Green living news
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| The summer of 2012-2013 was the hottest summer in Australian history. January 2013 was the hottest month. January 7 2013 was the hottest day.
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| Australia's solar era dawns with over 1.5 million rooftop power stations - equivalent to three medium sized coal-fired power plants.
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| Torrential rain of an intensity not seen in decades causes floods in Athens on Friday 22 February 2013
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| 2012 Was Hottest Year Ever in United States with the previous record for temperature differences between years, set in 1998, exceeded by a full degree Fahrenheit.
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| The United Nations Environment Program released a report in November 2012 indicating that the world's permafrost is beginning to thaw, bringing with it the threat of a big increase in global warming by 2100.
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| Hurricane Sandy formed over the Caribbean and tracked north, making landfall on the New Jersey south coast at Atlantic City, south of New York at approximately 20:00 (8pm) Monday 29 October 2012 EDT. Although downgraded to a tropical storm, Sandy is estimated to have caused $45b damage across 9 States.
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| The world's human population reached 7 billion people in 2012. The challenges of curbing population growth and supplying food for everyone are key issues for the current millennium.
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| By 2030 some renewable technologies, such as solar photovoltaic and wind on-shore, are expected to have the lowest "Levelised Cost Of Electricity of all available technologies. This spells the end of the fossil fuel era. Source: Australian Energy Technology Assessment 2012.
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| 620 million people were without power as grids collapsed in India, causing an energy crisis that lasted for several days.
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| On the weekend of 26-27 May, half of Germany was running on solar power, with solar plants producing 22 gigawatts of electricity – equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity
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| On 5 June 2012 the Wilderness Society is holding a special event on World Environment Day. It’s going to be big – 1 hectare in fact. Come along if you can.
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| In May 2012 the Replace Hazelwood campaign enters a critical phase with the Australian Federal government in negotiations with the owners of Hazelwood and other polluting power stations to close down three of them. Sign this petition to support the closure of Hazelwood
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| The Sustainable Smart Town Program is a three stage program that Heyfield is showcasing as the first town to become sustainable as a whole community targeting 25% plus of its population.
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| February 2012. The draft Murray Darling Basin Plan could save the Murray. But it doesn't take into account climate change. The mighty Murray - and the rivers that flow into it - have been teetering on the brink of collapse. Now there’s a national plan to turn things around for our rivers – the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. But instead of looking after our rivers for the long term, the draft Basin Plan is heavily compromised and doesn't even take into account the future impact of climate change. Visit Save the Murray River for actions you can take to improve the plan.
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| Boxing Day on 26 December has become synonymous with consumption in many Western countries, where many line up at department stores in search of bargains at "Boxing Day sales". There is an opportunity for us to rediscover the Boxing Day's traditional roots and give a gift to someone who may need it.
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| The Durban Climate Change Conference 2011 COP17 commenced on 28 November 2011 and concluded with no substantive commitments for avoiding dangerous climate change.
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| The inaugural Thousand Warrior March was held in Melbourne on 5 November 2011.
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| The Occupy Melbourne protest started on Saturday 15 October 2011. The protest was a random gathering of people concerned with outcomes from the Global Financial Crisis such as governments bailing out banks. Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle stated that the protest should be terminated on Friday 21 October 2011
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| The forests at Sylvia Creek, near Toolangi (Victoria, Australia), are being logged in July 2011 by VicForests, a Victorian State Government-owned enterprise.
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| An Australian Carbon Price Agreement was announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday 10 July 2011. The agreement sets a carbon price of $25 per tonne for 500 companies in Australia with the largest carbon emissions.
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| A Climate change national day of action was held in capital cities and towns across Australia on Saturday 5 June 2011. About 45,000 people attended rallies across Australia to support the need to price carbon pollution as one measure for taking action on climate change
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| Germany announced plans on 30 May 2011 to become the first major industrialised power to shut down all its nuclear plants, with the last to be closed by 2022. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen announced the government's "irreversible" decision, which was prompted by the Japanese nuclear disaster.
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| The Critical Decade Report published by the Climate Commission Secretariat in Australia in May 2011 highlighted that the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. Failing to take sufficient action today entails potentially huge risks to our economy, society and way of life into the future. This is the critical decade for action..
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| 300 people attended the 2011 Australian climate action summit in Melbourme on 9-10 April with activists voicing their frustration over the failure of Australian governments to develop effective climate policy.
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| 10,000 people attended the 2011 climate action and carbon price rally in Melbourme on 12 March 2011 to support a carbon price and real action on climate change.
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| Cyclone Yasi is a category 5 cyclone that impacted North Queensland on 23:50 Wednesday 2 February 2011.
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| Extreme weather causes massive flood events in Queensland, northern New South Wales and Victoria, Australia in mid January 2011. People with solar panels are advised to shutdown their system prior to floodwaters arriving, and seek expert assistance when attempting to restart it. See Safety Bulletin – Floods and household solar panels for more information.
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