100% Renewable Energy; The pathway to a safe future
Talk by Monica Oliphant, Immediate Past President International Solar Energy Society (ISES), Research Scientist, Specialising in Renewable Energy and Residential End Use Efficiency. 7.00 pm Wednesday 6th April 2011, Groove Cafe, Nightcliff Shopping Centre. Entry by donation.
The talk will be followed by Q &A Session. This event is organized by the NT Greens. COOLmob has no political affiliation with the Greens Nt but thought you may be interested in hearing this speaker.
Earth Hour - Join with others around Australia and the World by turning off your lights at 8:30pm on Saturday 26th March and think about what you can do to reduce your footprint on the planet all year round. Go to www.coolmob.org to see how you can save $$$'s on your power, water and fuel bills which are due to rise again on July1, 2011.
Would you like to hear the latest word on climate change? - Come to a free talk at the
NT Museum Theatrette at 12 noon on Thursday 14 April.
COOLmob Program Manager, Robin Knox, recently attended the The Asia Pacific Summit on Climate Change held in Jakarta with Al Gore. She is keen to share the latest information on climate change and what you can do to reduce emissions.
If you have a group who would like a presentation please contact Robin on phone 89812532 or email coolmob@ecnt.org
Share world check out this great concept, a world where we all can share in one great big world wide shop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpv6aGTcCl8
Regulations may change for the increasingly popular E-bikes
This week the Federal government's Vehicle Safety Standards department moved to end the uncertainty when it circulated a draft design rule on what constitutes an E-bike. It proposes increasing the maximum power for electric bikes from the present 200-watt limit to 250 watts of continuously rated output with a maximum speed of 25 km/h before the power cuts out. In Europe 250-watt motors are standard and the new design rules will make it a lot easier for importers to bring in a wider range of electric bikes, said Peter Bourke, general manager of Bicycle Industries Australia, which represents bicycle wholesalers.
http://m.smh.com.au/nsw/we-want-lances-legs-city-cyclists-embrace-ebikes-20110304-1bi1d.html
To purchase an ebike via COOLmob's e-bike bulk buy visit www.coolmob.org
Excerpt from a letter received from Richard Ashburner Thanks Richard
Hi Coolmob, After attending your electric bike demo and reading your info on the advantages of electric bikes I was inspired to get one. My internet research led me to Solarbike for a kit to adapt my existing bike. Getting this is one of the best things I've done; I'm cycling more and really enjoying my journeys now. I used to complain about riding home against a headwind in the hot afternoon when already tired from work. Now I smile, pedal as much or as little as I want, enjoy the extra cooling from the headwind, sweat less and get more exercise because I ride much more often. With moderate pedalling I cruise the 12 Km to work at 33-34 Kmh and with more vigorous pedalling maintain 30 Kmh when going up Darwin hills. On level ground my bike can do 30 Kmh without pedalling but I always find I pedal as well. With my style of riding the battery lasts around 45- 50 Km between charges and maintains full kick until just before it is empty.
Coolmob members will be fascinated by the Solarbike website. Solarbike sales also fund research into solar powered bikes and future (biologically produced) hydrogen powered bikes. They have a solar powered unit that will recharge your bike at work during the day. My experience purchasing from them was positive; I was impressed by the candour of replies to my questions about reliability in monsoonal conditions.
My conversion kit cost $950 delivered to Darwin. It will pay for itself in petrol savings within in a year if I ride it to work daily instead of driving. The only disadvantage is sometimes being held up by people asking questions about the bike!
-
Solar Power Update - beat the carbon tax with your own green power
Some 175,000 Austrailian homes installed 330MW of solar PV in 2010, a tenfold increase on the amount of solar installed in 2008. Australia now has over 510MW of installed solar PV, equivalent to a small power station producing zero pollution power.
-
-
If you want to start producing clean power, remember that the Solar Credits rebate reduces by 20% (approx $1250) after June 30 this year so don't hesitate to organise your solar arrays NOW.
Presently it is still essential to get a NT Building Permit before you begin installing your PV (photovoltaic) panels but the solar industry is working hard to try and get a Deemed to Comply Certificate for their panels so that it will reduce the cost of installations. This process is nearly in place for non-cyclonic areas but further testing of panels, or evidence of testing, is necessary before Deemed to Comply will be approved for cyclonic regions of the NT. COOLmob has been lobbying since December 2010 to see the process of approvals for solar panels streamlined so is pleased the NT Government has reassessed its approach to regulations in non cyclonic areas.
STOP PRESS - COOLmob's Solar Hot Water Bulk Buy is continuing 
You still have an opportunity to take advantage of COOLmob's solar hot water bulk buy by registering on our web site at www.coolmob.org
So far 17 households have taken advantage of this opportunity to install solar hot water and save up to one third of their electricity costs.
Fillsites get connected- a brilliant new concept
www.fillsites.com.au matches people who have soil and other raw materials with people who want those materials.
Primarily soil from excavations such as pools etc. is very popular with this site. Any other materials can be listed on this site, from rocks to mulch!
This website is free for all to use and aims to reduce the costs associated with the transport of fill materials buy reducing the distances needed to travel etc. Both parties save money and the best part is that the environment gets less impact also!
A Carbon Price - What could it really mean? by Beyond Zero Emissions
A $10‐20/tonne carbon price is useful for sending a signal away from coal power generation
From $25‐70/tonne, the signal is for a mass industrial rollout of tens of thousands of MW of gas‐fired power, which is not a solution to the climate crisis, and locks in
coal seam gas drilling, fraccing, and significant leaks of methane which has a greenhouse impact 72 times worse than CO2.
From $70‐200/tonne, the signal is for extra growth in wind power combined with fossil gas.
Above $200/tonne, baseload dispatchable renewable such as solar thermal will be viable, however as the technology comes down the cost curve it will become cheaper as more is built.
The highest priority should be on calling for carbon‐pricing‐plus framework which alongside the carbon price includes direct support for renewables, such as a
Feed‐in‐Tariff, which can immediately create a portfolio of renewable energy funded through a small levy on electricity consumers, at a significantly lower cost than a so called $50 “high” carbon price. FiTs are a proven mechanism for driving large‐scale investment in renewables, already in use in over 50 countries worldwide.
http://beyondzeroemissions.org or watch Beyond Zero Radio Show Podcasts http://beyondzeroemissions.org/media/radio
NSW Government Rejects Coal Mine - a win for the people!
The coal mine issue first raised its head 15 years ago and some, like Mike Campbell of the Australian Coal Alliance, has been actively fighting the proposal since that time. He described the announcement as a victory for the community who had repeatedly said they didn’t want the mine. Wyong mayor Doug Eaton said the Council’s surveys had shown that 82 per cent of the population were opposed to the mine.
http://express-advocate-wyong.whereilive.com.au/news/story/state-government-rejects-kores-coal-mine-plan-for-wyong/
What's causing Australia's 'super floods' and other extreme weather events?
La Nina is the dominant driver of the high rainfall but climate scientists aren't excluding any role for climate change. ''The strong La Nina is the primary cause of this very high rainfall season we've had,'' said Professor Matthew England, co-director of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of NSW.
''However, I would argue that the ocean warming trend north of Australia, driven by climate change, has also played a role, as this region feeds moisture into the atmosphere, and determines how strong the monsoon rains are.''
Experts say more rain and floods, category 4 and 5 cyclones will come and thought needs to be given to how we manage living with such events.
This underlying warming trend, reflected in the projections of future climate and the observation that the past decade has been the warmest in the instrumental record, underline the need to both adapt to what is now inevitable change and mitigate even greater changes.
The shift in state of the atmosphere' by Andrew Glikson's
Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200 Below is an excerpt from his article.
"At 460 ppm CO2-equivalent the climate is tracking close to the upper stability limit of the Antarctic ice sheet, defined at approximately 500 ppm. Humans cannot argue with the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, nor with the sensitivity of the oceans and marine life to changes in pH. What is
needed are urgent measures including deep cuts in carbon emissions and down-draw of atmospheric CO2, fast-track transformation to non-polluting energy
utilities (solar, solar-thermal, wind, tide, geothermal, hot rocks), global reforestation and re-vegetation campaigns, including application of biochar (pyrolysis of biomass).
The alternative does not bear contemplation."
Thanks to COOLmob’s sponsors Power and Water Corporation, NT Government and the Community Benefit Fund.
The content of this newsletter does not necessarily represent the position of our sponsors.
We’d really love to hear your feedback on the information we have provided. If you’d prefer not to receive any future COOL e-newsletters and be taken off the COOLmob email list, please let me know. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think may be interested or leave it in a “waiting room” (with permission).
Stay Cool, 
Robin Knox, COOLmob Project Manager
