The Greening of Gavin

Archives for July 2010

My House

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I have had a few readers ask how big my piece of land is that I do all my green stuff on. 

Well, it is a mere 779 sqm or 8385 square feet or 0.19 of an acre.  More than most around my area where the houses are getting bigger and the land getting smaller.  McMansions abound!

Here is an aerial shot of the house which I sourced from www.nearmap.com.  North is at the top of the picture and I have marked our boundary in red, with some of the stand-out features labelled and circled.  Hopefully it has put all the other outdoor photos that I have taken to date into context.

As you can see if you click on the photo to enlarge we have used the space quite effectively.  There is not one bit of land that is unused except for the most of the pool space where I store extra water when the tank overflows and the new citrus trees are against the back fence.  However, before I had to fork out a small fortune for dental work, I was going to put another 5000 litre water tank in this area, but I will have to wait until I save up a bit more cash before I reconsider my options.

There is room for improvement in the front yard, as I am planning on planting in some fruiting shrubs and putting some drip irrigation in for the existing fruit trees.  Only a lack of potable water is holding me back at this stage, which seems like a funny statement considering the size of the bloody pool.

However, all in all, I wouldn’t have it any bigger and certainly not much smaller and I find that I can manage it in the spare time that I have available.  I am happy with what we have. 

Put Solar On It

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350.org have a new campaign to encourage world leaders to set an example and put Solar PV on their official residences.  A great idea, and one well worth getting behind.  I sent our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard a message, asking her to come to the party, so to speak.  Mind you, we didn’t have much luck with Kev’s Patch, but hey, it is worth a shot.

If you would like to let your nation’s leader know that you would not mind him or her spending a little bit of your taxpayers money on a few measly solar panels on their official house i.e. Whitehouse, the Lodge, Number 10 Downing St, etc.  and help send a strong message to their constituents, then pop on over to http://putsolaron.it/ and sign the petition.  Bill McKibben and his crew will forward these petitions to our leaders to let them know that we need them to set an example and set strong emission targets to avert climate chaos.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out more information about 350.org global work party scheduled for 10/10/2010.  It should be a date to remember, and I am thinking of something special to do on that date to make it important in my life and to my family.

Don’t forget that 350 is the most important number on the planet.  Up until a few years ago, I thought it was just like any other number.  Don’t be fooled, as looks can be deceiving.  It is important to understand why.  Click on the link above to find out more details.

Have Your Voice Heard

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In Australia the Federal Election is just about to be called.  Now, being a guy who likes to have his voice heard loud and clear, I know of only one real way of getting it heard is to vote.  The rules around enrolling to vote have recently changed, so get in quick because as soon as the election is announced, the electoral role will close.  Don’t be one of the 100,000 people who missed out last election to have their voice heard because they didn’t know the rules about enrolling to vote.  So don’t waste your first time!

<a href="http://www.linkedtube.com/LA5akSbhQ_w1f0cddcc39a5c13add953ed62286236c.htm">LinkedTube</a>

Now, I don’t really care who you vote for, as long as you are clear in your mind which party(s) will tackle the really big issues like climate change.  I personally don’t care for budgie smugglers, promise breakers or Ginger Meggs, but hey, that is just my own unique view on things.  I will be voting for a party who may be in the minority, but are actually in touch with the people and the real issues facing Australians and the world at large.

All I can say is go Green in 2010!