Please Steal This Idea

Here’s an opportunity to (almost) disconnect part of the City from the power grid, burn less coal and save money! Opportunities like this are not common and this one is fairly easy to imagine.

We are proposing to rezone a mixed- use area of 1950s single-story houses, currently used for consulting rooms of various sorts, and some small blocks of flats. The patch is opposite the Perth Zoo, between Richardson Park cricket ground and the Mill Point freeway off- ramp. Proposed new zoning is to allow taller buildings with the first three storeys extending out to the boundaries of blocks over 1000 square metres and to then extend upward to 25 or 41 metres with thinner set-back spires. This will allow air and light between buildings without an imposing visual effect.

Now for the action! We could use an energy configuration known as “Tri-Generation”. This would involve a gas-fired local generator, supplying electricity to all properties within the precinct. Such local generation would avoid the very significant financial and environmental costs of burning inefficient coal at Collie. We’d also avoid transmission losses, estimated at about 6% of total cost. The generator would operate from a building the size of a small house. That’s the first big win.

Now, the waste heat from this generator could heat water, to be piped around the precinct, warming offices in winter and powering air- conditioners in summer. I have seen and read of this operating in many places already, such as Woking, UK and Tromso, Sweden. Sydney is rethinking its CBD energy system this way, with inspiration from Alan Jones. There’s another big win here- no heating and cooling costs, a big number.

Part 3 would be to require all new developments to install rooftop solar PhotoVoltaic panels and wind micro- turbines, but not to install inverters (a major part of the costs for standard PV systems.) These panels would be required to connect directly to a neighbourhood Direct Current network, connected to a control system and inverter at the power building. There the DC current would be switched to AC and supplied to the same local grid as used by the gas generator. The area is swept daily by winds across Melville Water. Protection will be needed for migratory birds.

For security of supply the precinct would maintain connection to the Synergy grid, and contracted with the best bid from a commercial supplier, of which there are several. As the generator would work at optimum revolutions, excess power could be routed to the grid at an agreed feed-in tariff rate.

Binding this technical system together would be a financial structure based on a public-private partnership and energy supply contracts similar to strata title. Projected cost savings are expected to be above twenty per cent. Environmental benefits are significant.

This is going to take a bit of new thinking, something that we are good at in WA. Please let’s read your comments. Click below and log in as Name or Anonymous or send me an email and I’ll publish for you.

Imagine the Possible

Light rail from Canning Bridge to Curtin Uni then onwards to Victoria Park, Perth City, West Perth, the hospitals and UWA? A lot less cars on the road, safer travel and cleaner air?

Party time in South Perth, Angelo Street Fiesta. Hey, what if this were to be a taste of the future for places like Angelo Street, Preston Street and Manning Hub?

Sidewalk cafes, stalls on the last Saturday of the month, a licenced restaurant or three, people out and seeing friends, what a spirited place this could be.

A shuttle bus from Canning Bridge to the Zoo, a rail station at South Perth, complete redevelopment of the Richardson to Judd Street area, an iconic new business, commercial and residential development in the Civic Triangle behind the old Police Station, a museum and cultural precinct at the Old Mill?

What else is possible in our City?

In 2008- 09 more than two thousand people were involved in the City Vision project, thinking about our future in 2030. Residents, Councillors, facilitators, teachers and lots of others contributed to an imaginative project. Now I think it’s time to confirm that we have consensus on this view, modifying it if necessary. Then we can develop a consistent set of long- term goals and plan for ways to achieve them.

Of course we’ll have a wide range of conversations about our life and our City. That is tremendous.

Would you like to start now? Click on Comments below and tell us all what you think. Just log in as “Name” (no password required) or email me and I’ll publish your words right here.

What a Waste? Ah- hah!!

What if we used our hundreds of hectares of land- fill rubbish tips as solar power generating sites? These old tips are too unstable and often too toxic to ever build houses on. However, they are flat, they are close- by and they are near the grid. Oh, and we have lots of sun.

For decades we have dumped our rubbish in big pits around the city, often in old sand mines. The older ones weren’t even lined. Nearly all of them are covered over now. At some we generate power by burning the methane gas they emit. This gas is running out as the rubbish rots away. That business model is about to disappear. However, these sites have exiting power lines that already link to the WA grid.

Some tip sites might suit solar power generation; others might suit wind power. The photo shows how companies in Victoria already generate energy on site, in this case with roof- top wind power.

Our city’s energy is highly dependent on a gas pipeline from Veranus Island. A couple of years ago this source suffered short- term catastrophic failure in mid- summer; we sweated. Prudent risk management suggests that we need alternative sources of energy. Large solar sources could provide part of such alternatives.

Our highest power use is in day time, in hot weather, when the sun shines. We already have a bit of stand- by diesel power for night time. There are three more 10 Mw diesel plants in construction- just to stand by in case of emergency.

The land surface of our tips is continually subsiding. This is one reason we should not build houses on them. The local manager for a large solar power company says that their automatic tracking technology could easily and continuously adjust solar panels for this subsidence.

Local Councils own the tip land. By reaching commercial arrangement with power companies Councils could become their own power utilities or could supply to the grid. Continuity of tenure to enable a return on investment would be a question easily resolved in law.

By offsetting our tip methane emissions with renewable power generation we can provide a financial benefit to our residents.

So, we diminish our power bill, we reduce carbon emissions, we receive a feed- in tariff from the State Government, we make use of wasteland. Is this something we can work on?

Have your say, please. Just click on “Comments” below.

As Lamppost is to Dog …

Gee Community Democracy is wonderful. Nothing like pets to get people on their feet. Last week 277 residents, mainly dog owners, turned out to show their feelings about our new dog laws. Opinions were expressed with passion; not all the answers satisfied everybody. Some attendees felt afraid to speak, others spoke strongly.

Dozens of community meetings have happened over the past few years. This is such a good City to be in and these are such good people to represent. This spirit of involvement keeps us on our toes.

Just sometimes though, it feels like Councillor is to Community as lamppost is to dog. When we make decisions at open meetings, with an almost unattended public gallery, we are accused of deciding in secret. When we listen to new ideas and learn of new facts we are accused of changing our minds. Sometimes, at personal and political risk, I feel like quoting John Howard, who asked a journalist “When the facts change I change my mind. What do you do?” When we take into account a range of other people’s values and visions we are accused of not listening.

What is certain, is that different people attach different value to many places. One piece of open space often has a range of values to Noongar people, to environmental managers, fisher- folk, dog owners, dance groups, walkers, kite enthusiasts and so on.

Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sooo, the next Como “Tea in the Park” will be at 3 p.m. on a Sunday in a few weeks time at McDougall Park (date to be advised). Please come along, bring a chair, enjoy a cuppa and conversation, let your Councillors know what is important to you.

Meanwhile, please feel free to have your say in public by clicking on Comments below, login as Anonymous or Name, or just email me, and I’ll publish your words for you.

What is a Library Today? See this!!

South Perth’s new library is about to open. It’s a beauty. I think it answers the very real question of “What is a Library Today?” Sure, the design is stunning, the sense is dynamic and attention to detail is awesome.

If you have a moment this place is worth visiting to see how the community has come up with the answers to a modern question. Oh, and enjoy the experience too.

Something for all ages: story- timers, students, professionals and leisure readers, all can enjoy the natural light, the airy space, access to the books we love and the electronic info we crave.

Attention to environmental impact is a major feature of design. Thought about the role of a library has led to some new thinking. With help from WA Lotteries and the Federal Government, South Perth, our architects and builders have achieved something special.

Check it out!!

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.

A Changing World

Today the Federal Government releases a set of sea level rise maps. These highlight low areas that are vulnerable to rising sea level between now and 2100. The message is that no amount of action is going to stop climate change in the short term. We have got to do what we can to live with it and learn how to care better for our planet.

Sea level rise depends on expansion of ocean water as it warms, local effects due to land rise and fall, ocean winds and currents and behaviour of polar ice caps.

As around 85% of us live near the sea this will affect most of us. We can use the maps to assess how we might adapt to likely water level rises and sometimes to mitigate these changes.

Ways that we could be affected go well beyond possible inundation of roads, services such as police stations and houses in low areas. There are likely to be changes to insect breeding patterns, fisheries, storm impacts on river and coastal areas, transport and other essential services. We will probably see Perth groundwater become more salty. Sewerage engineering will be affected. Water bird nesting sites could be under threat. Industries such as tourism, agriculture, construction, health and local government will have to re- assess what they do and how they do it.

The world warmed by 0.7 degrees last century. Every year this century has been warmer than 99 of the previous 100 years. (OK, that was 1998). The IEA suggests that we will warm 3.5 degrees this century. The battle to limit global warming to a small amount is probably over.

We now must find ways to live with less fresh water, higher sea levels, less but more intense storms, weather extremes, changes affecting crops, weeds, birds and insects. We will be better able to do this if we have a resilient economy, good education and open public information.

This year’s simultaneous almost total drought in WA and floods in the East, consecutive record northern hemisphere cold winters, devastating floods in Pakistan and other events demonstrate the power of these effects and the need to learn how to adapt.

In a local sense we already see significantly less runoff to our dams, where we lose about 50% to evaporation anyway. Warmer summers increase this loss. Only about 2% of rainfall runs off to rivers. We can expect even less water in our dams.

Some of our adaptation will result from Government decisions but mostly it will be the sum of individual actions- where to move to, what crop and when to plant, what sort of house to build and so on.

As more people abandon cropping in marginal areas we’ll face the challenge of migration to cities, where we use less energy and water per head anyway. Maintaining food production without deforestation and destroying natural areas will require better farm management and information services. A push for biofuels might exacerbate these issues. World food shortages could lead to higher prices, perhaps to the benefit of good farmers. Species loss is likely as we expand cities and farms.

Town planning will require new understandings and guidelines. Will we still allow dark roofs, no eaves, green lawns? How can we plan for better public transport? How soon can we swap coal mines for wind and solar power? What will be the effect on our trading partners and the Asian region with which we are more closely integrated every day? What new ways of living and working can we imagine, in a world quite different to that which we have experienced?

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

 

Who We Are: City of South Perth

Some figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics led me to summarise our City of South Perth in numbers. Just for your interest I’ve published some of them here. You can do the same for other areas by clicking on the link above.

Population	43,800
Number of families	9,190
Couple families	32%
Single- parent families	9%
Receives age pension	6%
Vehicles per resident, all ages	0.7
Born overseas	35%
Born in North-West Europe	12%
Births per annum, approx.	470
Deaths per annum, approx.	350
Speaks a language other than English at home	18%
Has post- school qualifications, age 15+ years	63%
Does unpaid work for an organisation or group, age 15+	20%

The age distribution is really interesting. My notation is slightly tongue- in- cheek, with reference to the very large degree of public consultation that we do every year. Our long- term residents are really good at having their say. A challenge is to engage more young people in planning for the future.

This is how we work (percentage of employed people):

Managers	14%
Professionals	32%
Technicians and Trades Workers	10%
Community and Personal Service Workers	8%
Clerical and Administrative Workers	16%
Sales Workers	9%
Machinery Operators and Drivers	3%
Labourers	6%
Registered businesses with employees	1650
Registered businesses without employees	2680

Sometimes numbers add to our understanding. These have for me.

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

 

Joined- up Thinking

South Perth’s new cycle way has copped a bit of comment, but I must admit it gets plenty of use. The City has now committed to straightening some of the bends too, so transit riders will be safer.

However, when the path hits the Vic Park boundary there is an unlit pair of steel pipes right across the track, concreted in. This is right next to a very confused set of old footpaths. Vic Park seems to not be part of the commitment to encouraging cyclists. South Perth has even offered to contribute to the costs of getting this path to join up with an existing transit route but to no avail.

We really need to get some “joined- up” thinking here.

There seem to be a lot of situations like this around WA, where we have good ideas and great projects but where these don’t always connect well with other actions, ideas and values. Other popular ideas just don’t seem to address more than one set of values.

Some that I’ve seen recently go like this:

WA needs lots of skilled workers. Some on the national priority list get through quickly. Thirteen thousand others are stuck in queue because Federal Immigration will process only people with skills on WA’s “State Migration Plan.” The problem is that WA has not produced a ‘State Migration Plan”. What??

The State has heaps of water in the north and high demand in the south. Some suggest a pipeline is the answer, without thinking that the energy cost and associated emissions every year would be immense. Water moving in a pipeline has to be pushed, due to friction with the pipe and changes in topography. Meeting one requirement certainly doesn’t meet others. Could we join the thinking to include our own realistic expectations around water and lifestyle?

Perth’s favourite landmark is the Swan River. In recent years we have had massive fish deaths and six dead dolphins in the river. You’d expect that someone was paying attention to water quality, right? Enquiries lead to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Their web site has lots about the new, wonderful Australian Water Resources Information System being the place to find such data. However, there is no such public data and phone enquiries to BOM indicate no one there knows about it either. Calls to the WA Department of Water about public live access to current water quality information yield, quote “You can’t really.” The will however give out some very simplistic data if you specifically ask for a particular item. Surely someone is joining the dots between the health of our beloved river and the quality of water in the river? Surely too, each of us takes care to do our own bit to keep the river healthy.

On Sunday I went with a group of bushwalkers to enjoy the new season around Mundaring. Without exception everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the hills, the diversity of plants and animals, wildflowers and fresh air. Surely we can join up the thinking between valuing the Australian bush and managing the way our city spreads and covers what we value with bitumen and concrete.

We are facing rapid change, as WA did in the 1880’s, in the 1970’s and 1990’s. We can just let it roll over us, like we did before, with rubbish dumps on the river banks, a cement plant up- wind and an industrial area which leaked thousands of tons of pollutants into our drinking water aquifers. The alternative is to connect our thinking and do it right this time.

Can you help be part of this, please?

 

Energy Efficiency

We can make a difference locally. The WA Sustainable Energy Association is putting together a response to the Prime Minister’s Task Group on Energy Efficiency to advise the Australian Government on options to improve Australia’s energy efficiency by 2020. A copy of the report can be found here Prime Minister’s Energy Efficiency Report.

What did you think?  What should be given priority? Was anything missed? You can comment on this blog and I’ll pass it on.

My own comments are that Local Government can do much more to promote awareness and practice of energy efficiency in:

• Design of residential, commercial and administrative buildings. This is much more about basic design, not just about ‘bolt- on’ features such as p-v panels.
• Use and working of such buildings. This is mainly about the selection of choices for operations, by owners, managers and individuals.
• Design and operation of systems of travel, including all modes- car, bus, train, cycle and possible other new technologies.
• Promotion of individual responsibility in daily decisions around all parts of life.

Local government is much closer to people’s lives and is much more likely to be able to exert personal influence.

Feel free to click on “Comments” below or just email me.

Perth Global Update

A new report on Perth’s Global Competiveness by researchers from University of Western Australia and the Committee for Perth shows some really interesting facts and conclusions, relevant to where we live.

For a start, 34 per cent of us were born in another country. Only 16 per cent of us are degree- educated, well below the proportion in similar cities.

Shell is moving their Australian headquarters to Perth; BHP, Chevron, Newmont and others have much of their Australian and Asian regional management located here. Very many smaller companies are based here. 41 per cent of companies on the Australian Stock Exchange have their head office in Perth. Sydney and Melbourne, on the other hand, account for only 29 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

We have a comparatively low proportion of children and a high ratio of aged dependants. Age plots show that lots of people arrive here aged between twenty and thirty.

While this might not be the experience in a particular local neighbourhood it is the big picture across the whole city.

Some key features that have implications for our local area are:

• an expectation for diversity of culture, accommodation and life style
• a likely shortfall of educated and skilled people
• a distinct, measured shortage of leadership skills
• significant pressures on our environment

Perth is projected to experience the highest percentage growth of any Australian capital city. Our biggest challenge is to manage this without destroying what we love.

My own view is that just doing what we have always done won’t be good enough. We must get better at being able to imagine the future, even if it is not much like our past. We will have to teach ourselves that just because we have done something for twenty, or even two thousand, years it might no longer be sustainable.

Please feel free to have your say by clicking on “Comments” below, or email me and I’ll be happy to publish your wisdom.