Low Impact

I’m just back from my regular trip to the shops. I live about 1.5 kilometres from my local shops, and whenever possible I do it on foot.

I see a lot of people in my neighbourhood driving to and from the shops, and I can see their point. When you finish a big shopping expedition for the entire week’s groceries, that can result in a lot of weight to cart back home. So much more appealing to be able to throw all those bags into the back of the car and drive home in climate-controlled comfort!

To deal with this, I do our shopping more regularly - usually 2 or 3 times… Continue reading

This is our second article in the “Using Less” series, this time on how you can use less petrol in your day-to-day life. The green benefits of using less fuel are obvious - every litre of petrol results in around 2.2 kilograms of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere. There’s also an obvious benefit to your hip pocket - in fact, that benefit seems to get clearer every week as petrol prices keep rising and rising!

As is often the case, there isn’t too much in the way of rocket science here - we’ve just gathered together a few common-sense things that we can all do to reduce our petrol usage… Continue reading

The “hot topic” in the press in Australia at the moment has been centred on what action the Government should take on the current soaring petrol prices. With petrol prices recently rising from $1.30 a litre to over $1.60 in only a few weeks, many Australian families are spending more and more on the family car.

The Federal Government is setting up a FuelWatch scheme to encourage better competition and allow motorists to find the cheapest price. The Opposition is suggesting lowering the excise currently charged on petrol by 5c per litre. Unsurprisingly, each side of politics is quick to point out why their plan is superior!

While both options might offer some minor… Continue reading