Information from the Safe Climate Team, Environment Victoria
A Green makeover for One Million Homes
Get involved to help green our homes – take action here.
While the government continues to drag its heels on an effective price on pollution, our buildings and homes remain prime real estate for a major energy and water overhaul, and real action on climate change.
In fact, over 17 percent of Victoria’s greenhouse pollution comes from energy we use in our homes. And while Victorians have been working hard to reduce our impact at home, there is a lot more we could do if the government came to the party.
We’ve got a plan. Check out our One Million Homes report here.
This week, we’ve released a new report calling on the government to commit to a major water and energy retrofit for One Million Homes across Victoria, targeted at low-income households over the next five years. It’s ambitious, but it’s the kind of response we need if we’re going to prepare our homes and our communities for the future.
This plan would reduce greenhouse pollution by 2.4 million tonnes a year, save 32.5 billion litres of water a year for our rivers, protect us from heatwaves and other extreme weather events and save Victorian households on average nearly $300 a year on utility bills that are set to rise. To put the cherry on top, it would also create up to 6,900 new jobs across the state.
Check out our story in the Herald Sun yesterday.
We’re not alone in this call for action. We’ve partnered with organisations from across the environmental and social sectors to make sure the government knows that our plan has real support. Click here to see which organisations support the program.
But we need your help too. We want the government to know that households across Victoria are ready and waiting for a real retrofit program to green our homes, save pollution and water, create new clean technology jobs, and prepare our communities for the future.
Join the campaign by putting your name to this letter today.
For more about the One Million Homes campaign and how you can get involved, visit our website.
Update: Brumby investigates Hazelwood options
Last Saturday a leaked story in The Age revealed that the Brumby Government is investigating replacing one quarter of Hazelwood power station by 2014. The story also indicated that the state government was seeking to engage the federal government in helping to finance the replacement.
Environment Victoria is encouraged that the Victorian Government recognises the need to act on Hazelwood. However, allowing three quarters of Hazelwood to keep polluting indefinitely is simply unacceptable.
Read our joint press release on the announcement here.
Today, a federal cabinet meeting will decide the climate policies that the Gillard Government will take to the Federal Election. Environment groups from across the state have come together to call on the Prime Minister to cooperate with the Brumby Government to completely replace Hazelwood with clean energy by 2012.
Research has shown that the entire power station could be replaced by 2012. Closing just one quarter of it would still leave 12 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution pumping into our atmosphere from Hazelwood each year.
Our campaign to Replace Hazelwood will continue to build toward the state and federal elections, with this weekend’s National Day of Action, doorknocking, billboards and community events across the state. For more information about the campaign go to www.replacehazelwood.org.au.
FINAL Reminder – National Day of Action to Replace Hazelwood
The National Day of Action to Replace Hazelwood is on this Saturday 17 July! If you’ve not already joined-up for an action locally, why not hold your own? It’s not too late to pull together your friends and family, and organise an action.
Last minute ideas for your local action:
1) You could hand out Replace Hazelwood petition cards at your local shopping strip (get in touch and we’ll send them out to you),
2) Leave a bunch of flowers with a RIP Hazelwood card attached at your MPs office with a note calling on the government to completely replace Hazelwood, signed from your friends and family,
3) Take a photo out the front of your house with a Replace Hazelwood sign.
Whatever you do, make sure you take a picture, and send it into us at victoria@envict.org.au with your name and address. That way we can make sure our politicians know about it, and understand the strength of community support to Replace Hazelwood with clean energy by 2012.
Click here for cleaner cars.
Thanks to all of you who’ve already signed our letter calling on the federal government to introduce a strong mandatory standard to achieve an average of 5L per 100km for all new cars sold in Australia by 2015.
Australian cars are lagging behind the rest of the world. In fact, a new car sold in Australia is 41 percent more polluting than a new car sold in Europe.
A strong mandatory standard would save pollution, and help the average motorist save up to $700 a year off their petrol costs.
If you haven’t already signed the letter, do it now. It only takes a minute, but it could make a much bigger difference.
