A pile of concrete greeted me on my return after a recent holiday. When I saw my neighbour a few days later, he asked, “Are you happy with the concrete?” What he really meant was, “Were you serious when you… Read More ›
Waste
Some of the best things in life are free (Be tempted by salinity & nuclear power art)
I never cease to be amazed by the range of high quality exhibitions, talks and other events on offer in Canberra. Not bad for a big country town (that just happens to also be a national capital). In particular, there are… Read More ›
Superficial – Don’t judge these Italian cakes by their looks
The sign in this food store near the Campo De’ Fiori in Rome reads ‘Ugly but good’. I regret not tasting one of these cakes while I was there. It’s great that some suppliers are now taking a similar approach with odd-shaped… Read More ›
Eco-friendly, but not necessarily budget-friendly, business cards
I just ordered new business cards with my name, twitter ‘handle’ and website address as I often want to give these to people without the rest of my contact details. I chose a company that advertises ‘budget-friendly’ cards – but had to… Read More ›
Wartime austerity – a time when recycling was not optional
I’ve just finished reading about Australia, Singapore and the Malay Peninsula during the Second World War in a novel called ‘To Love a Sunburnt Country’.(1) The story provided a fascinating insight into life at the time and how Australians responded when war… Read More ›
Don’t throw out your scrabble set! (Locative literature Part 2)
This is a special post dedicated to the author of ‘Hoarder Comes Clean‘ blog. Sandy (self-professed hoarder) is currently in the process of clearing out her cupboards and basement and will now blame me if she can’t bear to get rid of any scrabble board… Read More ›
Decadent desserts, chocolate treats & goal setting
While dining at a restaurant the other day, I was initially delighted when a large portion of tiramisù was placed before me. However, I soon realised that this rich dessert was likely to test my commitment to avoiding and minimising waste. Should I… Read More ›
Uno due tre quattro – what’s next? (cinque-generation & 5D printing?)
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all of the information available at your fingertips? Or find yourself totally blown away by what new technologies can do and how they are changing our lives? No sooner do I begin to get my head around… Read More ›
Eco-sounds
I talked about sound in a recent post and its ability to evoke memories and change how we feel. Even inaudible sounds (i.e. those outside the audible range for humans) may affect us or be felt as vibrations. As we become more aware… Read More ›
![By Gilles San Martin (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://pipmarks.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/512px-scarabaeus_sp_20110414_163326_1987m.jpg?w=120&h=120&crop=1)
Thank you for dealing with all of our crap – the humble dung beetle [& not so humble cane toad]
Back in August I saw a post with the intriguing title: ‘If you had 5 minutes to talk to a Dung Beetle, what would you say?’. I don’t know what your response would be – but I suggested that anyone living in… Read More ›
When nature calls: More people in the world have a mobile phone than a toilet
The world celebrates its first UN-sanctioned World Toilet Day on 19 November. The Day aims to raise global awareness of the serious health, privacy and other challenges faced by the 2.5 billion people living without access to clean safe toilets. Check out this animated promo encouraging people… Read More ›
Plastic bags & bottles – but what about the plastics we can’t see?
It is one thing to talk about plastic bags and water bottles and other things that we can see and can make a conscious decision about (i.e. whether we buy or accept them in the first place and then how… Read More ›
Remember when recycled paper was easy to pick?
Recycled paper used to be grey with lots of flecks that would invariably end up in your printer. The one advantage was that you didn’t have to actually write ‘Printed on environmentally friendly paper stock’ on any print outs as… Read More ›
When life gives you rubbish…
Check out this video about a music school at a slum in Paraguay. The instruments are made from oil drums, crates, tin cans, plastic pipes and other waste scavenged from the landfill. Before I saw this, I thought rubber tyre swans… Read More ›
Sustainability soapbox 