Sustainable Seachange

Energy Australia Open Day

2009-12-07T09:57:00.010+11:00

On Saturday 28 Nov I attended The GREEN DREAM HOME OPEN DAY organised by the electricity provider Energy Australia and held at Energy Australia's Energy Efficiency Centre (Homebush Business Village, 12/11-21 Underwood Rd, Homebush). NSW Australia. If you live within striking distance of Sydney, the Centre is worth a visit.There are lots of hands on displays and exhibits which demonstrate and illustrate how a variety energy saving technologies work.

The event took the form of a seminar where two speakers gave talks and answered questions from the audience. Whilst the first speaker was entertaining, the second speaker, architect Caroline Pidcock was very informative. Her presentation was an overview of the various aspects which should be taken into consideration when undrtaking a sustainable building project.
The Pidcock website is well worth a look.

Water (and space) saving toilet suite.

2009-11-12T15:50:00.009+11:00

An extra toilet is often handy but if you are stuck for space, its often difficult to accomodate a wash hand basin in a small WC.
Well here is a very environmentally friendly solution.

At a recent green expo day in Sydney I saw a toilet which makes so much sense that you wonder why you dont already have one.

The Caroma website says, "The first toilet suite in Australia to achieve a 5-star WELS rating, the Caroma Profile™ Toilet Suite with Integrated Hand Basin provides a simple, effective way to re-use water in the bathroom. Profile™ achieves this leading water rating by using the same water twice, firstly for hand washing and then for toilet flushing."

The Caroma website says,"Profile™ is the first of its kind to feature a unique, dual-flush push button and spout arrangement that saves the water normally used when hands are washed in a separate basin. The flush cycle activation controls the flow of fresh water through the basin spout, allowing time for thorough hand washing before the same water fills the cistern tank. Award-winning Smartflush® technology is also built-in for ultra low 4.5/3L flushing."

There is a school of thought which says that ideally you should use water three times.
When hooked up to a system like Biolytix this product could exactly that by
1. Washing hands.
2. Flushing the loo, and (after going through filtration),
3. watering the garden.

Find out more at: Caroma

Long time no blog.

2009-11-10T20:22:00.002+11:00

Its blogging season again - at least on these pages. It has been months since I posted anything about the project but thats the nature of the beast.

Our sustainable seachange will happen over several years and I intend to document our progress in this blog. But there will be months when nothing happens and I am sure there will be months when lots of things happen.

Seems like last month but was actually almost six months ago when we last visited our block of land. We planted over 30 trees, assorted fruit trees and a hedge. Last report was that 3 or 4 had died but the rest were growing so thats good news.

By the time we move we should have a variety of fruit trees, bearing delicious fruits like mango, avocado and many others.

Global warming protest.

2009-02-19T18:56:00.001+11:00

Wall linings - Want an alternative to plasterboard?

2009-02-10T11:29:00.004+11:00

It is often the case when choosing building materials that there will be a compromise between choosing what is best for the environment and what you can afford.

The name for the material most commonly used to line the walls and ceilings of timber framed or metal framed houses differs around the world.
In north America it is drywall, in other countries, plasterboard, wallboard, gypsum board, etc. It may also be referred to by the name of the manufacturer, e.g., Sheetrock or Gyprock.

For my purposes I am going to call it plasterboard because it is manufactured by rolling gypsum plaster, (basically wet calcium sulfate) between two sheets of paper. Plasterboard is a very versatile and useful material and I am sure it will continue to be manufactured and widely used for many years.
Plasterboard is however neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly. Calcium sulfate has to be quarried or mined as gypsum or anhydrite, or otherwise manufactured.

When plasterboard is used in construction, boards have to be cut to fit as required so there is a lot of waste which ends up in landfill. Demolition or renovation of buildings containing plasterboard also adds to landfill.
You can't recycle plasterboard.

One alternative is known as VJ Paneling.

A company called Masterline use medium density fibreboard (MDF) to make panels with the traditional VJ profile.

MDF is made from plantation timber and so as a sustainable choice it is preferable to plasterboard. Working with MDF requires that you wear a suitable mask as the dust produced when cutting MDF is very fine and contains chemicals which could cause respiratory problems if inhaled.

A better alternative in my opinion is VY paneling made using plywood.

This is the product used by a company called SALA Homes, who are very serious about sustainability. They say
"SALA provides homes which significantly reduce your power and water consumption with minimal cost to you and to the environment. They are made of quality sustainable building materials, yet are initially affordable and will save you money in the long term".

Of course not everyone is going to like the look of VJ over the look of plasterboard.

And plasterboard will probably be cheaper to buy than alternative wall linings.

Plasterboard would be my choice for ceilings.

I would choose VJ ply for walls.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

A list of some US based energy saving calculators and other resources.

2009-02-06T14:50:00.008+11:00

I must apologise for not being able to direct you to the site where I found this list, but its all about spreading the sustainabilty gospel so I hope they dont mind:

U.S. Department of Energy: .

Home Energy Saver:

The Building Life-Cycle Cost Program:

Personal Emissions Calculator:

General Electrical Energy Cost Calculator:

Carbon Footprint Calculator:

Energy Guide’s Carbon Footprint Calculator:

Nature Conservancy’s Carbon Footprint Calculator:

An Inconvenient Truth’s Carbon Footprint Calculator:

Power Score Card:

365 Ways to Save Energy:

EnergyQuest’s Saving Energy Page:

Alliance to Save Energy:

Changing, NOT Retiring.

2009-02-02T12:49:00.002+11:00

Something I have noted about people, especially men who have recently retired, is that a lot of them seem to spend too much time dwelling on the past.

For instance they come into the library where I work asking for books that they read 30 years ago, oblivious to the fact that in the interim millions of good books have been published.

It is almost as if that now their working life is over they feel they have no direction or meaningful purpose.

Someone once told me that you should never plan to retire. Plan to be always doing something whether profitable or not.

Plan for the future and for as long as you are able, plan to be doing something.

It would be naive to suggest that getting older does not bring you problems.

And if you believe some of the more pessimistic commentators then there is not a lot to look forward to.

But how long we will remain active and able is impossible to know.

For the sake of our happiness surely we should hope that the glass will always be more than half full.

When discussing our proposed sea change with friends, The Woman and I sometimes get the impression that others think we are making the wrong move.

According to some, once the offspring have left home and you are looking at the wrong side of fifty you should be thinking of downsizing.
Perhaps moving into a smaller house, probably within a short drive of the grandchildren who will be arriving sooner or later, so that you can babysit them, allowing their fun loving parents to largely continue the party which has until now been their life.

But not everyone over the age of fifty thinks its all about the kids. There are the sun seekers, millions of them who having raised their own brood do not aspire to the role of unpaid babysitter, even if the rug rats are your own descendants.

They head off for a place in the sun. Perhaps Florida if you are American, Spain if you are British, to enjoy in retirement the wealth they have accumulated along the way through hard work or otherwise.

(Isn't it ironic, Alanis, that there is a lot of money being made by catering to a large section of the population who no longer work for a living? I mean of course the Retirement Industry, mainly real estate agents and developers building various types of housing aimed at the Over 55s; Seniors; Retirees, of whatever label you want to attach to people who have made it past the big five-o.)

Of course retirement means different things to different people. Not all that long ago it meant leaving work and putting your feet up for a few short years before you died!

But on average we live longer now. Most of us will see 80. And retirement planning through pension funds and supperannuation means many can leave full time work from the age of 55 on.

The woman and I have no intention of spending 25 years playing lawn bowls, golf, fishing, reminiscing about the past or most of the other stereotypical things you do "In retirement".

For us, the plan is to move to the coast to build a passive-solar environmentally friendly house on a rural-residential block of land big enough to support a permaculture garden and some fruit trees.

Its not retirement. Its a lifestyle change.

That said we have no intention of becoming slaves to the change.

We still intend to factor in plenty of time for recreation.

So dont plan to retire - plan to change.

Taking time to work things out.

2009-01-29T21:42:00.005+11:00

Its will soon be a year since The Woman and I put down our hard earned deposit on the block of land where we will build our house.

Although the block is 1500 kilometres from where we actually live, cheap airfares and cheap accommodation with friends has allowed us to spend a lot of time at there.

Summer visits have allowed us to feel how hot it gets and visiting in the cooler months has convinced us that once there we will never be truly cold again!

Things look different as the day goes from dawn to dusk so we have been there morning noon and night. Watching the path of the sun, watching where the wind and rain comes from.

Some of that time has been spent working, cutting dead wood, planting some saplings and mowing the grass.

We also use visits to the block to get a feel for where we want to place the different parts of the jigsaw such as the house, the garage, water tanks, permaculture vegetable garden, fruit trees, driveway, etc.

We have spent hours just sitting on the grass, working out the specifics of what will go where.

To make the most of passive solar design principles it is most important that we orient the house to allow the sun into certain rooms in the cooler months and to keep direct sunlight out for the rest of the year.

We must also build to catch the cooling breeze so that it can be directed in through one side of the house and out the other side.
There are some water views which we want to take advantage of.
Proximity to neighbours is also a concern. We don’t want to be sitting in our living areas, indoor or out, looking at the house next door and (I hope), the neighbours feel the same way.

But you can’t have everything. Early on in this process it became obvious that some compromises will have to be made.
You would be lucky indeed to find a block of land where the correct orientation of the house corresponded to the ideal place to catch the breeze and the best place to take in the view!

Whatever we decide about what goes where we will know we thought about it and talked about it Not for five or ten minutes one sunny day, but over a long period and considering all the variables, (or at least all the ones we could think of).

We have toget this right first time

Because once the house is built you can’t pick it up and move it.

Principles of passive building design.

2009-01-29T13:32:00.005+11:00

Searching the internet you sometimes come across little gems which one suspects are not actually meant to be in a public directory of the website.

Recently I came across an excellent article about passive design principles for housing. The article is in draft form so I am hesitant to publish the URL.

I will tell you that article is in MS word format and the the first line is "Passive design for ClimateSmart Housing" so you can search for it yourself.

The article's focus is on housing in the state of Queensland Australia, a massive state which forms the north-east corner of the Australian continent and has a total area of 1.8 million square kilometres (or 700,000 square miles).

Queensland is 2 and ½ times the size of Texas in the USA and is 4 and ½ times the size of Japan so the state covers a range of climate zones.

Where The Woman and I will live, the climate zone is Sub-Tropical, coastal.

Irrespective of where you live or build, these six principles are valid, although they way the are applied will of course differ depending on the climate in your area.

We know that to build a house that is comfortable to be in and energy efficient, we need to incorporate six passive design principles which, according to the article, in order of priority are:

1. "orientation – generally, wherever possible, orientate the living area to the north for winter warmth in the cooler parts of Queensland and away from the summer sun in north Queensland. Utility areas such as the garage, storage rooms, entry and laundry should be positioned to the south-west to shield the house from the setting sun.*

2. ventilation – openings throughout the house allow summer breezes to provide cooling cross-ventilation.

3. shading – effectively shading walls and windows prevents heat transfer e.g. roof and window eaves.

4. insulation – insulate the roof space against heat and cold transfer, and insulate the walls where no overhangs are provided.

5. thermal mass – build in thermal mass to absorb heat where it can be useful to re-radiate this heat at night (NB. this principle applies mostly to Zones 3 – Hot Arid, and 5 – Warm Temperate where hot days can be followed by cool nights).

6. materials – use energy-efficient materials appropriate for the climate zone to improve thermal performance e.g. external walls, windows/glass/tinting and solar pergolas. "

Note: To point 6 I would have to add colour. Light coloured finishes to walls and roofs can reflect a lot of heat.
The space between your ceiling and roof can get very hot so do what you can to reduce that heat. Insulate of course but avoid dark colours on walls and roofing.

Solar reflective paint is now being advertised with claims that it reflects the sun's rays.

In Australia the versatile steel products such as Colorbond steel is increasingly popular as a roofing material, so much so that it is trendy and is now therefore manufactured in a wide range of trendy colours, light dark and in-between.

Putting a black steel roof on a house in a sub-tropical location would seem very silly.
But I could show you where it has been done. Difficult to believe that the builder and the roofer would not advise strongly against this.
But then the customer is always right, right?

*Orientation given is for the southern hemisphere. North of the equator you would- orientate the living area to the south.

For more information on sustainable homes go here.

Gutter talk

2009-01-21T18:47:00.003+11:00

We have some large trees in our yard, as do many of our neighbours. Its nice to have such magnificent specimens and to watch the truly wonderful native parrots which frquent them throughout the year.

But trees shed leaves, so this week I have spent some time sitting on my roof cleaning leaf litter from the guttering. Its a tedious job and not without its dangers. In the area where we live, having gutters full of leaf litter is not recommended for two reasons.

Firstly, during heavy rain the water cant get off the roof quickly enough so banks up in the roof valleys which feed the gutters and ends up entering the house and running down walls, windows and doors. Secondly, gutters blocked by dry leaf litter can cost you your home during a bushfire.
We are prone to bushfires in dry years and embers carried on the wind can land in your gutters and set fire to the leaf litter, fire which can quickly spread into your roof.

The conventional wisdom is that you clear leaf litter from your gutter before the bushfire season starts. Not only does this prevent fire from taking hold there, but it means that you can use rags to block the holes at the top of the the drain pipes and flood the gutters with water as an added precaution against bushfire.

For anyone who collects the rainwater from their roof it is important to keep leaf litter and everything else which is animal or minerals out of your water tank.

So what can you do to stop leaf litter clogging up gutters in the first place?
You might want to consider some form of gutter guard like:

http://www.gutterguardian.com.au/
http://www.gumleafgutterguard.com/
http://www.aussiegutterprotection.com.au/
http://www.theleafman.com.au/

Arguably a better approach is to install guttering which is designed so that any leaves or debris which lands on it will be blown away by the next light breeze.
Formerly called Enviroflow its now called Smartflow Check it out:

http://www.enviro-friendly.com/smartflo-guttering.shtml

Blowin in the Wind

2009-01-21T18:33:00.015+11:00

Renewable energy has a giant part to play in the push to reduce carbon emissions and wind power is one renewable which is having a renaissance, even finding a place in the back yard.
Although eventually losing favour to steam, electrical and oil fuelled engines, wind power was used in antquity, noticeably by the Persians and the Chinese. A wonderful history of wind power is here.

Around 1400 the Dutch started made a more efficient windmill and never really gave up on them.
One of the many interesting sights in Holland today is that of traditional molens (mills) alongside modern wind turbines.
Wind is now used to generate electricity on a massive scale. In Scotland construction of Europe's largest onshore wind farm, Whitelee is almost complete. Its 140 turbines will have the capacity to produce 322MW of clean green energy, enough to power over 180,000 homes.

Whitelee wind farm will produce more than two percent of the country's annual electricity needs. An even larger project, the Clyde Wind Farm has been approved and its 152 turbines will be able to power 320,000 homes.
Offshore wind farms are seen as having the potential to generate around twice as much electricity as those onshore.

Several years of drought in Australia prompted the New South Wales State Government to commission a Water desalination plant at Kurnell near Sydney.
The state government is also getting involved in Capital Wind Farm being built at Bungendore, near Queanbeyan in southern NSW. to offset the massive amount of electricity needed to run the desalination plant.

So wind works, but what about in your back yard? In over seventy different countries you can buy a Skystream 3.7™.

According to Solarshop.com the Skystream 3.7™. is "A new generation grid connect wind turbine that hooks up to your home to help you reduce or eliminate your monthly electricity costs. It’s the first compact, user-friendly, all-inclusive, purpose built domestic grid connect wind generator.

If your site fits the following criteria, Skystream will work for you:
1) At least 16km/h average wind speed (best results at 20km/h or more)
2) Your property is at least 2,000m² and has unobstructed views.
3) The local zoning allows a structure that is at least 12.8m tall
4) Your local utility has an existing interconnection agreement for homeowners
Depending on your installed cost, cost of electricity, and average wind speed, Skystream can pay for itself in as little as five years"

Sadly, although she would like one, there will be no windmill for The Woman and I. We just do not get enough wind to make it an economic proposition.

But for some, it will be just what they need.

As good as it gets. - housing design.

2009-01-20T16:20:00.004+11:00

Shelter is a basic human need.

Apart from those unfortunate enough to be homeless, in jail or otherwise institutionalised, the rest of us live in some form of domestic housing.

Whether renting or buying, for most people, paying for the roof over our head is a major expense.

Whatever the type, style or shape of your abode, your ability to choose your housing, will most likely have been dictated by the price and availability of accommodation in your area.

Often, you cannot afford to be fussy. Perhaps you need to move in a hurry or sign a lease quickly before someone else beats you to it. You just have to take what you can get.

Others are more fortunate in the choice department. They are able to buy or build a new brand house.

Why then do so many of them buy or build housing which is badly designed, wastes energy and is unsuited to their needs?

Its human nature to want to improve your lot in life so over the centuries as the general public became relatively wealthier, people have wanted to live in bigger and more luxurious houses.

The reasoning seems to be that what was good enough for your grandparents was not good enough for your parents.

And what was good enough for your parents is not good enough for you.

In the best traditions of capitalism, the building industry, developers and real estate agents, have been only too happy to construct and sell inferior designs disguised as quality housing.

Very few gave any though to the eveyday practicality and long term sustainability of the product..

The motto was and still is "Make it bigger and make it cheaper and they will buy it"

It seems that wholesale change will only only come through government legislation forcing builders to adopt more environmentally sound building practices.

The sad thing is that good sustainable design does not have to be expensive.

And allowance for more expensive passive solar features such as grid-feed PV systems can be incorporated at the design stage and added later.

To see just how good sustainable housing design can be look at The Ecovillage at Currumbin which was awarded the World's Best Environmental Development in the 2008 FIABCI Prix D'Excellence Awards in Amsterdam.

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Sewage, Sewerage and Biolytix

2009-01-20T15:24:00.005+11:00

It impossible to understate the beneficial effects that clean drinking water and efficient sewerage. has on the health of mankind.

(Sewage and Sewerage are terms which are often used incorrectly. So just for the record, Sewerage is the harware, the pipes and tanks. Sewage is the runny stuff which goes through them).

The disposal of human waste is not generally a topic for polite conversation but if your house is not connected to a municipal sewerage system then you have to talk dirty.
Options such as composting toilets may appeal to true environmental warriors but I think most of us who grew up with the flush would prefer to stick with it.
Septic systems are common and for many, septic tanks were certainly a big improvement on the pan which the poo-cart man used to come and empty.

Septic tanks work by collecting all the waste water from a home: Sewage from the toilet, bath water, kitchen sink water, the lot. Solids sink to the bottom to decompose, fats float to the top and the grey water in between is discharged into the soil surrounding the tank. When problems arise things can get very messy.

Luckily for us there are systems on the market today which are a quantum leap ahead of the old septic tank. One such system is the award winning Biolytix. which mimics nature. Biolytix uses insects and organisms to turn grey and black water into irrigation water.

The Woman and I have already chosen Biolytix as our preferred waste disposal system.

What follows is an except from an article Turning waste to water By: FOES-LAMB,, Philippa, which appeared in The Nelson Mail, Feb 15, 2008.

``Biolytix is a very reliable and effective home sewage treatment system. It has been used in Australia for 30 years and has been installed in the Tasman area for the past two years, mainly in unsewered rural areas.

``The system uses tiger and red worms to break down human and Insinkerator waste, effectively providing pretty clean water that can then be used on most of the garden. We use a mix of these worms because red worms prefer slightly lower temperatures while tiger worms work well at higher temperatures - it's a good balance.''

As well as worms, beetles and microorganisms take up residence in the tank and also help to break down the waste material.

A major drawcard of the system is the fact that there is no odour when a tank that is in operation is opened, Robert says. ``There really is no odour, which is pretty amazing. A common human perception is that `what goes down must smell'. This is one of the great things about the Biolytix system - it is a complete, individual ecosystem.

``Each tank has several layers of net bags that are half-filled with short lengths of black drainage pipe, which provide a dry platform for the worms and other organisms.''

Worms are introduced to the tank after two people have been living in the house for about a month.

``One kilogram of worms is introduced after this period of time - the reason for the delay is so there is something for the worms to begin working on straight away.

``If a family of five moves into the house, the worms could be introduced earlier, at around two weeks.''

All the household waste water - which is termed grey and black - goes into the tank, along with waste from the kitchen sink waste disposal, if one is fitted. You don't have to have a waste disposal, but worms love kitchen scraps, so it seems logical to make the most of this. These days, many of us have busy lives and there's not always time to make home compost.

``The turnaround time is very quick. The liquid content is filtered down by gravity and is available for pumping when there is approximately 200 litres collected,'' Robert says.

``The liquid that collects at the bottom of the tank is then pumped into a pressure-compensated drip irrigation system which runs around the plantings surrounding the house.

``Based on a three-bedroom home, there are 540 linear metres of dripper irrigation which is covered in bark or other mulch.

``The pump operates at pressure, and the diaphragms in the drip irrigation pipes won't open until the pressure is right. They all open at 11psi, ensuring there is even distribution on all the line.

``The pump can also be fitted with a distribution indexing valve, which allows it to pump waste water to one side of the garden one day and the other the next, and this can be split into as many fields as you would like. This helps ensure each area of the garden receives a thorough watering, which is more beneficial for the plants.

``This waste water can be used on grapes, fruit trees, citrus and roses - in fact, anything that grows above ground. It is not advised that it be used where root crops such as potatoes or carrots are being grown."

Here is another explanation of How Biolytix Works.

I don't work for Biolytix and I dont expect to pay anything less than full price for my system, but this product has won many awards and deserves free pubilicity.

We do like to be beside the seaside.

2009-01-15T17:24:00.006+11:00

Across Australia the areas which have the fastest growing populations are the outer coastal suburbs. Census statistics from the 2006 census show that most of these people have moved to the coast from inland regions and State capital cities.
As a result of internal migration from 1996 - 2001 the State of Queensland had a net population gain of over 82,000 people.

This is not a new trend. In 2003, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted population analyst Bernard Salt, "Eleven million people now live inside a capital city and a third concentration of Australians has emerged in the last 20 years on the provincial coast," he said.

In 2004 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, "The Federal Government will be urged to establish a program to fund vital infrastructure to meet the needs of growing coastal populations.
The push will come from the recently established national seachange task force which seeks ways to best manage the population drift toward coast communities."

People move for many reasons. Mention holidays to most people and you are likely to evoke memories of sea and sand. It seems that when we want to unwind and enjoy ourselves, the coast is a good place to be.
And and climate is a big factor. The though of never having to live through another cold winter or another stinking hot inland summer has it's appeal.

Temperature variations between inland and costal locations on a large landmass can be considerable. The sea acts as a moderating influence on the coast because a large body of water is a slow but good conductor, warming steadily over the warmer months beore starting to cool again. Land on the other hand heats and cools quickly. The technical term is Continentality.
A costal location like Edinburgh, Scotland can have mild summers (11 to 19 degrees)and cool winters (1 to 6), while in Russia, Moscow, the same distance from the equator as Edinburgh, has warm summers (13 to 23), and freezing winters, -9 to -16).

For those about to Seachange a benign climate has a direct bearing on sustainability and the ongoing cost of maintaining your lifestyle in the future.

By living in a climate where you dont need heavy winter clothing;
Where a well designed house can be heated and cooled naturally;
Where the sun can heat your hot water;
Where you can be paid to feed solar power back into the national grid;
Where you can grow vegetables all year round.

The environment benefits and you feel good because you are reducing your carbon footprint.

And you spend a lot less on bills so have more disposable income.

Your seachange move to the right location can lead to a win win situation for you and the environment.

The tide is high.

2009-01-13T13:46:00.008+11:00

By definition a seachange involves living by the sea. Not necessarily on a waterfront property, but certainly close enough to be cooled by the sea breeze.

The most desirable and therefore expensive properties have in the past been located as close as possible to the water. Water views are seen as very desirable and uninterrupted ocean views are the stuff of real estate agents' dreams.

Absolute waterfront property has in the past commanded the highest price but climate change is forcing many to reconsider the wisdom of living at or close to sea level.
Extreme weather events, flooding and unusually high tides have the potential to threaten many waterfront properties.

According to The New South Wales, Australia, Department of the Environment and Climate Change "In the coastal zone, storms may combine with a rise in the sea level to worsen coastal erosion."

On the Australian east coast the highest tides in 18 years have just been experienced. Known as King Tides these annual events are seen as a glimpse into the future when water levels will be higher than today. This year the New South Wales, Australia, Department of the Environment and Climate Change co-ordinated a project to photographically record the event. Benign weather patterns meant that in New South Wales, this month's King Tides passed without much incident.

Further north but still in Australia AAP reported a very different story.

"Emergency services are on standby in north Queensland as forecasters warn of heavy rain, flash flooding and damaging winds in and around Townsville and Mackay.
A combination of torrential rain and king tides inundated about 100 homes and closed roads in Cairns on Monday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Michelle Berry said the highest falls overnight were south of Cairns.
Ingham has recorded 314mm since 9am (AEST) on Monday, Cardwell had 249mm and 237mm fell on South Mission Beach.

There is a lesson here for all of us. It sure would might be nice to have the beach at your doorstep, at least until nature conspires to turn your home into a houseboat.

The woman and I have already had the very unpleasant experience of watching your house being flooded with runoff from propety on higher ground. Its hard to imagine what might happen if eight inches (200mm) of rain falls on your house in two days. I would rather know that my house is never going to flood. So this time we bought land on the high side of the street. If the sea level ever rises by 20 metres we will be in trouble but I am willing to bet that it won't happen in my lifetime!

When you decide to move, make sure you pick a location out of reach of rising waters and high enough to ensure that run-off does just that - runs off your property and into the drainage system.

Buying somewhere to live.

2009-01-07T10:17:00.020+11:00

We all have experience of finding a roof over our head so I wont bore you with the bleeding obvious or pretend that I have any secret knowledge about how to get your piece of paradise at a bargain price.

What I will do is briefly mention some of what we learned in the quest for somewhere to build.

Having chosen the general location where you want to live you then need to get specific.

Even if you plan on becoming an entirely self-sufficient hermit, there will be a town nearby and a local authority who will seek to relieve you of serious money for the privilege of living within their jurisdiction.

A major decision is whether to buy an established home or a vacant piece of dirt on which to build your sustainable dream.

In most locations the prospect of buying a purpose built sustainable home is slim indeed.

The theory behind sustainable housing ideas such as passive solar design, have been known to man since before the might of the Roman Empire.
But in The West, almost no one cared until the last few decades.

And even now the majority of new domestic housing only conforms in part to environmentally good design because governments are forcing new homes to incorporate energy efficient features.

Existing houses can be made much more environmentally friendly. You can of course retro-fit products such as solar panels or water tanks to an old house. And vegetables can be planted in even the smallest of gardens.

But the fact remains that if you want to live in an environmentally friendly passive solar designed house with all the good features, you are probably going to have to build new.

That means you will be buying an old house to demolish or vacant land which is zoned to allow a house to be built upon it.

There are some land buying tips here from a US based website.

Closer to town, vacant land may be hard to find and will almost certainly be more expensive than land further out. Out of town, services may be less well developed so that you may for example have no connection to sewerage or you may have to rely on collecting your own rainwater.

The lack of services such as town water and sewerage can be seen both as an expensive inconvenience and a blessing.
You have to install your own rainwater tanks and pumps but you will never again have to pay the water utility company for water.

The same goes for sewerage. Modern residential sewage disposal systems such as Biolytix are very efficient and can be used to water your garden as well. And you dont pay any bills related to sewerage.

The Woman and I decided on some land which is zoned rural-residential. Its basically subject to the same regulations as an urban building block but is much larger in size at just over 4,800 square metres.

For the same price we could have bought five acres (20,000 + square metres) further out of town but we feel our block is large enough for us to do all we want without taking on the extra work involved in maintaining anything larger.

Even a vacant block of land has to be maintained. Neighbours will not tolerate overgrown grass or weeds which could be home to vermin, or dead trees and shrubs which could be a fire hazard. Be prepared to do some yard work or pay to have it done.

The land you buy has to be suitable for what you intend to do with it and whilst that sounds too obvious, there may be factors which make it unsuitable. Such factors may not be immediately obvious.

You may want to read The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries note Some Precautions When Buying Rural Land

Try to find out what it the land was used for in the past.

Amazingly, some land is actually toxic, poisoned by previous use.

In the past Organochlorines such as DDT were routinely used around buildings for termite control and on vegetables and fruit for pest control.

Arsenic was used in sheep dip and on deciduous fruit.

High levels of Cadmium can appear in soils which have been heavily treated with phosphate fertilisers.

The list goes on. Beware.

Also make sure the water table is where it should be and will not be rising to meet you the next time it rains heavily. Check that there are no underground streams which could undermine your buildings or cause damp problems.

Its up to you to ask the questions. Talk to the locals, talk to the neighbours.

Sellers are unlikely to advise you that you will be under the flight path of a proposed runway.

When it comes to price you are less likely to get ripped off than when buying an established house but you still need to look at what similar properties are selling for and be prepared to pay a bit extra for land which has features such as sea views.

And always haggle. Be prepared to walk away if the vendor will not negotiate what you think is a fair price. Like any saleable commodity a block of land is only worth as much as a buyer is willing to pay for it.

As many of us have found to our dismay, events beyond our control such as the recent financial crisis can wipe many thousands off the value of real estate. If you can take advantage of the downturn then lucky you.

But if you are buying somewhere to build your dream then paying a premium to get what you want is worth it because if all goes to plan, what you are buying is your future happiness.

Only you can decide if the house you want will go on the land you buy.

Remember that there is a lot more to placing a house on a block than just making sure it will fit.

Passive solar design requires that the house be oriented correctly and that solar panels can be located to receive unobstructed sunlight.

Prevailing winter and summer winds may also influence where the house goes.

There may well be practical considerations which stop you obtaining maximum benefit from passive solar design.

Proximity to neighbours or building to maximise nice views may mean a compromise in the quest for maximum sustainability.

Our block used to be part of a pineapple plantation. It has a slope of about 1:13 and the house will be built on the higher part of the block.

The block will never flood and its elevated position in relation to adjacent blocks means that we will catch the breeze and take advantage of some water views.

Climate and Weather.

2009-01-05T12:03:00.013+11:00

Climate vs Weather. According to the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change
A good description of the relationship between climate and weather is the saying "climate is what you expect, weather is what you get". Climate is essentially a long term description of weather patterns like rain, wind, temperature, sunshine and so on.

Certainly in Britain and possibly in the rest of the world too, the most popular way to start a conversation is to talk about the weather.

Living a sustainable lifestyle will require that you do more than talk about it.

When it comes to building a passive solar sustainable house, knowledge of the weather, or more correctly the local climate and the micro climate, is crucial.

When building a sustainable house it is critical that the local climate is taken into account.

The micro climate of your exact location dictates the type of house you need.

Can the house be oriented to take advantage of the climate and sunlight?

What types of building materials will be used?

Is there enough roof facing the sun so that PV solar panels and solar hot water heating systems can be installed?

The duration of sunlight you can expect on a sunny day can help you plan your solar electricity system. A Sunrise and Sunset Calculator can be found at timeanddate.com

How much insulation will you need?

Is double glazing justified?

Which way does the wind blow at different times of the day?

How can you use that wind to make your house more comfortable to live in and more energy efficient?

Is there a sea breeze?

In the previous post I listed some temperatures for where we will live.
Obviously what will be right for us will not always be right for others. Every location is different.

You can get mean average temperatures for most locations from a variety of websites.
These temperatures should be taken into consideration as you make your plans.

You should ascertain the path of the sun in your area at different times of the year.

Try to get a Sun-Path diagram like the ones here for your location.

Irrespective of climatic and geographical differences, the basic principles of passive solar design and sustainable housing remain valid wherever you build.

Even in cool and wet climates, passive solar principles should be incorporated into building design.

You might be far removed from a tropical climate but you can still make the sun can still work for you.

You want to move where?

2009-01-05T10:22:00.017+11:00

As we said, The Woman and I will leave the big city of Sydney and move north to a coastal location where the climate is sub-tropical and the sea is in view.

Those of you who paid attention in geography classes will know that Sydney is in the state of New South Wales Australia and that a move north to a sub-tropical climate will land you in the state of Queensland Australia.

The location we have chosen to move to is known these days as The Fraser Coast.

We will live at Hervey Bay. Not in the city but on the outskirts, on a 4800 square metre, (One and one quarter acre) building block which is zoned Rural Residential and is in the vicinity of River Heads where the vehicular ferry crosses daily to Fraser Island.

Why choose to move to Hervey Bay?

The Woman and I know that Hervey Bay has its critics and if you want to read what others have to say, good and bad, just search the internet. For visitors the local council portray it like this.

We have been regular visitors to the area since 1986. We have seen the area grow at a tremendous rate over that time. Hervey back is no longer the little collection of sleepy seaside villages it once was.

With a population of over 50,000 Hervey Bay is now a major Australian tourist destination serviced daily by air from major Australian cities. A flight from Sydney takes less than 90 minutes.

The body of water which is Hervey Bay is one of the world's best locations for watching Whales. Hervey Bay boat harbour offers the shortest crossing Fraser Island which is world heritage listed.

Climate wise, our location looks some 10 kilometers east towards the more exposed Fraser Island from where these temperature readings were taken.
Mean Daily Maximum Temperature ranges from 29.4C in January to 21.1C in July. Minimum temperatures range from 22.4C in February to 14.3C in July.

Mean annual rainfall is 1,269mm. Average clear days 111pa with 118 rain days.

At various times of the year we have have had holidays in the area so we know what its like to live in Hervey Bay whatever the month is.

The exact location where people chose to live is usually dictated by their needs at that time. Schools, shops, public transport, distance to work, etc.

For us the criteria are different. Of course we want access to shops and restaurants and other services such as hospitals etc.

But our aim is for a move to a semi-rural lifestyle without sacrificing too much that a big town has to offer.

So we bought a large block with room for a permaculture garden.

Room for large rainwater tanks to collect all the water we will need. And room for solar panels.

We chose our location after careful consideration of many factors including the micro climate.

Sea breezes from the north and east will cool our elevated house.

All year round we can have a productive permaculture garden which never stops producing vegetables, fruit and eggs.

But dont take our word for it.

Check out a couple of internet forums which discuss the area:

http://frasercoastforums.com

www.herveybaycomputer.com/forum/index.php

.

We do our homework

2008-12-30T18:42:00.002+11:00

The sharing of information is one of the main reasons that this blog exists.

Making a sustainable seachange is a multi-faceted endeavour which may involve:

moving far away; adopting new ways of living; understanding new technologies;

building a house; learning new skills; making lifestyle changes; growing food; etc.

Almost certainly, all of these things demand that you acquire knowledge which you previously did not possess.

This blog will guide you to many of the sources of the knowledge you need.

What makes us fit for the task is that your hosts, The Woman and I are information professionals. We are experienced librarians, trained and practiced in the art of Finding Out.

And as we are finding out, you have to do your homework.

Because many of the people you would expect to have the answers to your questions simply don't know.

Others think they know but they don't. And everyone has an opinion, an agenda or an ulterior motive.

Make sure your decisions are informed decisions.

A few words on shades of Green.

2008-12-30T18:05:00.001+11:00

Isn't it ironic Alanis, how Green politics used to be the domain of left-wing, tree-hugging environmentalists?

Now, Green is mainstream. No longer do you have to seek out the alternative lifestyle press! The cover story of the 6 December 2008 issue of New Scientist magazine. is "Go off grid...how to be totally self sufficient"
(Of course there is not much New about the Science involved. Passive solar design principles were used by the ancients!)

These days it is fashionabe to be Green to the point where the capitalist ideology, (Responsible for the pollution which is largely causing climate change) is now profiting from the sale of everything supposedly environmentally friendly.

But you dont need to live in a mud brick hut and be a card-carrying member of Greenpeace to appreciate the benefits of making a Sustainable Seachange.

As much as we admire those who are, The Woman and I don't see ourselves as latter day hippies or out and out Greenies.

Sure, we want to reduce our carbon footprint. We want to consume less. We want to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Grow our own organic food. Get our electricity free from the sun and our water free from the rain which falls on our roof.

Why? Because it all makes sense.

Sure it costs more in the beginning, but it reduces your ongoing costs so that as a retiree, (Whether as a self-funded retiree or on a government pension), you will have more disposable income.

For life's little luxuries!

Why blog about it?

2008-12-30T17:39:00.001+11:00

The Woman and I intend to make a sustainable seachange by:

a) Leaving the city behind for a quieter life.

b) Building a more sustainable, greener home and lifestyle by using free natural resources to reduce our carbon footprint and our living expenses.

We know a lot of people have already done what we are planning to do.
Others are part of the way through the change and for still others, its only a dream.

It is our intention that this blog will document our experiences from the decision to make the change right through to when the house is built and we are eating produce from our own garden.

Blogging about every aspect of the change will give us a record of our experiences which we hope may be theraputic for us and beneficial to others.

If you come across our blog by accident or design we hope you will share your experiences or ask your questions so that other visitors can have have the benefit of our shared wisdom.

So read on. And come back often.

The plan is...

2008-12-17T11:32:00.001+11:00

A couple of baby boomers will leave the big city of Sydney and move north to a coastal location where the climate is sub-tropical and the sea is in view.

The plan is to built a passive-solar environmentally friendly house on a rural-residential block of land big enough to support a permaculture garden and some fruit trees.

On-going living costs are to be minimised through the use of grid-feed solar electricity, solar hot water, growing our own vegetables and fruit and having a supply of fresh eggs from our own chickens.

We will collect and store our own rain water so no water bills for us.
No to sewerage also means no bills for a sewerage service either.

The objective is to create a comfortable and affordable lifestyle where we can enjoy middle age and beyond.

Sustainable Seachange explained.

2008-12-16T19:15:00.005+11:00

So what do we mean by a Sustainable Seachange? Wikipedia says,

"Sustainable living refers to a specific lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprints by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet."

One definition of Seachange is an "Australian demographic phenomenon." "A seachange (or sea change) is an abandonment of city living in favour of a perceived 'easier life' in rural coastal communities. The term derives from the popular ABC TV television series SeaChange, which triggered the phenomenon of many city-dwellers mimicking the drama's protagonist's escape from urban life. "

And for our purposes, these definitions will suffice. Thank you Wikipedia