hello all,

we have been finding it hard to keep this website updated because things have been so busy of late. If you’re interested in our work around the November 27, please check here.

St Kilda EcoCentre

A forum, with Sally Moxham, who has long worked in the sustainability field, and who has just spent a year heading up the Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Policy Unit in the Scottish Government.

All welcome,  Friday May 14, at Friends of the Earth in Collingwood.

All welcome! Details here.

You can find an opinion piece here.

The site will feature, a cafe, food cooperative, grocery store & deli with a weekly Saturday Eco Market operation starting later in the year.

There is info on the project here.

The hall and open market space at the venue

One year out from the state election, Environment Victoria, The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth and the Victorian National Parks Association have released a document outlining seven key areas that require urgent action by the party that wins next November’s state election.

The groups said all parties needed to reassess their approach to the environment, including the Brumby Government who is yet to initiate any major environmental initiatives, and the Liberal Party whose environment policies are alarmingly inconsistent.

“Victoria’s environment has supported communities for thousands of years and is home to some of the most important places and species in the world.  But the simple truth is, we’re facing an environmental emergency,” Environment Victoria’s CEO Kelly O’Shanassy said.

“Our rivers run dry as greenhouse emissions rise. Our forests shrink while our cities sprawl. And we swelter through heatwaves that Victoria has never experienced before – this is not the future we want.”

You can find our election agenda and extra info here.

We are just a few days away from starting our coastal walk up the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay.

We have been getting a great response, and many have said they will join us for sections of the walk.

We are walking in order to highlight the impacts of sea level rise on people, communities and landscapes along the way. We have public forums planned for Rosebud, Frankston and St Kilda. You would be most welcome to join us.

Full details here:

http://www.portphilliprising.org/

Green groups have been inundated with calls from community members who are furious about Peter Batchelor’s support of a new proposal by Exergen to export Victoria’s coal to India.

A letter sent to Premier Brumby from prominent scientists, climate change experts, and leading green and church groups opposing the establishment of a Victorian coal export industry was also released today.

There is a release, link to the letter and photos from the rally here.

The VicRoads Dingley Arterial Project involves the construction of a four-lane, 3.5km dual-carriage extension of the existing Westall Road extension, from Springvale Road to the Dandenong Bypass.

The bypass extension will run directly through the Coomoora Woodland Flora and Fauna Reserve (Melway 88, K8).

Coomoora is a natural oasis used by bushwalkers and local school groups and the community. It is one of only five nature reserves in the City of Greater Dandenong, the only one in Keysborough, and one of the few remaining green wedges in the south-eastern metropolitan region.

As contracts for construction of the bypass are to be finalised by December (for works to commence in early 2010), urgent action must be taken now to protect this valuable nature reserve.

Details on what you can do are available here.

Coomoora Reserve

The sea is already rising at an increasing rate because of climate change.

Scientists are predicting seas will rise globally by more than a metre by the end of this century, and perhaps much more. For example, melting of the Greenland ice sheet is accelerating, it contains the equivalent of about seven metres of sea-level rise. Around the world many thousands of communities will be lost, millions of people will be displaced, and the map of the continents will be changed forever.

In early summer, we are planning to walk the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay, to highlight the impacts of sea level rise on people, communities and landscapes along the way. We will leave Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula, and head north along the coast, marking the one metre level where we can with a simple marker (a stick with piece of blue ribbon).

We would welcome your involvement in this project. There are details here.

Zero  emissions  homes  within  reach

In  the  wake  of  Victoria’s  warmest  and  driest  winter  on  record,  environment  groups  today  called  for  new  building  standards  to  reduce  emissions  and  water  use,  and  to  help  the  state’s  homes  and  families  cope  with  future  temperature  and  price  shocks.

The  call  coincides  with  the  release  of  a  new  report  today,  which  shows  that  with  the  right  government  support  and  with  efforts  to  fast‐track  stronger  environmental  building  standards,  Victorian  homes  and  neighbourhoods  could  be  emissions‐free  and  water  efficient  by  2020.

The  report,  Towards  climate  safe  homes:  The  case  for  zero  emissions  and  water  saving  homes  and  neighbourhoods,  was  prepared  by  Environment  Victoria  in  partnership  with  the  Alternative  Technology  Association  (ATA),  Australian  Conservation  Foundation  (ACF),  Friends  of  the  Earth  (FoE)  and  the  Moreland  Energy  Foundation  (MEFL).

You can find a press release and link to the report here.

poa grassland, Thredbo Valley