The Official Eco Blog Of The Todae Team - www.todae.com.au
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 02:55PM Thanks to Corrine one of our Todae customers who has done this excellent blog on the Bokashi Bin.
See Corrine's blog here.
Until next time,
The Todae Team
Bokashi Bin Friday, August 12, 2011 at 01:01PM Australia’s largest solar power plant, featuring over 3,000 solar panels has opened in Alice Springs. The Uterne plant is the largest solar power plant in Australia and is named after an indigenous word meaning ‘bright, sunny day.’ This title is apt; according to the government's Bureau of Meteorology, Alice Springs averages 9.6 hours of sunshine per day and has averaged only 63 cloudy days per year in the last 56 years, making it the perfect location for the plant.
The $6.6 million project is part of the Alice Solar City program, an Australian Government Solar Cities incentive where each city trials a range of technologies including solar hot water, photovoltaic technology, energy efficiency, load management, smart meters and cost-reflective pricing in large scale grid connected urban sites. The project is designed to explore different ways of reducing energy consumption and will inform future policies. The Australian Government contributed $3.3 million, or half, to the Uterne project, out of its $94 million budget.
The 1-megawatt Uterne plant features high-efficiency SunPower solar photovoltaic panels on a single-axis T20 Tracker system, which rotate to follow the sun during the day. This system increases energy production by around 30% compared to traditional fixed-tilt systems. The solar farm is also easily expandable and can be increased in size to meet future energy demands.
The electricity generated will be sold to Power and Water Corp at a guaranteed price for the next 20 years. It is the first utility backed solar purchase agreement in Australia. Professor Ray Wills, chief executive of the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia remarks on the significance of this with regard to rising energy costs, saying that “While we don’t know what the price of oil or gas will be in ten years, we can confidently predict the price of sunshine in 20 years.”
This is great news for local residents and proves that solar power can be supported by long term agreements. It is also nice to see the government utilising the sheer abundance of bright, sunny days that we have in this country!
Until Next Time,
The Todae Team
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 12:49PM Here at Todae we’re constantly looking for new products that might interest our customers, although we’re well aware that they must meet certain criteria to interest us and our discerning and socially conscious customers.
We love recycled products, the whole concept of taking something discarded as useless ‘waste’ and turning it into something useful that someone else can love is beautiful. Recycling helps to break down the cycle of wasteful consumerism that is so dominant in western society.
Our new range of jewellery by Polli is a great example of a range of really cool local products that are incorporating recycling into their whole philosophy. The stainless steel used to craft their range of jewellery is 75 percent recycled, as well as the company being a low CO2 emitter, which works to reduce its carbon footprint wherever possible and is built around the twin concepts of fashion and sustainability. Check out our new Polli jewellery range in the Fashion category.
More and more companies are choosing to incorporate recycling and other sustainable practices into their business model and philosophy these days in response to consumer pressure, so vote with your dollar to help support those companies willing to take the initiative.
Until Next Time,
The Todae Team
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 11:50AM It is only with the advent of mass produced, processed food that humans have had to worry about things being in their food that they are not aware of – and which can have detrimental effects to their health.
Mass produced food must last much longer than it ever had to before, so a huge variety of chemicals are added to our food products to ensure that their quality remains stable for an extended period of time. In fact nearly 4000 different additives are commonly found in commercially available foods today.
These additives can be broken down into three broad categories; those that preserve the food, those necessary to aid processing and those added for purely cosmetic reasons such as colour enhancers. The bulk of the additives found in commercially available processed food are put there purely for cosmetic reasons to change nothing but the look of the food, and it turns out that these cosmetic additives can have some of the most harmful side effects.
The majority of people in the western world consume processed food every day and would find it difficult to imagine living a life without processed, convenient food.
It would be in people’s best interest to avoid processed, additive rich food altogether, but failing that the next best option is for people to educate themselves on the various types of additives and their side effects.
Additives are only allowed into food once they have been tested and deemed safe, however it is not uncommon for many people to continue to have adverse reactions to these additives.
‘Safe’ additives are added to a list and are given a number, which must be displayed in the ingredients listed for the food product. This number is useful for those trying to quickly identify and avoid certain additives.
Be aware of what you eat, by simplifying your diet and aiming to eat mostly organic, whole foods you can drastically reduce the amount of potentially harmful chemicals entering your body and reduce your risk of suffering side effects and poor health due to these unnecessary chemicals.
Until Next Time,
The Todae Team
Monday, July 18, 2011 at 05:54PM It might soon be hard to tell the difference as Virgin Australia plans to turn Eucalyptus leaves into fuel.
Australians second largest airline will join forces with several other energy groups in the hope of slashing its carbon footprint and reducing costs. The groups are interested in the native mallee species of the tree because it is able to flourish in semi-arid parts of Australia, where other plants can not. A demonstration unit of the mallee species should be operational next year and the project is expected to be in full swing by 2014.
Through previous attempts to develop biofuels from plants have received criticism for contributing to land clearing, taking away arable land and pushing up food prices, members of the venture insist that it can be done is an environmentally friendly way. Kevin Goss, chief executive of the Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre and a member of the project says "Our research shows that mallees can be planted in balance with profitable crop and livestock production in Australia's wheat belt region. They even provide habitat for native birds and mammals." He also notes that the trees would assist farmers in providing natural shelter to livestock and preventing soil erosion and desalination.
Airlines contribute around 2% of the world carbon emissions, which they have pledged to cut in half by 2050, so there is a strong need to explore alternative fuels. If the groups keep their word and the project is conducted in an environmentally friendly manner, it could be a huge step forward in developing a significantly greener fuel source.
Until next time,
The Todae Team
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 09:10PM One of the world’s most precious and beautiful ecosystems is under threat.
Raja Ampat is located in Indonesia’s West Papua province and consists of over 1,500 mostly tiny islands. Marine diversity there is the highest recorded on earth thanks the remoteness of the area and a spare population. It is home 1,500 fish species, enormous winged manta-rays, wobbegong sharks that appear to crawl along the sea floor and pygmy seahorses that are about the size of your fingernail. The coral comes in countless colours and many new fish species are discovered every year. Raja Ampat is also unfortunately rich in nickel laterite ore which is being mined for the Yabulu refinery owned by Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s richest men. The nickel is purchased from a Jakarta based mining company that still operates despite a ban on mining in Raja Ampat. Police reports indicate that the company paid bribes for licences in the area, but little is being done.
Dr Charlie Veron, former chief scientist from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, who has visited the region many times, is appalled by this and notes the double standard that "if you had a rainforest with the most diverse range of species in the world and people started mining there without doing any kind of proper environmental impact study, there would quite rightly be outrage.”
The destructive impact upon Raja Ampat is huge; villagers report a reduction in marine life and say the sea often turns red or yellow from run off, despite a promise from the mining company that there would be environmental safeguarding. As Dr Vernon notes, it is highly destructive to coral too as "sedimentation sinks onto the coral and smothers it. But worse is ‘clay fraction', where very fine particles are suspended in the water, blocking the sunlight.” There is little benefit for locals; those that are employed by the mines are reported to only earn around $170-$200 per month and many villages have been divided due to mining companies offering financial incentives for support.
It is devastating to imagine that such a precious, rich and diverse environment could be treated with such disregard. The involvement of an Australian company is even more dismaying. Big companies need to start taking more responsibility for their environmental impact whether offshore or at home because once a marine ecosystem is destroyed, it’s gone forever.
Until Next Time,
The Todae Team
Monday, June 27, 2011 at 03:22PM Putting a price on carbon emissions is one of the most powerful tools available to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions. Of course it is a difficult process, but that does not mean we should shy away from the challenge of making the world a cleaner, greener place or there will be nothing left for future generations.
Each individuals impact might feel negligible, but the carbon price can be looked at as an investment from each person to gain a better understanding of the footprint they have. It should be looked at as an investment into our future, so that future generations have a clean earth to live in rather than as a tax on our everyday activities.
One of the biggest problems the government is experiencing as it tries to introduce the carbon price is the lack of information available about the benefits of the proposed price, as well as the misinformation spread by climate change sceptics. Paying a price for carbon spewed into our atmosphere is a way of motivating individuals, organisations and communities to reduce carbon emissions. It also provides an incentive to invest in and make use of renewable energy technology that does not emit greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
We need a carbon price to slow the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in order to limit the future risk of severe climate change, without this incentive to reduce individual carbon footprints it is very easy for individuals to remain unaware of their own carbon consumption and the terrible impact that they are having on the environment.
Each individuals contribution may seem small, but when many are combined with the contributions of companies and organisations, the positive impact will be felt. We need to be leaders on this issue, it is taking the easy option and sticking our heads in the sand to argue that others are not pulling their weight so neither shall we.
Support a carbon price and invest in a more sustainable future.
Until next time,
The Todae Team
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 03:29PM Solar power will take a huge leap forward in Australia when two new solar power plants are erected in Moree in Western NSW and Chinchilla in QLD. The enormous project will create enough power to run more than 100,000 households with zero use of fossil fuels and will be the first reliable enough energy source to rival coal as our main source of baseload energy.
The Moree solar plant will be based on large photovoltaic cells (similar to rooftop panels) and the larger Chinchilla plant will utilise solar thermal energy which can concentrate the suns rays to a central point via mirrors in order to generate huge amounts of heat. Moree is an ideal location for the plant due to its good link to the national electricity grid and a climate of long hot summers and clear winter days which are expected to deliver strong outputs. Chinchilla in QLD has a similarly dry climate.
While neither plant will be the worlds biggest (the US and Spain have larger projects already under construction) they will both have a significant impact. The Moree plant is expected to generate up to 150 megawatts of electricity and over the 30 years it will be in operation, will prevent approximately 10.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas being released into the environment which would otherwise be generated by the burning of fossil fuels. The projects however will have further impacts, as Energy Minister Chris Hartcher notes "The project will drive regional investment, create jobs and ensure NSW is well positioned to meet its future energy targets.'' The Moree Project alone is expected to create 300 new construction jobs and to contribute around $210 million to the NSW economy.
Both power plants are an exciting venture for Australia and will bring us up to speed with other countries in terms of our solar energy production. These ventures also seem to mark a change in attitudes of our governments, that will hopefully subvert the backtracking of recent months, pave a smoother path for future initiatives and move us forward towards a more sustainable and energy efficient Australia.
Until next time, we hope the sun shines brightly
The Todae Team
Solar Power in Solar Power Monday, May 30, 2011 at 10:09AM Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook has this year set about the challenge of only eating animals that he himself kills; in a bid to gain greater personal awareness about the food we eat.
A few years ago, Todae CEO Danin gave a lecture on the ethics of food and explained how we take what we eat for granted.
Some may view Zuckerberg's challenge as barbaric, unethical or stupid but the fact is he has decided to understand the impact our eating habits have on the planet - and that hopefully can only have a positive effect.
We may not need to go to such extremes, but the underlying theme of his challenge is each and everyone of us needs to step back and think about the choices we make, to think about our actions and the effect they have.
Zuckerberg commented:
This year, my personal challenge is around being thankful for the food I have to eat. I think many people forget that a living being has to die for you to eat meat, so my goal revolves around not letting myself forget that and being thankful for what I have. This year I've basically become a vegetarian since the only meat I'm eating is from animals I've killed myself. So far, this has been a good experience. I'm eating a lot healthier foods and I've learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals.
I started thinking about this last year when I had a pig roast at my house. A bunch of people told me that even though they loved eating pork, they really didn't want to think about the fact that the pig used to be alive. That just seemed irresponsible to me. I don't have an issue with anything people choose to eat, but I do think they should take responsibility and be thankful for what they eat rather than trying to ignore where it came from.
For majority of Australians that eat meat, this notion of thinking about where your dinner comes from is a bit foreign - but if you do eat meat, tonight think about how it didn't originate in a nicely packaged plastic container, but was a living, breathing animal.
Let us know your thoughts.
Until next time,
The Todae Team.
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 10:00AM The past couple weeks for the Australian solar power industry have not been very bright. We have seen a number of twists and turns from Federal and State Governments, which have and will negatively impact the ability of ordinary Australians to install solar on their homes.
It is a familiar story, for the past several years solar power in Australia has been riding and ever changing tide of legislation backflips. The boom/bust cycle that is the reality of our current solar industry is similar to our current dependence on coal - not sustainable.
Everyone is feeling the pressure with the increase in electricity costs, but blaming this entirely on solar is a great con by those who don't want solar to thrive. In NSW, the cost of the solar scheme is a mere $263 million per year. This pales in comparision to the estimated $1 billion cost to taxpayers for the subsidies to coal. This is on top of the ever increasing demand for electricity with our houses being home to more and more electrical appliances.
The time is now for both State and Federal Governments to give solar power the foundation it needs, to create a long-term, viable and sustainable bonus program - similar to those in California, Germany and Spain. All those schemes have enabled lasting growth in their respective solar industries as they are now the leading installers of solar across the globe.
Now is the time, to invest in the future, to make a real commitment to a clean energy future. So we ask the Governments of Australia, don't let the sun go down...
Until next time,
Todae Team