Green Guru
Don't stress about heat
Heat stress is a growing health risk.
Our housing tends to perform poorly in hot and cold weather. And, in Moreland, there is a high proportion of babies, elderly and other vulnerable people. But staying cool in summer doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Don't stress about heat
Heat stress is a growing health risk.
Our housing tends to perform poorly in hot and cold weather. And, in Moreland, there is a high proportion of babies, elderly and other vulnerable people. But staying cool in summer doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Fans
Fans are the cheapest cooling appliance to buy and run. They have low running costs of 1c-2c an hour. Fans also reduce your energy when used with other cooling systems, such as airconditioners.
Airconditioning
When buying a refrigerated airconditioning system, it is important to choose the right sized system to match your cooling requirements. Undersized or oversized systems will end up consuming more energy.
To find the right-sized system for your home, use the following formulas: Living area: 0.125kw per square metre of floor area. Bedroom: 0.08kw/sq m.
Look for models with at least a 4.5-star energy rating – every extra star can reduce running costs by 10 per cent. When using an airconditioner, set the thermostat to around 26C. Every degree lower will cost you an extra 10 per cent in cooling costs.
Car sharing is the way to go
Transport is an important part of people’s lives. The choices we make affect where we prefer to live and what activities we do. They also impact on our finances, health and quality of life. The average Moreland resident spends more than $2000 a year on vehicle registration and insurance alone. Taking one car off the road can save you a bundle and reduce carbon dioxide by 3000kg a year. For residents and businesses needing occasional car use, car-share schemes are a great option. They offer members the flexibility of renting cars on an hourly or daily basis. Three car-share schemes operate in Moreland: Flexicar, Goget and Greensharecar. The cars are parked in Brunswick, Brunswick East and Coburg and there are plans to expand the network.
Electric bikes, also ideal for commuting, are available through Moreland Energy Foundation’s Delivering Clean Energy Solutions program. (Please note: as of 24 February 2012, the DCES program is closed and all offers are now unavailable.)
Family-friendly green guide
Reusable nappies have come a long way since terry-towel squares and safety pins. They are easy to use and can be washed at home.
For details, go to the Australian Nappy Network website.
Save money by borrowing toys from a toy library.
This is also great for the environment, since toys get reused instead of ending up in a landfill. The Moreland Toy Shed on Jolley St in West Brunswick is the nearest toy library for Moreland residents.
Use the sun’s heat in winter and cool breezes in summer as much as possible to keep your child comfortable while saving on heating and cooling bills.
Merlyston residents Shane French, Christine and baby Elsie have chosen cloth nappies.Identify rooms that are comfortable at different times of the year and, if practical, use these rooms more.
Draught-proofing your home can reduce heat loss in winter and shading can keep you cool in summer.
Grow your own
The sight of wild daisies, cornflowers and nasturtiums can only mean one thing— spring is in the air.
This is nature’s season of new beginnings, and it is a great time to plant your vegie garden.
Planting a garden has many benefits. Importantly it can provide you with the freshest inseason vegetables and reduce food bills. And there is real pleasure in watching it grow.
If you have never tried it before, you’ll be surprised how easy it can be. There are short courses and workshops available to improve your knowledge, and many are free to attend.
Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow herbs and greens in pots. Alternatively, find a community garden in your area where you can rent a plot.
For excess food, organise a food swap at work or in your street or neighbourhood.
There are large-scale food swaps in the area.
Cut power bills with insulation
THE average Moreland home uses half of its energy on heating and cooling, but you could be losing about a third of this heat through the ceiling and a further 10 to 20 per cent through the walls – unless they are well-insulated.
Imagine trying to stay warm in winter without a jumper.
A well-insulated house will be cooler in summer and warmer in winter and is less expensive to run all year around. Insulation slows down the transfer of heat from inside your house to outside and vice versa.
It means you do not have to use heaters and airconditioners as much. And when you do, you can use them for a shorter time and with greater effect.
Insulation — also sometimes called batts — is most commonly installed in the form of bulk material and foil.
These can be installed in your ceiling, walls and under your floor. Windows provide poor insulation. Even when they’re closed, they let heated air escape and cold air in.
Thick, lined curtains reduce air leakage and keep your home comfortable.
A low-cost option is to double glaze the windows using sheets of heat-shrink plastic. These are sold as kits.
Green Guru appears every three weeks in the Moreland Leader.
Smart meters
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”.
This old management slogan is being used to support the rollout of smart meters, which measure your electricity usage in 30-minute intervals and automatically send the information to the power company.
Smart meters have raised concerns in some quarters, especially pensioners and lower-income households, who fear planned higher charges for using electricity during the daytime peak. The government is currently reviewing the tariff structure to address these concerns.
Don't buy into it
As the word suggests, rubbish is just that - a wasted resource that has used up energy, water and materials to be produced, only to be thrown away.
Waste makes up 3.4 per cent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas pollution.
Packaging is a major source of landfill waste. Many products are individually wrapped when they don’t need to be. Nature often provides us with all the packaging that’s needed by way of fruit or vegie skins. You can help start a low-packaging revolution by buying only unpackaged veggies and fruits.
A large proportion of our household waste is from leftover food. If leftovers are composted, or fed to a worm farm instead of a garbage bin, they break down without creating methane emissions.
You can use compost, worm castings and ‘worm juice’ - the nutrient-rich by-product from worm farms - in your garden instead of expensive soil nutrients and pesticides.
Joining one of Moreland’s community gardens is a great way to learn more about composting and worm farming.
The correct disposal of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and batteries is an important issue. Mobile Muster (mobilemuster.com.au), the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, lets you drop-off old phones at over 3500 points across Australia.
Batteryback is a free service for householders to drop off old, flat and unwanted single-use and rechargeable batteries for recycling. Byteback lets you recycle computers and accessories. For details on these two programs go to resourcesmart.vic.gov.au.
Green Guru’s quick tip: If you don’t wear it, swap it! swapstyle.com, founded by Aussie fashion designer Emily Chesher, is a great website for people who want to stay stylish without creating more waste by throwing out old clothes.
Green Guru appears every three weeks in the Moreland Leader.
Pedal power push
The Melbourne Bike Share is a step in the right direction. The scheme features half-hour rentals of bikes parked at a number of locations around central Melbourne, for a daily fee of $2.50 or an annual fee of $50. For detailed pricing and other information, visit www.melbournebikeshare.com.au. There was slow uptake initially because no helmets were provided with the bike, and riding a bike without a helmet can incur a fine of $146. You can now buy a helmet for $5 at selected 7-Eleven and IGA outlets in the city. Plus, once you’ve finished, you can return your helmet and receive a $3 refund. One wonders if this development will improve the uptake of the scheme. Or, will it result in non-BikeShare-users getting cheap helmets, with taxpayers paying for the subsidy. The jury is still out.
The Moreland City Council has decided to put its money where its mouth is, and plans to invest $120m in a trailblazing strategy intended to encourage a “renaissance in cycling”. This draft strategy has plans which will widen the network of bike paths to include Glenroy and Fawkner. The Moonee Ponds Creek trail will also receive a much-needed overhaul to connect missing links.
New developments in Moreland include bike cages and car share spaces to make up for limited space availability. This, hopefully, will encourage an uptake among the three car-share schemes now operating in Moreland - Flexicar, GoGet and GreenShareCar. Car-share programs offer paid members great flexibility in the use of cars, from an hour to a couple of days. They are parked at convenient locations around the city and you can check availability of the cars online!
Why not make you next holiday a biking holiday? Bicycle Victoria (http://www.bv.com.au) organises some great riding trips across Victoria. It’s a great way to see the state and meet other passionate cyclists. Go on. Get riding. And, the next time you think of taking your car to go to the shops, walk instead.
Green Guru appears every three weeks in the Moreland Leader.
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