Name: Robyn
Bio: Robyn is an expert in social research, with a wealth of experience in sustainability and environmental issues. She has over twenty years experience in market research, working with NGOs as well as local and state government departments.
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The necessary evils of recycling and desalination
September 30th, 2010
Rarely a day goes by that water isn’t a news feature in Australia. We’ve either got too much of it (a large chunk of Australia is suffering from the worst floods in 15 years) or too little (water restrictions are almost always in place somewhere along the eastern seaboard)!
With our population on the rise from both overseas migration and natural increases, how will we make sure we have enough water for all these extra people?
Recycle? Countries like the US, UK and Singapore have been drinking recycled water for up to 40 years. Re-using our water has never been a popular option with the Australian public and currently less than 10 per cent of the water used by urban and industrial consumers is recycled.
But perhaps we are starting to become more comfortable with the idea. In our recent Sustainable Population Study, we found over half of Australians (57%) would be prepared to drink purified recycled water. This is a huge increase on where we sat five years ago when the concept was first introduced. Across all States, between a quarter and a third of respondents said they definitely would be willing to drink it. These proportions are slightly higher than the amount of people in each State who said they definitely would not drink it. So, while we’re showing signs of being more receptive to the idea, there is still significant opposal to overcome, with 43% still finding the idea of reusing water unpalatable.
Another option is desalination. Sea water (that fish live in and, incidentally, where our waste water ends up) seems to be more appealing to the general public and some State Governments are investing in desalination options.
However, when it comes to putting our money where our mouth is, Australians are less willing to opt for desalination. Just over two fifths (42%) of Australians agree they would be prepared to pay more, and across all states, the proportion who would definitely not be prepared to pay exceeds those that would.
Water security remains one of our biggest challenges and with the ever expanding population demanding more from natural resources it is an issue that is not going to go away. We have some work to do in removing the stigma of attached to recycled water and moving Australians to a mindset where they are prepared to take up a more sustainable option.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Greening the grid
September 21st, 2010
With winter having recently departed most of us are looking forward to a long, hot summer. The warmth is welcome but not so much those stifling summer days, when it’s too hot to move. On days like these aircon units in our homes, offices and shopping centres are set to Arctic and energy suppliers go into overdrive. Sorry planet but our needs are greater.
Despite the fact Australian residents are now more than ever considering the effects of climate change and the impact it will have on lifestyle, we are still hesitant to change our ways and become greener and more energy efficient at home. Many of us don’t know where to start and it is easy to feel paralysed by the enormity of the problem – what difference can one person make?
What would it take for us to change the way we use energy? For the majority of us it’s only when our hip pocket is hit that we take action.
Even though heat waves or cold snaps only occur for a few days each year our energy suppliers have to build expensive infrastructure that can cope with extreme but short-lived demand. And who do you think pays for this? We do, through our bills.
Significantly, if we knew when peak times were, 78% of us would change the way we use electricity. And 82% of us would be wiser with our electricity use if we were charged more at peak times.
When it comes to renewable energy sources, there’s still a long way to go with just over half of us (54%) unwilling to pay more for energy from sources such as wind or solar. The loaded issue of nuclear generated power appears to be quite polarising for Australians, with fairly equal proportions saying they would or would not be open to it.
Until renewable energy is cheap and safe enough for us, perhaps the best approach is to turn the aircon down (or up) a couple of degrees. While energy suppliers spend more on building infrastructure to cope with peak demand, a smarter solution may be to encourage behavioural change. This problem isn’t going to go away as most of our cities are expected to rapidly expand with increasing populations. The challenge for government and business is to have a plan in place that meets growing population needs sustainably by promoting green behaviours in order to protect the Australian way of life longterm.
Energy suppliers have a great opportunity to take a leadership role here, and strengthen their business simultaneously. Clearly, consumers would rather use energy more wisely if it means cheaper bills. By informing customers about peak times, or by hiking up the price during these times, the result will be lower demand and the savings could be passed on to customers (building loyalty). In addition, a greater focus could be invested in bringing the cost of renewable energy sources down, to help enhance the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.
However, a balance still has to be struck – if energy is perceived as cheap there’s little motivation to use it wisely. For a truly win-win situation there has to be a combination of educating consumers about energy supply and the positive impact each individual household can have on the environment by using our resources wisely. Many suppliers have made a start by illustrating emissions on bills but this information needs to be translated into something tangible. For those of us who care as much for the planet as our hip pocket we still need an answer to this question – what difference can one person make?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Sustainability – a collective effort without an owner
July 30th, 2010
Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth. For humans, it’s the potential for long-term wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of its resources.
As populations have grown, use of resources across the globe has becoming increasingly unsustainable. There is abundant evidence that our footprint is having a negative impact on the planet, but also plenty of scientists that claim the cause of global warming is the sun! However, it is undeniable that our way of life cannot continue unrestrained without serious repercussions. Returning our use of natural resources to within sustainable limits will require a major collective effort. Our cities need to be reorganised to cope with increased populations, we need to reduce pollution and destruction of land, and we need to adopt new technologies and services, such as renewable energy.
As Australians we value our way of life, our backyards and our relatively uncluttered cities. We want to protect valued aspects of our way of life, the foremost being our sense of safety at home, the amount of green space and our laid-back lifestyle.
While we grasp the fundamental need for change in terms of the way we live and access services given the predicted population growth for our country, there is still great resistance for personal change, particularly in terms of housing styles. There is a clear preference for maintaining current levels of green space by increasing density in already developed areas, which is in complete contrast to the preference of living on a larger property even if it means moving further out of the city! Herein lies the challenge for government at all levels for the next couple of years – to move opinion and actions to one of acceptance of change at a local and personal level.
The challenge we face in reorganising into sustainable cities comes back to the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality. The majority of Australians (60%) believe that population growth will be positive for the nation as a whole, but we have little willingness to forgo unsustainable living preferences. We understand it needs to be a collective effort and that individuals as well as government and business have a role to play, but we are looking for leadership. We are looking to government for guidance on what initiatives to adopt and where to prioritise our efforts. We need some certainty on where to start.
This however, will be particularly challenging given the very low ratings all levels of Government have received by the Australian community for their management of population to date – two-thirds of Australians feel that all levels of government have done a poor job in managing growth to date.
Popularity: -0% [?]
