Essentially, these 3 steps can be captured in the mantra of refuse, reduce, re-use and recycle. So make wise choices and we can all reap the rewards of a cleaner environment.

• Zero Carbon Australia 2020 (ZCA), an initiative of Beyond Zero Emissions. The plan outlines a blueprint for the transition to a decarbonised Australian economy by 2020.
  
• Brisbane launch of a national 100% Renewable Energy Plan by www.beyondzeroemissions.org in conjunction with the Community Climate Network Qld, will take place on 27 Oct 6 - 8pm at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of the World Congress for Engineering and Asset Management.

The plan is the culmination of over 12 months and thousands of hours of pro bono work by scores of engineers, scientists and postgraduate students. The plan is a collaboration between the climate solutions think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, and the University of Melbourne Energy Institute. This plan is unique in Australia. It has been put together in a collaborative way involving over 50 technical experts.

It is a detailed and costed blueprint for transitioning our stationary energy sector to 100% renewable energy in ten years. The technologies utilised in this plan are commercially available now.

The plan suggests spending $370B over 10 years including around 60% solar thermal, 40% wind and some biomass investment.

Check out the comments from international experts applauding the report at the website:

http://www.beyondzeroemissions.org/ 
or http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/uploads/ZCA2020_Stationary_Energy_Report_v1.pdf

Tim Flannery - Here on Earth: A Sustainable Future

Monday 11 October, 6:30PM

Brisbane Powerhouse, Powerhouse Theatre

Not just a dazzling account of life on our planet; Here on Earth will change the way you live. Purchase tickets through Brisbane Powerhouse online, or call 3358 8600. 

350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, we will ensure that the world creates bold and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. 350.org is an independent and not-for-profit project.

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM-a "people powered movement" that is made of of people like you in every corner of the planet.

Visit www.350.org to find an event near you. 

Giving Peace and Compassion

The 2010 Peace and Sustainability Festival, Saturday 18 September, highlights local people making changes for better communities through peace, justice and sustainable initiatives.

Tapping into the enormous volume of goodwill inherent in most people, the 2010 Peace and Sustainability Festival is the celebration of people from many countries; a multicultural exposé of sustainability initiatives, entertainment, charity and kindness, sprinkled with kids' activities, Rotary Peace Fellows' presentations, food, music….there's something for everyone!

Share knowledge and compassion with the stall holders who will tell stories of rescuing children from human trafficking, the impact of climate on Pacific Island nations, organisations raising funds for impoverished schools, orphanages and struggling communities and the impact of manmade chemicals on the health of our children.

Many people often say 'Where's all the good news?' …..well, the people of Brisbane are invited to this free event. We're encouraged to bring our own goodwill to the Peace Fair, donating old pencils, books, purchasing clothes or ornaments made by people to whom a dollar a day is a fortune.

The world of the United Nations might seem far removed from most of us but…'we are the peoples'…we are the Global Citizens who will stand up for peace and sustainability for all people.

For More Information on the event, please contact: E-mail: convenor@idpa.org.au or Phone: (07) 3366 1709 

Brisbane 16 - 18 September 2010

For registration visit:  www.earthcharter.org.au 

Help the Redcliffe Youth Space launch Greencliffe Day and "be part of the solution for a greener Redcliffe".

A FREE family fun day with an environmental twist - Prizes, Rides, Food, Info Stalls, Activities and Great Entertainment for everyone!

When?  Saturday October 30 11am to 2pm
Where? The Redcliffe Youth Space on the corners of Anzac & Oxley Avenues in Redcliffe

Protecting the environmental beauty of our community is everyone's business.

Telephone: 3283 8769 Email: info@redcliffeyouthspace.org