Low Impact

So pretty much all nations are coming around - climate change is a problem.  By and large, to greater or lesser extents, governments everywhere are beginning to take steps to transition to greener power sources, and to help their citizens shift to more efficient ways of doing things.

Which makes the fact that solar-powered clothes driers are banned in many parts of the US and even some pockets of Australia, all the more difficult to comprehend!

I should be more specific.  I’m talking about clothes lines - you know them: a line outside which you peg your clothes to so they can dry in the sun.  Its an invention that has been with us over a… Continue reading

I’ve been playing around with making paper bricks as a substitute for firewood. One small issue is that I don’t actually have a fireplace at my current house, but I’m not going to let a trivial thing like that hold me back!

So what’s the concept? Its pretty simple. You soak some newspaper in water, put it in brick mold, squish out the water and leave it to dry. The brick maker I’m using and a sample brick are pictured. You end up with a compressed brick of newspaper that you can throw in your slow-combustion fireplace.

Getting the brick maker can be a little… Continue reading

Strange as it may sound, Australia’s current tax rules have the side effect of encouraging people to pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  The main culprit is Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) - a tax on benefits that an employer offers its employees, specifically the rules on company cars.

Consult an accountant for the details, but the following description should give you the idea.  Basically, FBT is designed to ensure that people don’t evade tax by having their employer provide something to them as part of a salary package (”Join us and we’ll pay you $40,000 a year, plus a new TV!”) - where an employer provides something that is of personal benefit to the employee, the… Continue reading