Very few green roofs atop the buildings of Melbourne CBD and suburbs and few are aware of their benefits. Considering the total roof space of the city and the benefits, green roofs should be prevalent; but because of unawareness and also lack of government support, there are very few of them. A transformation of rooftop space will occur if governments legislate and provide support, and if people are informed and recognise the benefits.
"In North America, the benefits of green roof technologies are being increasingly understood as the green roof industry moves from novelty to common practice.
In Europe, green roof technologies have become very well established since the 1980s. This has been the direct result of government legislative and financial support, at both the state and municipal level. Such support recognizes the many tangible and intangible public benefits of green roofs."
"..Australia is behind the rest of the world.... Melbourne is behind other Australian cities in encouraging green roofs. Brisbane City Council has incorporated green roofs in its climate change plan and Lord Mayor David Hinchliffe is encouraging developers to incorporate green roofs. The head designer of Planning South Australia has been pushing for a massive green roof project and Sydney City Council last year made a $48,000 grant to develop guidelines and planning controls for green roofs. The City of Melbourne has agreed to host a lecture by German expert Manfred Koehler on March 6 but is yet to commit to any green roof..." - Green Roofs Australia president Geoff Wilson
Green Roofs Australia: http://greenroofs.wordpress.com/
Oases in the sky are a growing trend in our concrete jungles
The Age, by Natalie Craig
February 18, 2008
How green is your roof?
The Age, by Katherine Kizilos
March 5, 2008
Lights dim, but photosynthesis thrives on Chicago skyline
The Age, by Ian Munro
March 29, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
An article I read in October in The Age
Plan for electric car network
* Mex Cooper
* October 23, 2008
Charging points ... how the electric car network might look.
Charging points ... how the electric car network might look.
Australia will become the third country in the world to have an electric car network in a bid to run the country's 15 million cars on batteries powered by green energy under a plan announced today.
- Battery stations proposed
- Charging network planned
- Green energy push
In a deal unveiled in Melbourne, international company Better Place will team up with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group to set up a network of "charging spots" and "battery exchange stations" to power electric vehicles in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Better Place aims to roll out electric car networks that allow zero emission vehicles to run on clean energy grids to reduce the planet's reliance on oil.
Earlier this year, Denmark and Israel undertook to establish the world's first electric car networks.
Better Place chief executive officer Shai Agassi said he hoped Australia would prove that the company's model for electric cars could work anywhere.
Under the plan, charging spots, to top up batteries, would be located in places where cars park, including home garages, shopping centres and office carparks.
The charging spots, which would look like parking meters, would provide cables to connect batteries to a green energy grid, for which AGL Energy will provide power from renewable sources including hydro and wind.
On the outskirts of city centres and on freeways, "battery switching stations" would exist for trips longer than 161 kilometres.
A driver would pull up to a switching station and replace the car's battery before continuing on their journey, similar to filling up the tank at a petrol station, according to Mr Agassi.
Mr Agassi said the first step was to build the infrastructure while the company was dealing with car manufacturers to produce the battery-run cars.
"You can't sell cell phones before you have the towers," he said.
Victorian Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Innovation Gavin Jennings today backed the ambitious plan.
"If it could work here it could basically work anywhere," Mr Jennings said.
In a partnership announced today AGL Energy would provide power from wind, hydro and other renewable sources for the network while investment bank heavyweight Macquarie Capital Group will help raise a billion dollars to build it.
Mr Agassi said it was hoped the infrastructure project to initially establish the network would be in place by 2011 and the first battery cars on the road in Australia a year later.
Australia has the seventh largest per capita car ownership in the world, more than either the United States or Britain.
Mr Agassi said a reliance on oil was responsible for the demise of the environment and the global economy.
"We are investing in Australia's economy and adding jobs while helping the country take a generational leap forward toward oil independence," Mr Agassi said.
* Mex Cooper
* October 23, 2008
Charging points ... how the electric car network might look.
Charging points ... how the electric car network might look.
Australia will become the third country in the world to have an electric car network in a bid to run the country's 15 million cars on batteries powered by green energy under a plan announced today.
- Battery stations proposed
- Charging network planned
- Green energy push
In a deal unveiled in Melbourne, international company Better Place will team up with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group to set up a network of "charging spots" and "battery exchange stations" to power electric vehicles in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Better Place aims to roll out electric car networks that allow zero emission vehicles to run on clean energy grids to reduce the planet's reliance on oil.
Earlier this year, Denmark and Israel undertook to establish the world's first electric car networks.
Better Place chief executive officer Shai Agassi said he hoped Australia would prove that the company's model for electric cars could work anywhere.
Under the plan, charging spots, to top up batteries, would be located in places where cars park, including home garages, shopping centres and office carparks.
The charging spots, which would look like parking meters, would provide cables to connect batteries to a green energy grid, for which AGL Energy will provide power from renewable sources including hydro and wind.
On the outskirts of city centres and on freeways, "battery switching stations" would exist for trips longer than 161 kilometres.
A driver would pull up to a switching station and replace the car's battery before continuing on their journey, similar to filling up the tank at a petrol station, according to Mr Agassi.
Mr Agassi said the first step was to build the infrastructure while the company was dealing with car manufacturers to produce the battery-run cars.
"You can't sell cell phones before you have the towers," he said.
Victorian Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Innovation Gavin Jennings today backed the ambitious plan.
"If it could work here it could basically work anywhere," Mr Jennings said.
In a partnership announced today AGL Energy would provide power from wind, hydro and other renewable sources for the network while investment bank heavyweight Macquarie Capital Group will help raise a billion dollars to build it.
Mr Agassi said it was hoped the infrastructure project to initially establish the network would be in place by 2011 and the first battery cars on the road in Australia a year later.
Australia has the seventh largest per capita car ownership in the world, more than either the United States or Britain.
Mr Agassi said a reliance on oil was responsible for the demise of the environment and the global economy.
"We are investing in Australia's economy and adding jobs while helping the country take a generational leap forward toward oil independence," Mr Agassi said.
Leading by example
Many cities with sustainability considerations could be looked at for reference: Curitiba, Brazil and Hammarby Sjöstad- a district of Stockholm, Sweden.
I became aware of Hammarby Sjöstad when it was the subject of an episode of 'One Planet', a programme broadcast on the BBC world service. The municipality is low-carbon and more or less sustains itself. Melbourne should be like this city as well as Curitiba.
I became aware of Hammarby Sjöstad when it was the subject of an episode of 'One Planet', a programme broadcast on the BBC world service. The municipality is low-carbon and more or less sustains itself. Melbourne should be like this city as well as Curitiba.
Imagining a sustainable city
The concept of sustainability could be applied to Melbourne - integrated into all facets of the city. In the following posts: what should be done, what has already been done and what is currently being done to make Melbourne more sustainable.
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