Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
Research refers to reports by organisations or research by academic institutions relating to urban sustainability issues within Melbourne. If you have research that relates to urban sustainability issues and could benefit people and organisations in Melbourne, please post this information on Sustainable Melbourne. To do so visit the “How to use this site” page and follow the prompts.
Zero Carbon Australia (ZCA) Land Use Plan
Posted in Events, Research by Mark Ogge on February 1st, 2012
| 6 February , 2012 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Photo by Tony Rodd via flickr CC
Monthly discussion group hosted by Beyond Zero Emissions focusing on energy solutions to climate change.
16% of Australia’s emissions are from land use change, forestry and agriculture. The Zero Carbon Australia (ZCA) Land Use, Forestry & Agriculture Plan considers changes to land use practices to minimise emissions. The project is managed by two full time staff, Chris Taylor – Research Director, and Adrian Whitehead – Project Coordinator. Come along to find out where the Land Use Plan is at and how you can get involved!
Time: 6:30- 8pm Monday 6 February 2012
Fritz Loewe Theatre (entry via level 2)
McCoy Building
University of Melbourne
Cnr Elgin & Swanston Streets, Carlton
Thank you to the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute and Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, our Zero Carbon Australia project partners for joining us in bringing you this event.
Entry: Gold coin donation
Further reading:
http://beyondzeroemissions.org/landuse
http://beyondzeroemissions.org/events/discussion/630-8pm-monday-4-july-g…
http://beyondzeroemissions.org/media/radio/bze-interview-gerard-wedderbu…
www.worldpreservationfoundation.org
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Thriving Neighbourhoods 2012: Call for papers
Posted in Models, Research, Seeking by Kate Archdeacon on January 26th, 2012
Thriving Neighbourhoods is a conference on emerging approaches to the planning, design and management of local neighbourhoods that are set to radically improve health, social engagement, environmental quality and productivity in communities. Thriving communities have the resilience needed to adapt creatively to unexpected challenges such as climate change, population change, rapid technological change, social upheaval and economic crises.
The complexity of the systems involved in creating thriving communities poses difficult and challenging issues for planners, developers, managers and researchers. But the potential returns on the invested effort and resources are massive. Capturing these returns requires professional collaboration across policy sectors including health, planning, design, infrastructure, IT and the built and natural environments. Communities must also be engaged from the outset, recognising diverse cultural and individual needs.
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We invite papers and presentations on research and practice related to the challenge of creating and supporting thriving neighbourhoods and communities. Work to be presented may be related to the areas represented in the diagram below, on: the challenges; the processes of change and development; the specifics of place; the measurement of outcomes.
2 April 2012: Deadline for Abstracts (400 words)
28 May 2012: Abstracts acceptance notice
Find out more about submitting a paper.
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Sugar Palms for Biofuel and Ongoing Community Benefit
Posted in Movements, Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 18th, 2012
(L) Masarang’s ‘Village Hub’: a modular processing plant for sugar palm fuel.
Climate Spectator have posted a great article from china dialogue about the work of Willie Smits on the potential of sugar palms for the biofuel industry. The growing environment of the sugar palm means that its cultivation can provide regular local work and that production can stay in the control of small co-operatives. The sugar palm is a highly regarded plant in Indonesia and other areas of South-East Asia, with multiple benefits during its growing cycle and after harvest:
“We met in Hong Kong, where Smits had been talking to potential investors. He opened up his laptop to run one of many PowerPoint presentations that chart a 30-year voyage of discovery. When he married his Indonesian wife in 1980, Smits was surprised to learn that the expected dowry in North Sulawesi was six sugar palms. “I wondered why,” he told chinadialogue, “and I discovered that just six sugar palms could support a young family.”
After years of research, Smits today is a sugar palm evangelist, eager to list the tree’s virtues. “It doesn’t need pesticides or fertiliser, and once it starts producing, it has to be tapped twice a day, which gives employment to local people,” he explained, “so it creates 20 times more permanent jobs per hectare than oil palm. It is highly efficient in converting sunlight to energy and, because it cannot thrive in monoculture, it preserves biodiversity. It has very deep roots, so it never dries out, and it improves the soil by bringing nutrients up. It stores carbon very deep, and it only needs half the water of similar trees because of its waxy leaves. And, it produces 60 useful products, including a wood that is harder than oak.”
As if that were not enough, he continued, it survives fire and volcanic eruption, flood and salt water, can prevent landslides by stabilising slopes, and improves conditions for agriculture downstream. Perhaps most importantly for the global climate: one tree can produce enough ethanol each day to keep a car running year round.”
Read the full article by Isabel Hilton to find out more and check out Willie Smits’ website.
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Planning your 2012 Garden: What to consider
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 10th, 2012
Photo by abbybatchelder via flickr CC
Cityfood Growers have a checklist on their blog to help those of us who still don’t have the perfect veggie garden(!) reassess what we want and plan for a better year.
Author Peter Kearney says “January is a great time to get your thinking into planning your food garden for the coming year. In my experience, good planning makes a huge difference to your success. It helps to open your awareness to new knowledge, as you have more an idea of what’s coming, rather than stumbling along. [...] I know that is a lot of questions to work with, but they are all important when you do your plan. I work with these questions each year as I plan my own food gardens.”
The post includes a series of topic areas with several questions to answer in each area. Go through to the Cityfood Grower’s Organic Gardening blog for the full set of questions – not even half of them are included here:
Recap on last year – Be as objective as possible with yourself.
- What crops grew well and crops that did not grow so well?
- Were you being pragmatic enough with your time, i.e. did you hang onto to crops that didn’t produce much and took up a lot of your time and space?
Your garden space
- Can you now manage a bigger food garden, if so design the layout of your new garden and use the right principles for layout?
- Can you improve the design of your existing garden, for example more efficient use of space, better sun and drainage?
Soil fertility
- What is the state of your soil and is it appropriate for the crops you want to grow?
- Are you making compost and if so, are your methods producing enough and of good quality?
- Are you timing your compost making to fit your maximum planting time?
Planting plan
- For your vegetable/herb garden, have you developed a rotation plan for your beds, leave some space for perennials such as herbs?
- Have you chosen the predominant crops for each of your vegetable garden beds and worked out the month of planting using the ideal months?
- Have you chosen companion plants and space filler now that you have chosen your predominant crops for your beds?
Garden management
- Is your garden easy to manage in its current layout and design, if not think about how to make it easier to work with and at the same time generating higher quality soil?
- Are you overusing mulch and could you use more living crops for mulching such as green manure and edible companions?
Pests and diseases
- For your vegetable garden, are you using companion planting to reduce pests?
- Is soil quality your primary pest and disease reduction strategy, if not then make it so?
Your well being
- Have you developed an awareness of how you want to feel in your food garden, as your feelings have a big impact on how the garden grows?
- Will you create space in your busy day to sit in your garden to observe and contemplate?
cityfoodgrowers.com.au
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Energy, Transport, Housing & Summer Reading for the PM: Grattan Podcasts
Posted in Opinion, Research by Kate Archdeacon on December 22nd, 2011
Source: Grattan Institute
Australia’s energy future was considered in a seminar series that Grattan Institute ran jointly this year with the Melbourne Energy Institute. Webcasts are available for the final two seminars on the future of solar power and transport.
Grattan’s report Getting the housing we want was launched on November 21 by Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with former Victorian Premier, John Brumby. Transcripts and recordings of the launch are available, as is the report.
Every year Grattan Institute produces its Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister. The list contains books and articles that we found stimulating and a pleasure to read, and that we believe the PM, or indeed any Australian, should read over the break. Watch the launch or download the reading list.
www.grattan.edu.au
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Cost-Effective Distributed Energy Systems in Australia
Posted in Opinion, Research by Kate Archdeacon on December 15th, 2011
Source: Climate Spectator
Photo by twicepix via flickr CC
From It’s time for a smarter grid by Giles Parkinson:
Imagine for a moment that you are the head of a large group of network operators, faced with a decision about what to do about rising peak electricity demand. And you are presented with a choice: invest $2.6 billion over five years on upgrading your network – the route you would normally take; or spend a comparable amount on solar power and energy storage, distributed throughout the network. This was the question posed by Professor John Bell, of the Queensland University of Technology, and Warwick Johnston, a leading solar analyst with Sunwiz, when they sought to find out if there was a better way than the traditional response of building more poles and wires to cope with rising peak demand.
Using Queensland network operator Energex as an example, and its forecast peak demand growth of 1.25GW over the five years to 2014/15, the study analysed the existing approach of spending $2.6 billion augmenting the grid, or investing a comparable amount in either 25GWh of storage, or 1.25GW of solar PV and 10GWh of storage. The study concluded that a combination of battery and solar PV produced a far better outcome, because of the ability to generate revenue from the energy produced, and the use of battery storage to resell energy. Over a five year period, the net present value (NPV) of the poles and wires solution was negative $2 billion, while the NPV of the solar/storage solution was negative $750 million. But because these could produce revenue over a 20-year period, the solar/storage had a positive NPV of $2 billion over a 20 year period.
Bell and Johnston say the main take-home messages from this are that the integration of distributed PV and battery storage into the existing energy system has the potential to be cost effective now, and it underpins the case for reform of the National Electricity Market, to ensure that distributed generation is fairly treated and that network providers are encouraged to opt for the solutions that have greater market benefit, rather than simply being least upfront cost.
[...]
>>Read the full article by Giles Parkinson on Climate Spectator.
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>>Read about VEIL’s work on Distributed Systems.
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Open Survey: Melbourne Bike Share Impact on Individual Travel Behavior
Posted in Research, Seeking by Kate Archdeacon on December 14th, 2011
Photo by Daniel Bowen via flickr CC
CALL FOR MELBOURNE BIKE SHARE USERS!
Xin Yang is a postgraduate student studying in Master of Urban Planning from the University of Melbourne, currently conducting a research project on Melbourne Bike Share (MBS) program, “Evaluating the Impact of Melbourne Bike Share (MBS) Program on Individual Travel Behavior”. If you have ever used the (blue) MBS bikes before, please take just a little time (10-15 minutes) to participate in a brief online survey to have your say on your experiences with those blue bikes, and how you think things could be improved. Your time and assistance is greatly appreciated!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8Z63993
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Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards: Nominations open
Posted in Policies, Research, Seeking by cyclingpromotionfund on December 8th, 2011
Winners - Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards 2010
There is one month to go to nominate our local cycling individuals and communities to be acknowledged for their efforts in the 10th Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards. Maybe you know of a local advocate, bike shop, school, educational institution, or bicycle-friendly local business that promotes cycling and goes that extra mile. Or have you been to an inspirational cycling event that deserves recognition. The Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Canberra in early 2012 that will attended by federal politicians and representatives from national organisations and peak bodies in health, transport and the bicycle industry.
Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards Nominations
Awards nominations can be made online or via a form downloaded from: www.cyclingawards.com.au Please contact the Cycling Promotion Fund on (03) 9863 8646 or email office@cyclingpromotion.com.au if you have any additional questions about making a nomination.
Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards Categories
- Professional of the Year Award
- Volunteer of the Year Award
- Cycling Organisation Achievement Award
- Local Government Achievement Award
- Educational Institution Achievement Award
- Cycling Friendly Business Award
- Contribution by a Politician Award
- Bicycle Retailer Achievement Award
- National Media Achievement Award
- Special Initiative or Event to Promote Cycling Award
Application forms and entry must be lodged by the closing date of 5pm, Friday 14th December 2011.
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Retrofittable Window Insulation
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on November 14th, 2011
Source: EcoVoice
Photo by sanbeiji via flickr CC
In October 2011 MEP Films launched Enerlogic® Window Film, a retrofit window film designed to give single-glazed windows the thermal performance of triple-glazed windows. Adding up to 92% more insulation to windows, it can deliver year-round results in cold, warm or mixed climates, with two types of film available. Enerlogic®35 has been designed to deflect 99% UV rays and 76% solar heat, and is suited to warmer climates. Enerlogic® 70 allows the winter sun’s natural light and warmth to enter the building while shielding the heat from the summer sun, for cooler climates.
Read more about this product on Eco-Voice.
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NB: We try not to promote specific products here on Sustainable Melbourne, and we can’t endorse a brand, but this seemed like a product that would be of interest. KA
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Growing Food in Pots: SGA article
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on November 11th, 2011
Source: cuttings, the Sustainable Gardening Australia(SGA) newsletter
Photo by David_Turner via flickr CC
From “Produce in Pots” by Helen Tuton:
Plants in pots… it’s hardly a new or revolutionary concept… I mean, we are all well acquainted with the potted Maidenhair fern in the bathroom, a dusty ‘Parlour Palm’ struggling for life in the corner of the office, or the ubiquitous ‘Peace Lily’ given as a gift when we can’t think of anything better. But what about productive plants in pots? Imagine a ‘movable feast’ in your inner city courtyard, providing a fair whack of the food you love to eat? A bounty of beautiful herbs out by the BBQ, or tonnes of tumbling tomatoes at your townhouse? Just about anyone has room for a few pots at their place, and we reckon you will be amazed by just how much produce you can grow in just about any space!
Gone to Pot – Getting Started
Planting a productive potted plot is no different to getting going in a garden – it’s all about planning, position, potting mix, patience and productivity. [...]
Read the full article by Helen Tuton for the SGA.
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