WA Presidents corner
Happy New Year!
I hope it is starting well for you. Thank you for the great feedback on my first Newsletter in December.
Last time I asked you guys for your input on whether your workplace or household had a plan to achieve Carbon Neutrality 2050? It is only fair that I share my journey so far on the road to achieve drawdown, carbon negativity. I have to say I am only at the beginning of my journey.
In 2020, I had more time and space to really take a close look at climate change and what is really required to address it. I did get a bit carried away and my family have branded me even crazier than usual. For Christmas, I asked for a book entitled ‘Cranky Uncle Vs Climate Change’.
Taking inspiration from the fact that there are those that believe we can tackle climate change and many of the other global challenges through changing our behaviour I thought I would review how we did things at home.
Happy with our solar panels, insulated roof space, and low energy light bulbs I thought we were doing ok on the energy front. We do have a gas hob and gas heating which admittedly is very nice when the power goes off. The plan for the last 10 years has been to replace it when it gives trouble. When it does give trouble ….... My shire has a great webpage on Sustainable Living with a link to Switch your thinking. This page highlights many benefits/discounts to residents when investing in greener inputs for our houses such as solar hot water or heat pumps along with many others. There is also a version of the website for business too.
For those considering solar panels it might be worth reviewing the states Distributed Energy Resouces plan to be executed over the next few years. This plan links in with the WA and National Strategy for Hydrogen.
Inspired by programs like ‘Fight for Planet A’ and Breaking New Ground I started thinking about the carbon footprint of food how that might affect my food choices as a consumer. My biggest question - what is a good food choice? What should I look for? Local? Growing or manufacturing methods? Packaging? Carbon footprint? And how do I balance that with convenience.
Tuns out it is not that easy...........but when you start looking, there is a lot already out there on the market.... My current favourite is, Dirty Clean Food , who offer free delivery of regeneratively produced meat, eggs, dairy, vegetables and pantry items to the Perth Metro area which now includes my post code (Yes!) and selected towns in the south west. Having said that I am pondering about the argument that in order to save the planet, given the numbers we have grown to, that we should all go vegan....
On our camping adventures around Western Australia (yes, in a large diesel 4x4 - Hubby is watching the development of electric 4WD with interest) , I often come across great environmentally conscious products. In one roadhouse over Christmas, I found a range of cables, chargers and speakers from Our Pure Planet that are manufactured using recycled materials where possible and partnering with offset partners to be 100% carbon neutral and plastic regenerative, meaning that they remove 125% of the plastic they use from the planet.
Two things to take away, 1. our individual consumer choices matter.......2. There is a huge opportunity here for businesses to take the lead.......... Would you agree?
Kind Regards
Tamsin
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