Oz-Urban-Sustainability is a mailing list for those in Australia and NZ who are interested in sustainability and sustainable living practices and who live in an urban situation. This page is for links which are relavant for members:
People Living Sustainably In Australia
An Adventure In Domestic Sustainability - all about a family - Trev, Linda and Caleb - who have challenged themselves to go six months without spending a dollar except on their mortgage, the phone, rates, insurance and medical expenses. They're doing a lot of things themselves ... more than anybody in an urban situation would be able to - like keeping goats - but their web page is seriously wonderful to look at and provides lots of hints and tips about things that people in urban situations might like to try.
The House That Mike & Heather Built - A feature on the abc.net.au science website about Michael Mobbs' sustainable house. Despite what your preconceptions about a "sustainable" house might be, it's situated in one of the most densely populated suburbs in Sydney's inner-west. The house generates its' own electricity, collects rainwater for drinking and processes grey-water on-site. The house is a real masterpiece and the website has a great description, with audio and graphical, as well as written, elements.
Chippendale Terrace House - It claims to have been Syndey's first self-sufficient house, a 2-storey terrace house just 2km from Syndey's CBD. This website is part of a Radio National Earthbeat Series on Sustainable Houses Around Australia that first aired in June, 1997. There are also links to several other sustainable houses - six in all, and many of them in urban settings - if you follow that last link.
Tools You Can Use
Find Out Your Ecological Footprint - an EarthDayNetwork project.
Calculate Your CO2 Emissions - Done by GreenFleet, who plant trees to offset these same CO2 emissions.
Professor Schpinkee's Greenhouse Calculator - More for kids, this one figures out what age you should die, based on how much CO2 you use during your lifetime compared to a hypothetical 'average' person.
Conduct Your Own Power Experiment - Learn to read your meter and try reducing the electrical power you use.
Conduct Your Own Water Experiment - Same, but for water.
Geneticaly Engineered Food
The True Food Guide - Greenpeace's website to help you make sure your shopping list contains only GE-free foods.
Ecologically Friendly Companies/Government Sites
Earth Garden - Australia's original magazine of alternatives for bush and city. A great read!
The Australian Greenhouse Office - a government initiative about what Australia's doing about greenhouse problem.
SaveWater Australia - Lots of information about water conservation in Australia, including an area where you can input your postcode to get really local information.
Sustainable Earth Technologies - a group of professionals offering services in the areas of architecture, construction, renewable energy, permaculture, rain/greywater harvesting, and more.
Huff 'n Puff Strawbale Constructions - they build strawbale houses commercially and will help you with the paperwork too - these type of buildings can exist in an urban environment!
The Squirmy Wormz Farm - they sell worm farms and composting worms suitable for use indoors and outdoors.
Unicorn House Architecture & Building - an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable design and building firm located in Daylesford, Australia
The Australian Eco Shop - they sell a range of water tanks, low-flow shower heads, composting toilets, and eco-related books.
"Green" Electricity Programs
Green Power - An accreditation system for the "green" electricity of companies.
Environmental Energy Choices - Origin Energy
Ergon Clean Energy - Ergon
Recycling
EcoRecycle Victoria - If the question is, "Where do I recycle ...", the answer will be here
Recycling Near You - A Planet Arksite where you can enter your postcode, suburb name or council name and find out what's recycled in your area
CanSmart - The steel can recycling website
Organic Vegetable Gardening
The Vegetable Patch - Organic Gardening in Australia
Miscelaneous Sites
Be Gentle With The Earth - One of my own sites, full of ideas of ways that people living in Urban situations can reduce their ecological footprints.
International Sites Of Relevance
Planet Ark - Your daily guide to helping the planet.
The Rainforest Site is one of those you can click on once a day to help raise money to stop rainforests internationally from being logged.
The Simplicity Resource Guide has lots of things which are relavant - both directly and peripherally - to those interested in reducing their ecological footprint.
