GWUCA Youth Programme

Uniting Church in Australia

Glen Waverley Congregation

Climate change resources.

Action I Can Take to Minimise Climate Change and to Live Sustainably

Calculate your 'carbon footprint'

See www.climatefriendly.com.au/calc.php

Energy usage

Turn off electrical appliances on stand-by (a PC monitor on stand-by uses 51kWh per year of electricity, equivalent to boiling 55 kettles);
install energy-saving light bulbs;
always turn lights off on leaving a room;
turn heating off overnight;
wear warmer clothes inside in cool weather and turn the heating down 2o; turn cooling up 2o in summer, save 900kg CO2 per year;
switch to 'Green Power' to use renewable energy sources;
install a solar hot water service;
consider installing a grid interactive system of electricity (see www.goingsolar.com.au for more information).

Water usage

• Install a water efficient showerhead &endash; Yarra Valley Water will swap your old one for a FREE water-efficient one: www.yvw.com.au

• use grey water from your laundry and shower to flush toilets or water your garden (use less detergent; buy detergents with 'NP' (no phosphorus) on container;

• save the 'warm-up water' before the hot water comes through;

• install water tanks for garden use or for flushing toilets;

• rinse the vegetables and fruit over a bucket and use water on garden;

• see also www.watersmart.vic.gov.au and www.savewater.com.au

Shopping

• Purchase only what you need, not what you want;

• avoid buying items or products which you know are not produced sustainably (eg only buy 'organic cotton' goods which do not use the huge quantities of water and pesticides; ask the suppliers how much energy is used to produce it, how much packaging it has, whether or not it is biodegradable);

• buy local produce rather than imported produce to avoid the unnecessary movement of goods around the globe eg imported foods which Australia grows: 'think global, eat local'. In one year the port of New York City exported $431,000 of Californian almonds to Italy, and imported $397,000 of Italian almonds to the US (www.foodfirst.org) while the UK imported 25,720 tonnes of milk and cream and exported 27,125 in the same period (www.neweconomics.org)

• buy organically grown produce where possible;

• consider buying fresh produce from farmers' markets;

• contact your local supermarkets and ask them to buy organic and fair trade goods (see www.oxfam.org.au)

Building/Renovations

• Design your home in an eco-friendly manner to take advantage of its aspect and reduce the need for heating and cooling; see www.acfonline.org.au/ and follow the links for 'green building'

• insulate walls and roof cavities;

• include verandahs and eaves;

• use recycled materials where possible.

See www.greenhouse.gov.au and www.science.org.au/nova/005 for further information and ideas -

Other Action I Can Take:

• Make your position heard and understood by your representatives at local (Council), state and federal government levels. Write to them and say why you will/won't vote for them, and that you think immediate action should be taken now. Comment on their policies on climate change. Be polite, and state your case succinctly.

• You can handwrite your letter &endash; these have considerable impact because of the time taken to do so &endash; or email your letter to:

name of parliamentarian[e.g. senator.conroy]@aph.gov.au

• Find a group of other concerned friends and meet regularly to find out the latest information, and to write letters together over a cup of coffee

Some other useful sources of information:

The ABC and SBS have both had programs on climate change in the past week. See: www.abc.net.au/tv/differenceofopinion

www.sbs.com.au/insight/

http://Jim.victas.uca.org.au 'Climate change, faith and action'. This is a well researched and good summary of the issues, the politics and UCA's views. Gives many references for further reading.

www.science.org.au/nova (website of the Academy of Science) provides links to the Kyoto Protocol, explanations of carbon emissions trading, government policy on climate change, science shows on radio etc

Also:

www.acfonline.org.au/ www.justact.org.au

www.greenpeace.com.au www.ClimateCrisis.net

www.stopclimatechaos.org www.theregenerationproject.org

www.dse.vic.gov.au/dse/ www.PewClimate.org

www.Eco-Justice.org

Garden practices

• Plant a tree and save 900kg CO2 per year;

• Compost food scraps and other organic material (lawn clippings, leaves, garden waste) to fertilise and mulch your garden beds;

• plant suitably for your climate and situation: a list of indigenous plants of the Monash area: www.monash.vic.gov.au/environment;

• grow your garden organically; see www.safersolutions.org.au;

• don't mow lawns too short: 5-8 cms provides better shade for the roots and they need less water;

• use water crystals to retain moisture in soil/pots

Transport

• If you drive everywhere, start using public transport. Start by using it one day a week, then increase the frequency;

• keep car tyres properly inflated to improve fuel efficiency;

• encourage your children to walk (eg to school) and walk/ride bikes with them, saving 1.5kg CO2 for every 5km you don't drive;

• try to reduce the number of cars in your household by sharing;

• when purchasing a car, buy a fuel-efficient, or hybrid model;

• if the journey is a short one, walk, or ride your bike;

• seriously consider the effects of your holiday plans, especially those involving air travel. A flight London-New York is worse than driving a car for a year; from Britain to Australia produces11000kg of CO2, more than most people's total annual emissions; take local holidays;.