Five star plus building standards from 1 September 2007: under $1,000 to $3,000; standard house costs paid back in savings in five years

The average cost of implementing the five star plus program to minimise energy consumption varied from under $1000 to about $3000 per new house, said Ljiljanna Ravlich, Minister for Local Government, in the Western Australian Leguislative Council on 14 August 2007.

Climage change to induce insurgencies, genocide, guerrilla attacks, gang warfare and global terrorism, academic warns; reduce emissions now to avoid future conflicts

In the future, that battlefield was likely to be complex and hazardous, according to Thomas Homer-Dixon in The Courier Mail (24/8/2007, p.31).

Cost of storm damage that swept Hunter Valley and Central Coast likely to hit $1.5 billion

The cost of the damage caused by the devastating storms that swept through the Hunter Valley and Central Coast in June is likely to hit $1.5 billion in terms of insurance payouts reported The Sydney Morning Herald (25/8/2007, p. 6).

Fires in early dry season consume less fuel, are smaller and less intense, managing new burning regimes offers real economic opportunities for Aboriginal communities

Improving fire management in the region would be cheaper per unit of carbon dioxide than many carbon capture and storage schemes proposed for the energy sector reported The Canberra Times (22/8/2007, p. 6)

Adelaide City Council to shut down key streets for bicycles only day; Melbourne to ban motor vehicles from CBD on February 15 next year

Adelaide City Council was planning to shut down key streets for a bicycles only day, reported The Advertiser (8/9/2007, p. 9).

Several buildings have ventilation systems based on those found in termite mounds, Zimbabwe

There are now several buildings that have ventilation systems based on those found in termite mounds, reported The Economist (8/9/07, p. 25).

Nasty “little ozone factory”: Earth’s fastest-growing plant kudzu is leading source of hydrocarbon isoprene to form ozone with NO, and to a lesser extent nitrous oxide

Among the fastest-growing plants on Earth, kudzu (Pueraria montana) was introduced to the US from Japan in 1876 as an ornamental plant. Subsequently planted to control soil erosion, it has become a serious pest across much of the nation, reported New Scientist (11/8/2007, p.13).

Aus GHG pollution from energy sector increased by more than 22.5mT, despite high petrol prices and switch in some power generation from coal to gas due to water shortages from June 2004 to February 2007

Greenhouse pollution from the energy sector in Australia increased by more than 22.5 million tones from June 2004 to February 2007 – equivalent of adding more than 5 million cars to the road or increasing the national car fleet by approximately a third, despite high petrol prices and the switch in some power generation from coal to gas due to water shortages, said Andrew Bartlett, Australian Democrats Senate member from Queensland, in the Commonwealth Senate Hansard on 12 September, quoting figures released by the Climate Institute.

People’s response to environmental issues and business depends on their age and family circumstances, survey finds; youth most hopeful, but don’t venture beyond simple recycling

BP analysis revealed that people aged 18-29 want to be seen to be doing the right thing but are less likely to do much more than recycling, reported The Age (30/8/2007, p.B4).

States green-laws banned: Federal data to be secret, but can appeal against Federal Greenhouse chief’s decisions: National Greenhouse, Bill 2007

States can appeal against Fed Greenhouse chief’s decisions, said Malcolm Turnbull, as he filed amendments for a “right of appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to enable state and territory governments to appeal against a decision of the Greenhouse and Energy Data Officer not to disclose greenhouse and energy information.