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Wind turbines to power Waratah Village shops

Originally posted at the Newcastle Herald. View original post here.

WARATAH Village will become the state’s first shopping centre to draw power from on-site wind turbines.

Footings for the three 14-metre-high turbines are being prepared this week.

The turbines, which Newcastle City Council approved in 2011, will be lifted into place in April.

A spokesman for Nekon Pty Ltd said the company had successfully introduced similar turbines at several other shopping centres in Australia.

‘‘Wind turbines are proven initiatives in supplying renewable energy,’’ he said. 

View original post 146 more words

Intersections designed to save cyclists lives.

“Protected bike lanes are one way to try and separate the car and bike on the road, but when it comes to intersections, even this basic protection melts away.

But what if you can design intersections in a way that gives a driver better visualization and minimize the risk of collision?

This is the question behind urban planner Nick Falbo’s design, proposed as part of a transport challenge issued by George Mason University’s School of Public Policy.

As shown in the video below, a raised corner refuge island forces traffic to turn further into the intersection, which protects right-turning bikes and gives cyclists time before cars begin their turns. By the time a car comes across the island, it will have already turned by 90 degrees — giving drivers additional time and a different angle in which to see both cyclists and pedestrians.”

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/intersections-designed-to-save-cyclists-lives/

 

Costa says community gardens no threat

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-28/costa-says-community-gardens-no-threat/5289184

Updated Fri 28 Feb 2014, 12:08pm AEDT

There’s been a backlash on social media over Ausveg’s comments on community gardens.

The peak body for the vegetable industry believes that they’re a biosecurity risk to the country’s horticulture sector.

Ausveg initially made the comments in a press release that supported the Federal Government’s decision to scrap the $1.5 million Community Food Grants program.

The program, a key initiative under Labor’s National Food Plan, would have provided funding to community gardens and farmers’ markets, but also food hubs, food rescue groups, and local food projects.

But Costa Georgiadis, presenter of ABC TV’sGardening Australia, says community gardens are no threat to biosecurity.

“Community gardens are about growing awareness and getting people inspired in local seasonal food,” he said.

“To think that spending money on an initiative like that that brings people closer to their food, and develops food as a health initiative, how could you think that a $1 million spent on growing community.

“The thing with community garden is that it’s not just the produce you’re growing, you’re growing the actual community, people are sharing, people are engaging.

“My community garden in my street is not a threat to the biosecurity of the country, because in a community garden the moment fruit is ready it’s gone.

“I struggle with the thought that a community garden is a biosecurity threat, I think the only threat the community gardens are posing to some ways of thinking is that people are becoming more aware of a local food option and not relying on imports.”

There’s a growing interest among Australians in the local food movement, with those wanting to either grow their own or meet those who do.

“I think what community gardens and the whole local food system is saying is let’s ditch convenience for seasonality and let’s make local the driver of our food ethos, which is about health and not about convenience,” he said.

Costa says that if industry bodies see this movement as a threat, then they’re taking a backward step.

“What they’re doing is saying ‘We’re going to shut you down’ it’s only going to build a bigger groundswell, when they should be building that groundswell to actually promote more and more growers in local areas,” he said.

“That will only ultimately build up the end-game for them, which is exports.”