The truth about gas

by editor | 19 Oct 2017 | SLAM

The Australia Institute has been hard at work debunking the gas lies and econobabble. Because the simple the truth is, we have enough cheap easy-to-extract gas in Australia to last 100 years. As Australia Institute advisor, Mark Ogge, wrote in Crikey...

I’ll Have Your Sunburnt Country — poem by G. Adani

by editor | 9 Oct 2017 | AACSGaM

Many of you may not know that Mr Gautam Adani writes poetry in his spare time. He has written this poem for Australians… “I’ll Have Your Sunburnt Country” A poem by Mr Gautam Adani I love a Sunburnt Country, A land of leaking brains Of...

Stop Adani spelt out in Armidale

by editor | 9 Oct 2017 | AACSGaM, Climate

Over 130 people gathered in front of Barnaby Joyce’s office in Armidale to tell him loudly and clearly to “Stop Adani”. The action was one of over 45 events held across Australia with thousands of people creating human signs to spell out “StopAdani”, from Bondi to...

Video: Armidale Spells It Out for Barnaby Joyce: Stop Adani!

by editor | 8 Oct 2017 | AACSGaM, Climate

120 Armidalians joined thousands of people across Australia for a National Big Day of Action, forming human signs to spell it out to politicians that we must #StopAdani. See all the photos on Flickr.

Waste Action group to have their first meeting

by editor | 6 Oct 2017 | Event, Waste

First of all welcome to this group; secondly apologies for the the length of time it has taken to contact you all. The first meeting will take place on Tuesday 17 October at 5.30 pm at SNELCC offices in Hanna’s Arcade, ground floor, half way along. Hope this...

Follow up to October Forum: Behaviour Modification

by editor | 6 Oct 2017 | Monthly Forum

Here is an outline of the presentation last night and three web sites relevant to John Malouff’s talk. To save paper, John decided not to distribute the materials in person. Difficulties in changing human behaviour Humans are habitual Behaviours compete...

Armidale Joins #StopAdani National Day of Action Oct 7

by editor | 3 Oct 2017 | AACSGaM, Event

Armidale joins the National #StopAdani Big Day of Action spelling it out our politicians on Saturday Oct 7. When: From 11:00AM to 11:30AM, Saturday, October 7 Where: In front of Barnaby Joyce’s Office in the Mall in Armidale Wear: BLACK! top to shoes Bea Bleile, one...

Community planting — Dumaresq Creek downstream of Niagara Street

by editor | 3 Oct 2017 | AURG, Event

Details of the working bee are as follows: Time: 8.30 am Date: Sunday 8th October, 2017 Location: Dumaresq Creek downstream of Niagara Street along bicycle way or access off Northcott Street via Erskine street. What to bring: BYO long sleeved shirt, long...

Costa Rica setting the bar for sustainability

by editor | 3 Oct 2017 | Climate, Starfish

Costa Rica has broken its own record for sustainable energy production and had another UNESCO Biosphere Reserve declared within its borders, all before the end of July 2017. Phew! Aiming to be the first carbon neutral country in the world by 2021, Costa Ricans have...

Queensland and Northern Territory lead the way on racist place name changes

by editor | 3 Oct 2017 | Starfish

Both Queensland and the Northern Territory have made moves this month to review and change place names which could be offensive and hurtful to Aboriginal people. Ten racist place names in northern Queensland will be re-named. In May Queensland’s Department of Natural...

October forum: Using Methods of Behaviour-Modification to Increase Pro-Environment Actions

by editor | 1 Oct 2017 | Event, Monthly Forum, Waste

Associate Professor John Malouff from the University of New England’s School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences will talk about how to use behaviour-modification methods to increase pro-environment actions in individuals and communities. The methods...

This morning’s air quality data — Australia wide

by editor | 26 Sep 2017 | SLAM

Increasing numbers of air quality monitors like the ones bought for Armidale are being installed throughout Australia. This screen-shot of Australia at 7:15 am this morning. Hobart, Perth and Canberra had low pollution (1-2 ug/m2), Melbourne and Brisbane a moderate...

Exciting news from Norway

by editor | 26 Sep 2017 | Climate

Exciting news: Just yesterday, five Nobel Peace Laureates have written to Norwegian Prime Ministerial candidates calling for Norwegian climate leadership and an end to fossil fuel exploration and expansion. The letter reads: “Leadership in this century will be...

September Forum: Travels Through Queensland – Sustainability Opportunities and Challenges for Communities

by Tom Fisher | 3 Sep 2017 | Event, Monthly Forum, SLAM

Helen Webb, SLA member has recently travelled through Queensland and would like to share some of her thoughts and photographs illustrating some of the challenges to living sustainably in Queensland and how people from a range of communities have responded to those...

AURG Working Bee Sunday 17 September

by editor | 1 Sep 2017 | AURG, Event

Our next working bee will be on the Creeklands straight south of the Phil Wheaton Soccer Field. Please note that this is the third Sunday, not our usual second Sunday of the month. Bruce Whan, Gordon Bell and John Fitzgerald have been working away and now have...

Stronger Country Communities Fund

by editor | 1 Sep 2017 | SLAM

Councils and residents are being encouraged to nominate potential community infrastructure projects as Tranche B is now open for the Stronger Country Communities Fund. The fund represents a major investment in local infrastructure for regional communities to enhance...

5th block of New England North West community solar power bulk-buy now open!

by editor | 1 Sep 2017 | Energy, Starfish

We’re excited to announce that the 5th solar power bulk-buy block for the New England North West is now open! This marks a significant milestone for the program. We have now passed the two-thirds mark toward achieving our goal of installing 1MW (equivalent to 1%...

Sapphire Wind Farm Community Investment Discovery Sessions

by editor | 1 Sep 2017 | Energy, Event, Starfish

Sapphire Wind Farm is a 270MW wind farm situated 18km west of Glen Innes and 28km east of Inverell in the New England High Country. Once operational it will be the largest wind farm in NSW, offsetting over 700,000 tonnes of carbon each year and delivering substantial...

Get on Your Bike for NSW Bike Week 2017

by Tom Fisher | 31 Aug 2017 | Event, Transport

The chilliest days are behind us, the sun is shining, and the Cycleway is calling! What better time to dust off the helmet, pump up the tyres and get pedalling? Sustainable Living Armidale and Transport for New South Wales have again partnered to present a fun social...

You’re invited: Armidale launch of Hot, Dry and Deadly

by editor | 28 Aug 2017 | Climate, Event

It’s not just people who are feeling the impacts of our changing climate. Precious natural places and wildlife around NSW are also under pressure, with longer, hotter summers, changing rainfall patterns, and more frequent and intense bushfires. Join us for an...

2017 local gov’t elections: Meet the Candidates

by editor | 28 Aug 2017 | Event

Meet the Candidates will be a fast and punchy event. Put ballot names to faces and hear their vision for the region in person. By the end of the night you will know who to give your considered vote to. New England Toastmasters and Armidale Regional Ratepayers...

2017 Sir Frank Kitto Public Lecture: What’s equity got to do with the environment?

by editor | 28 Aug 2017 | Event

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most humans, in possession of a good environment, must be in want of development of it. The development of the environment benefits some, burdens others and bypasses many. The distribution of the benefits and burdens of...

AEMC dropped its proposal to let power companies charge solar owners unfairly

by editor | 28 Aug 2017 | Energy

WE WON: The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) dropped its proposal to let power companies charge solar owners unfairly for feeding electricity to the grid! People at the AEMC – they’re the rule makers in our energy system – didn’t just change...

Why the Paris climate deal is not enough without economic de-growth

by editor | 23 Aug 2017 | Climate, Starfish

Whilst the Paris climate deal has noble aims, it is based on shaky assumptions, according to a recent article in the Guardian. To genuinely put ourselves on a trajectory which avoids the economic crisis that climate change will force upon us, we need to embrace...

Crowdfunder: Sacrifice Zone — the story of a real gas crisis

by editor | 23 Aug 2017 | AACSGaM

Dear friends, family and fellow humans, For the last few months we’ve been working on a major new film about the CSG threat to northwest NSW called ‘Sacrifice Zone’. It’s a completely independent project, made without government or corporate or NGO support (apart from...