Tag Archives: renewable energy

Climate Change Solutions need adaptive management

Climate change solutions desperately need bipartisan political will and the input from the right collaborative experts, led by highly competent project managers – in order to deliver the outcomes needed in a specific time frame.

A multi disciplinary systems thinking approach is needed

This will require an adaptive management method and a multi-disciplinary approach, just as that applied by Gene Krantz from NASA when his astronauts’ lives were threatened by mishaps, during the Apollo missions – Apollo 13 being the most dramatic.
‘Space ship earth’ needs people who are going to apply systems thinking to a total system overview.

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Sustainable energy re-building Queensland.

The floods in Queensland have brought tragedy for some, and heartache and disruption for many, but can also bring opportunity for renewal for all, says the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA).

‘While towns and communities will have lost much, they will also have the opportunity to rebuild,’ says Prof. Ray Wills, SEA Chief Executive, and Adjunct Professor with The University of Western Australia.

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Solar Energy and the Built Environment

Solar energy passive design considerations have not yet become mainstream building industry practice in Australia, despite its many positive advances in the built environment.

In my opinion, conservative forces in the building industry are still going out of their way to stifle progress by lobbying government for negligible changes to the building code compliance system and even pushing to water down the debate, so that the long established building industry approach to land subdivision and the building of packaged ‘project’ homes remains largely unchanged.

Built Environment Solar Passive Design Saves 80-90% Energy

The Built Environment solar passive house South Beach Image

Built Environment South Beach House

Image: 2010 Residence located at South Beach, Western Australia Designed by Ecotect-Architects

This design is passive solar with solar water heating, photovoltaic and water conservation technologies which will save 80 – 90% energy and up to 60% water usage, when compared to the average luxury home or “Mac-Mansion”! A 2005 award-winning solar passive house also designed by Ecotect-Architects is featured in the Swanbourne Centre blog.

The image shows the western façade with the north solar collection façade running down the block to create maximum privacy. (Note: for buildings in the northern hemisphere the aspect would be to the south rather than north.)

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Renewable energy – latest advances in research

Solar energy studies were my strong interest as a student architect in the late 1960s. Later, after my architectural degree a combination of engineering and science studies between the years 1977 – 1993 convinced me that the use of solar energy would be a major challenge for my generation.

Need to overcome the status quo

In order to hand over a functioning sustainable world for the next generations it has been obvious to me that we need to overcome the ultra conservative forces and vested interests who see change as the enemy and will do just about anything to maintain the status quo.

Over the last 100 hundred years, energy generation in Australia has mainly been tied to the multi-national companies using coal, oil and gas. The recent campaign by nuclear is now expanding the multi-national corporation involvement potentially to uranium, albeit to a lesser extent.

Australian Sustainable Energy Society – Canberra National Conference December 2010

At the AuSES 2010 conference, I was delighted to hear about the latest advances in research and development of renewable energy sources and the dramatic progress being made.