The state government has committed generations of Victorians to high water bills because of a failure to capture and harness the rain that falls on the city each year, says Australia’s leading sustainable living organisation, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA).

“It is unforgivable that the government has done nothing to harness the rain that falls, free of charge, on Melbourne, but is locking Victorians into paying for high quality drinking water to flush the toilet,” says Anjali Brown, ATA’s Water Policy Manager.

The Western Australian government is committing generations of households to high water bills by choosing expensive, energy intensive and environmentally unsustainable solutions to the state’s water woes, says Australia’s leading sustainable living organisation, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA).

The approval of a second desalination plant for WA, at Binningup, raises grave concerns over the economic and environmental costs of desalination, says Anjali Brown, Water Policy Manager for the ATA.

The NSW state government’s solar feed-in tariff legislation will see families taking 20 years or more to pay back the cost of their solar system, says Australia’s leading sustainable living organisation, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA).

Damien Moyse, ATA’s Energy Policy Manager, says the NSW government’s estimate of a 12 year pay back time is not backed by feed-in tariff modeling.

Bruce Campbell has resigned as CEO, to pursue other endeavours. Bruce’s commitment to ATA has helped cement us as the trusted source of information and knowledge on emerging sustainable solutions. Bruce has continued to build the capacity and maturity of the organisation and leaves us in a strong financial position to face the economic and environmental challenges ahead.

I am very pleased to announce that Ian Porter has now been appointed as new CEO of ATA and will commence on June 1st 2009. Ian has exceptional qualifications for the role, with many years experience in management and leadership in the climate change and environmental policy arena. Ian was previously the Executive Director of Sustainability Policy with the Victorian Government and most recently a consultant with the Nous Group.

One third of people who buy GreenPower could end up going back to using dirty, but cheaper electricity, due to the Federal Government’s proposed amendments to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).

In a survey conducted by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), 33% of people who already purchase GreenPower said that they would cease doing so if it did not make a difference to Australia’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, and a further 10% said they would strongly consider dropping GreenPower.

ATA members joined over 200 concerned residents, industry groups and environmental organisations, on the steps of Parliament yesterday, to protest the state government’s proposed new feed-in tariff laws.

Damien Moyse, ATA’s Energy Policy Manager said the government has completely missed the point of a feed-in tariff for solar power.

Sanctuary is Australia’s only magazine dedicated to sustainable house design. Sanctuary shows you how to have a sustainable home without compromising on design aesthetic, style or comfort.

Features of issue 7 include:

• Xavier Rudd’s symphony in straw bale
• Solar Hydronic Heating – houses with state-of-the-art systems
• Green bathroom renovations
• Beautiful rammed earth homes
• 8 Stunning sustainable homes from across Australia

Received your $900 stimulus bonus? While a little extra cash never goes astray, if you’re thinking like us, you might have preferred that the money was spent on tackling climate change.

There are plenty of ways to act on climate change while stimulating the economy. Here are few ways you can create your own eco-ripple and multiply the effect of your one-off purchase.

• Re-green your solar: buy back your RECs-easy, effective and tax deductible!
• Eliminate the load: do a home energy audit and save money on your electricity bills!
• Switch watts: replace 50watt halogen down-lights with 5watt LED globes to help save the world and your wallet!
• Green your investments: buy shares in a community-owned renewable energy project!

Have you installed a greywater system at home?
If so, we encourage you to complete the ATA Commercial Greywater System survey. The ATA’s and RMIT University are working together to better understand the effectiveness of greywater systems in households. Information you provide will assist us in giving accurate advice on greywater systems to other householders, the [...]

The contribution small-scale renewable energy sources, such as roof-top solar, make to reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions is far greater than expected.

Figures in a submission to the Department of Climate Change draft Renewable Energy Target (RET) legislation committee, show almost five per cent of the Renewable Energy Certificates generated in 2008 came from small scale solar and wind.