Blog
Why is the world heating, and what can we do?
Telling it like it is The Convenor of Lighter Footprints, Jenny Smithers, started off the 2025 Kooyong Candidates Forum with a brief overview of the state of the climate. "My professional life has been working as a GP, so no surprise, my first message is from the...
Koyoong Candidates Forum – 500+ turn up for democracy!
Kooyong Candidates Forum Blog Under three banners ‘Engage’, ‘Influence’ and ‘Advocate’, the Convenor of Lighter Footprints, Jenny Smithers, welcomed the large audience in the Hawthorn Town Hall to the Kooyong Candidates Forum. This event has become a much-anticipated...
Meet the Chisholm Candidates! Future Energy Forum wrap
Find out what the Chisholm candidates said about climate and energy! Short on time? Check out our comparative candidate quotes pdf! Dive into the Facebook Album for images, quotes, links to expert argument and full candidate transcript as comments under the images as...
Powering 2025 with Simon Holmes à Court and Ric Brazzale
Held for the first time in the Malvern Town Hall, the Lighter Footprints annual energy transition event featuring Simon Holmes à Court and Ric Brazzale was a big success. The 400 attendees were treated to an inviting array of community organisation stalls, an engaging...
Rain and shine – volunteering at the Ashburton Festival
"For the Kids". So true at the Ashburton Festival - climate volunteers getting out there for kids, families turning up with kids. This is why we step up and talk of all the good things that climate action can bring to communities, and listen deeply to parents, busy...
Launching Kooyong Votes Climate!
The community really turned out to launch our 2025 Kooyong Votes Climate campaign. Starting off with a bang! Sarah Hegarty said that the campaign launch was fantastic. "A highlight for me was to see the venue packed out with people - just about standing room only!...
Local Government Working Group response to Boroondara Council Community Consultation on the Climate Action Plan February 2025
Lighter Footprints Local Government Working Group Response to Community Consultation on Climate Action Plan The Local Government Working Group is pleased to be able to provide feedback to Boroondara Council on the progress of the implementation of the Climate Action...
Getting out on the streets!
One on one conversations really matter They are our most effective form of communication with our community. Our Saturday morning conversations interrupt people in their daily lives and say implicitly, “Look up, climate change matters, you need to think about this...
Bluesky basics – Education and mobilisation
Can Bluesky become a new Twitter? Part A: Bluesky - helping to get people to field campaigns and election events In the 2022 election, particularly in Kooyong, Twitter was used extensively in helping to gather volunteers and getting them to campaign events as well as...
Material benefits, and staying the course: Lessons from the US
Trump's election and climate Although a major setback, climate impacts can be lessened if other countries stay the course Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics writes “The energy transition is now well under way. The economics of renewable technologies are so attractive...
Climate wins in 2024: Boroondara’s historic result
What a win! From a pretty conservative Council to a strong climate-active majority The result is historic, a profound shift, and a testament to the huge volunteer efforts for individual progressive Councillors across Boroondara. As Lighter Footprints committee member...
Consideration needed – Camberwell Activity Centre proposal
Activity Centre Proposal Camberwell has been designated by the state government as an Activity Centre ‘pilot’ with the plan to implement the rules developed across metropolitan Melbourne. The State government’s Camberwell Activity Centre includes the Commercial ‘Core’...
Energy Policy: Facts and Fiction blog
Energy Policy: Facts and Fiction with Dr Dylan McConnell In order to be strong advocates for the energy policy Australia needs to rapidly decarbonise the Lighter Footprints community seeks information from well credentialed experts. On Wednesday 21st August we were...
Energy Compare: Quick wins on energy bills
Can you believe it? Attendees at the upcoming Electrify Boroondara Expo could probably save a total of $100,000 per annum if they used the Victorian Energy Compare website! Let's justify this claim! In December 2023 the ACCC published a report into the National...
Kew Recreation Centre Presentation
Presentation of Petition to the City of Boroondara The Kew Recreation Centre is undergoing a major redevelopment, however in October 2022 a section of the steel roof structure partially collapsed. There is more detail on progress here on the Boroondara Council’s...
Nuclear & CCS: Wrong turn or right turn?
After all these years of numerous detours, blind alleys or failed energy plans, coupled with Peter Dutton’s nuclear challenge, it’s time for a clear-eyed look at some energy supply facts. What about nuclear, and what is the likely impact of the Liberal policy? What...
Knowledge is power – control your energy bills, increase home comfort
Despite the wintery conditions, was an enthusiastic audience to listen to our speakers Tim Forcey, David Coote, Ken Parker and David Strang, learn about electrifying and increasing their home’s energy efficiency, and launch Tim Forcey's new book, The Efficient...
How to make a personal contribution on the road to net zero
What can we do and why? The road to net zero is one we must travel and it is important that we arrive as soon as possible. The good news is that every individual can play their part even if the heavy lifting must be done by Government and Industry. Lighter...
Richard Denniss: We can and we must get cracking on clean energy and climate!
There are more people washing poodles or serving Big Macs than working in the gas industry, but Australians still believe that fossil fuels are the backbone of Australia. Why is this, and what are we going to do about breaking free of coal and gas industries’ death grip on our politics? Tough talk and a hopeful message from Richard Denniss.
Boroondara’s new Tree Canopy Strategy 2024
The role canopy trees play in providing shade and countering the urban heat island effect. Image credit: GroupGSA Tree Canopy The tree canopy in Boroondara includes trees in streets and transport corridors, parks and nature reserves, private gardens, waterway...
Your 2030 Home and Neighbourhood
On 17th April 2024 we held a public meeting at the Balwyn Park Centre to discuss what changes are likely between now and 2030 in our homes and in our neighbourhoods. We had three knowledgeable speakers addressing the issues followed by a lively Q and A session.
Help make forest protection permanent: Forests Working Group updates
AUGUST UPDATE New Threat: Vic Forests reinvents itself as the "Healthy Forests Foundation" ABC journalist Michael Slezak writes that senior Vic Forests staff, have "teamed up with other powerful industry bosses to set up a new organisation", to provide "active...
Submissions by the Energy Transition Group
About the Lighter Footprints Energy Transition Working Group The Energy Transitions Group meets fortnightly with a focus on pulling together energy data, latest innovations and submissions to government and making climate solutions accessible to a variety of...
The State of the Forests and the Recovery Challenge
Our 27th September public meeting at the Balwyn Park Centre was a standing room only event. You can view the event here. We welcomed a capacity crowd and listened intently to the three passionate forest defenders; Professor David Lindenmayer from ANU with Sue McKinnon...
Greater Glider Spotlighting Magic at Toolangi Forest
Family forest adventure and Greater Glider spotlighting On Saturday 16th September Lighter Footprints, Boroondara ACF and Kinglake Friends of the Forest hosted our first Family Forest event. It was a most wonderful event. We had over 60 participants ranging in age...
Increase the comfort of your home!
Learn more about being cooler in summer and warmer in winter Lighter Footprints members were delighted to welcome two experienced industry speakers talking about increasing home comfort (and lowering energy bills) through draught proofing and insulation. A big thanks...
Public EV chargers: what’s available in Boroondara Council area (and Stonnington and Whitehorse Councils)
Where can I access a public charger for my EV around Boroondara?
Going all electric at home! Do I need 3-phase and a new switchboard??
Many households and apartments will be well on the way to being ‘all electric’ over the next five to ten years.
Home owners are wondering ‘do I need to go 3-phase? And do I need to upgrade my switchboard’?
Agriculture – on farm and off-farm Climate Action
Success stories and challenges On July 26th Lighter Footprints was delighted to welcome 3 subject matter experts from quite different farming backgrounds, but who all 'live ag' and are working in different ways for climate action and climate resilience. The three...
Reducing your hot water costs
Hot water systems are one of the biggest energy users in the home, accounting for around 21 per cent of total energy use.
This can have a significant impact on household energy bills. One way to keep these costs under control is to install an efficient hot water system such as a heat pump hot water.
Monique Ryan: the First Year
Dr Monique Ryan MP was elected to Parliament on 21 May 2022. She rode a teal wave of optimism for action on climate change, integrity in government and gender equality. A full house at the Balwyn Park Centre came to hear Dr Ryan's reflections on her first year in...
Electrify our homes with Tim Forcey and Dr Genevieve Cowie
On May 24th Lighter Footprints was delighted to welcome home energy expert Tim Forcey and public health physician Dr Genevieve Cowie to our meeting on electrification. The summary below has blue links in bold to the full video presentation chapter points. You can...
The Difference Between Passivhaus (Passive House) and Passive Solar Buildings
Sustainable Architecture: Passivhaus (Passive House) vs Passive Solar Buildings This article relates to alterations, renovations and new builds. It attempts to clarify the differences between the passive solar design and Passivhaus design approaches. Many people...
Energy Efficiency – the basics
Simple steps can make your home warmer in winter, cooler in summer, lower energy costs, reduce dust, vermin, bugs and noise. Draught Proofing What are draughts? Draughts are uncontrolled outside air entering our homes through gaps and holes. They differ from...
In discussion with IPCC authors: Two brilliant recordings
IPCC Webinars Lighter Footprints is pleased to share two recordings of recent webinars on the latest IPCC Synthesis Report and Summary for Policymakers released 20 March 2023. This is perhaps the most important synthesis report in the IPCC cycle because the next one...
Is Your Home Making You Sick?
Making our homes more comfortable and better for our health Replacing gas appliances with electric and making our homes more efficient and comfortable with improve our families health Too many of our homes are too cold in winter, too damp, too hot in summer and have...
Australia and Russia lag the developed world on vehicle fuel standards
Australia must bring in vehicle fuel efficiency standards to 'catch up' We are asking RACV members to pressure RACV and the peak body, AAA Read this blog for pointers on sending a short email or comment to the RACV and the AAA Lack of stringent Fuel Efficiency...
We need real emission reductions, not offsets
What's wrong with land-based offsets? The important Land Gap Report gives a definitive, quantitative ‘no’ to reliance on land-based offsets given that offsets: take up too much land - Cumulative land-based solutions would add up to 1,200 million hectares globally....
Innovate 2023 with Simon Holmes à Court
Annual Energy Update 2023 with Simon Holmes à Court It’s been a momentous year in 2022. In Australia, we are close to fossils/renewables crossover, Victoria’s electricity is now 40% clean, and in the US a Tesla Model 3 is now cheaper to drive away than the...
Can we rely on land-based solutions to offset burning fossil fuels?
Image source and acknowledgement: The Land Gap report The pressure on land in carbon dioxide removal In response to climate change, governments are increasingly relying on land for carbon dioxide removal. This is particularly true in Australia, notorious for its use...
Saving forests, Ditching gas
Two major environmental concerns leading up to the November state election for friends and members of Lighter Footprints are stopping logging in Victoria's forests and getting off gas. On Wednesday 28 September, Lighter Footprints welcomed Chris Schuringa, the...
Federal Climate Policy, reactions, some questions and responses
Overview Labor's climate bill passes the lower house Amended by Greens and independents to make 43% by 2030 a floor, not a ceiling, Labor's climate bill passes the lower house, and heads to a Senate inquiry which is due to report by the end of August. The Liberals...
CARBON CREDITS: Dodgy offsets or the real deal?
Photo credit: Jaccob McKay/Unsplash The following is a summary of the Lighter Footprints event "CARBON CREDITS: Dodgy offsets or the real deal?" held on Wednesday 27 July 2022. The recording is available here. Moderator Tim Baxter, Senior Researcher for Climate...
Responses to the Victorian Gas Substitution Roadmap
Summary Although the Victorian Gas Substitution Roadmap (VGSR) creates an expectation that Victoria will move away from fossil gas, the limited measures proposed fall short of what is needed to move Victoria, the heaviest gas-using state, away from gas at a speed that...
Star of the South – Offshore Wind in Victoria
Lighter Footprints: June 29th on Offshore Wind We were fortunate to have Naomi Campbell, the Development Director of Star of the South and Pat Simons, Yes2Renewables Coordinator speaking at our June 29th event on offshore wind. You can listen to our speakers again on...
Offshore Wind
Offshore Wind in Australia Australian Potential The potential for offshore wind is huge. University of Technology, Sydney experts writing in the Conversation state that “Offshore wind projects can provide a win-win-win for Australia: creating jobs for displaced fossil...
Protecting our beautiful, carbon dense Victorian forests
The Bill has passed the Upper House. It was proposed by Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, (03) 8392 2261 on reception.thomas@minstaff.vic.gov.au or mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au, Electorate Office (03) 5428 2138. With proposed legislation that includes...
Carbon credits and carbon markets
As countries move to decarbonise their economies, companies are trying to offset their emissions by buying carbon credits. You can think of carbon credits as a “permission slip” to emit up to a certain set amount of CO2e that year. Most of today’s interim solutions to...
Congratulations! Campaign highlights for Kooyong, Chisholm and Higgins
Finally a climate election! No-one will forget watching the results on Saturday 21st, glued to the screen, excitement mounting as results trickled, then flooded across the country. As Vote Compass reminds us, the top voting issue in all of our electorate is climate,...
The Big Switch- Australia’s electric future
Introduction In his book, "The Big Switch- Australia’s electric future", Saul Griffith tells us that he wrote this book because the world has a climate emergency and he, as an innovative engineer, wants passionately to help solve it. Benefits here would include lower...
Climate Change and Action: An Overview
I hope that this op-ed will help readers understand the basics of climate change on planet Earth; the solutions for mitigating it; and inspire their passion for doing so. Background- our wonderful luck and responsibility in being part of Earth’s evolution of life Our...
The health impacts of climate change
Source: Lens, Monash University, "Bushfire smoke, air quality and the risk to your health" Health impacts of climate change are happening everywhere. It is happening now and is getting worse. The World Health Organisation has declared climate change to be one of the...
Climate Change and National Security
While national security may not be the first concern that comes to mind in terms of climate risk, the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group (ASLCG) has significant concerns about the security implications of climate change in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Successive Australian governments have underestimated climate risk.
Floods and climate change
The PM, Scott Morrison, declared the recent catastrophic floods a national emergency and called it an unprecedented “1-in-500 year event” that “no-one was predicting.” But was it? Was the government warned? What is the science behind this extreme recent flooding event? What are the chances of it happening again? And how should Australia respond now?
Climate change and food security
The impact of climate change on the food supply is being felt in Australia and around the world. For adaptation and mitigation to be effective throughout the food system, enabling conditions need to be created through policies, markets, institutions and governance. Adaptation is not sustainable without deep cuts to emissions and government leadership.
Solar Advantage
So what are the benefits of using solar power and just how can you get started? This short article will help you with these questions. For many people, it would take many hours to research these issues. This is where access to trusted information, for instance from...
Meet Our Community
Writer Matilda Bowra, photographer Julian Meehan and IT expert Simon Grosser worked to together to create profiles of the Lighter Footprints community members. Many thanks to Matilda, Julian and Simon for putting together the Community Climate Action page which...
Putting on Solar – Lighter Footprints Solar Stories
Rooftop Solar PV is now very affordable, reducing your energy bills and lowering your carbon emissions However, for many people wanting to install solar, they often face difficulty in deciding the type and size of solar rooftop installation or finding a reputable...
Act now or face the consequences
For far too long politicians and voters have avoided taking climate action because it is difficult or because they can leave it to future generations. The “too hard” option is now the only option. Massive change is already taking place. We must take immediate action...
Join the resistance – to gas
The case against Australia's gas expansion 1) The Australian government is banking on a tax payer funded 'gas-fired recovery' The government has put its 5 Basin gas-fired recovery plan as central to its economic vision for exports, ignoring industry forecasts and...
Gas-fired recovery facts
Gas is a dirty fuel, and a gas-fired recovery won’t lower prices or bring new jobs. Instead of throwing potentially “billions” of public funds at an industry in deep distress we could transition straight through to large scale renewables, and free up gas for industry by saving money with electric heating and cooling.
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