Foreign Aid and Thank You

To all those people who have sent me mail about Australia’s aid budget: Thank You.

Thank you for your thoughts on why we should stop helping people in other countries. I understand that you believe that we should stop sending food to poor people affected by massive floods and earthquakes. I understand too that you believe that we should not support education programs in Indonesia and economic development in other countries in our region.

I could say that it is my firm belief that such aid is in our own interest, that development of nearby economies will provide us with stronger trading partners. I could say that better educated neighbours will be better able to feed and support themselves, that their women and children will fare better and that their health will be of higher standard. I could say that the population of nearby countries might do better and not be so keen to board leaky boats bound for our shores.

I could say too that much of our aid money goes to pay a minimal living wage to the thousands of Aussies who give years of their life: Aussie engineers, Aussie doctors and nurses, Aussie teachers. These are who people who show our face to the world, the people who are trusted in the towns and villages of our region and the people who influence the next generation of leaders in the islands and nations nearby.

However, the real reason I respond here is that I believe that as members of a very rich country, we simply have a moral duty to help those less fortunate. No more, no less.

I am sorry that you don’t share this belief and chose instead to campaign against the kindness shown by Australia and Australians to those in need. I really hope that the recipients of these messages reflect and respond more kindly.

Have your say by clicking on Comments below and logging in as a name or anonymously, or just email me and I’ll publish your constructive comments.

Plastic Lawn- Is it Green?

In my suburb there are a few new street verge covers made of plastic lawn. Are these treatments environmentally responsible?

Plastic lawn of course uses less water, no fertiliser and doesn’t require energy for mowing. In these respects it seems to have less environmental impact. However a full life- cycle analysis shows that:

• It takes an very large amount of water, energy and labour to manufacture and ship the material
• The polymer plastics used are not bio- degradable, so they end up as land- fill or worse
• Eventual degradation releases environmental toxins to leach into the groundwater, our drinking water
• Plastic lawn surfaces are twenty degrees or more hotter than natural lawn or ground- cover: not good for the family, street or community
• The bright green surface year- round looks very un- natural
• Rain water runs off plastic lawn, to the drain and river, whereas planted ground- cover promotes infiltration to replenish our groundwater supplies
• The soil under good planted cover contains a healthy balance of bacteria, insects, ants and worms; the soil under plastic lawn is sterile
• A live ground cover uses CO2 and produces oxygen, plastic lawn does not
• A badly- maintained plastic lawn looks just as bad as a neglected verge, only made of plastic
• In a flood event the plastic mat will wash away and add to river pollution for a very long time
• A street verge is a public place, shared by neighbours, kids, dogs, birds and pedestrians. Plastic lawn is neither pleasant nor healthy for any of these users

Personally, I’d rather see good native ground- cover before lawn, for reasons of water and energy efficiency, because of Hay Fever, the birds and because of reduced fertiliser use, benefiting the river. There are quite a few lawn- alternatives; click here and here for some of them.

Have your say by clicking on Comments below and logging in as a name or anonymously, or just email me and I’ll publish your comments.

Efficient, Comfortable Homes

Our electricity and gas bills are rising. We live in bigger homes and we don’t design them very well. We don’t listen to our architects when they talk about energy use. We roll our eyes when someone mentions the operating cost of our house. Some places are just dangerous, especially for kids.

That will soon change when sellers and renters of homes will be required to produce a report, a bit like the star ratings on our fridges and washers. These sustainability reports will inform new residents about the future running cost, comfort and safety of their homes.

All Australian States agreed at Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2009 to set up mandatory energy efficiency disclosure for house sellers and renters. This is already compulsory in Queensland and ACT. Our Federal Government has released a National Strategy on Energy Efficiency.

Key areas of reporting will cover energy, water, safety and disability access. I expect that a report will cost about a hundred dollars. To date what the other States have not all done very well is to keep people informed.

The ten hottest years on record for the planet have occurred in the last twelve years. Despite local extreme cold and snow in the northern winter, 2010 was still the hottest year ever recorded for the whole planet. We also see extremes of cold and heat, flood and drought, across many parts of the world and right here where we live. The new home assessment and disclosure measures are likely to help us adapt to the changes happening around us.

There will also be a need for measurement standards, training and accreditation of inspectors, auditing of reports and public trust in the system. There are opportunities here for business and for people to train and work in these roles. We can work with this system to reduce our personal carbon footprint. Well- designed homes will be more attractive in the market.

Click on “Comments” below to add your thoughts for everyone to read, or just email me and I’ll publish for you.

Canning Bridge- Perth Zoo Shuttle

Perth Zoo is perhaps WA’s most popular tourist destination. We see 600,000 visitors to the Zoo each year. Because it is not easy to get to the Zoo by public transport we see large numbers of cars nearby, especially in school holidays. Local businesses struggle to find adequate parking for customers and staff.

To get from Canning Bridge to the Zoo there are three existing options, all involving at least two journeys with trains and busses, and taking at least twenty three minutes. The direct route takes seven to ten minutes.

We hope to reduce car use in our city and increase use of public transport.We want to make South Perth a safer place. We want to reduce pollution. We want to stimulate the economy of the area.

We have hope for a South Perth train station but will probably not see it for many years. State Government wants to see a demonstrated demand for a rail node before committing funds.

What if we arrange with TransPerth to run a shuttle bus from Canning Bridge to the Zoo and Mends Street ferry. This would be similar to that paid for by Curtin Uni and operated by TransPerth. We would not buy a bus; we would not employ staff. The bus trip would cost one dollar and would run every twenty minutes. Ticketing could include use of Smart Rider swipe cards,

This service could facilitate business development in the Judd- Richardson Street area, allowing people to get to work by train and bus, leaving the car at home for use on the weekend.

The route would be as near to direct as possible. It might operate in conjunction with, or be a modified version of, an existing route. Bus sizes and frequencies could be adjusted with demand and the seasons, at no cost to us. Pickup at Canning Bridge would be at the same point as for the Curtin Uni buses.

Federal funding is available for such operations under the Carbon Pollution Reduction mantle. We also have about one hundred and eighty thousand dollars of income each year from parking in this area. Perhaps this could get the project started,

I think that this idea meets many of our objectives, especially about making this a more liveable and sustainable City. What do you think? How can we do this better?

Click on “Comments” in the blog to publish your thoughts or just email me and I’ll publish for you.

Swan River Stopped

The Swan River has completely stopped flowing.

The photo below shows our river at the Great Northern Highway crossing yesterday. No water at all is flowing from the hills. A picturesque pool stops at the little sand bar.

The only movement in the waterway is now from a flicker of current when tides squeeze past the bar at Point Walter. There is no fresh water inflow, no added oxygen, no flushing of silt. This means that anything we spill or allow into the river will stay there. Any living thing in the river has almost no available oxygen.

Please feel free to add your thoughts, by clicking on “Comments” below.