Environmentality 11 February 2015, Robyn Deed, Editor of Renew Magazine

We cannot continue to live on this planet like we have another one to go to. Living a more sustainable existence is a must if we as a species are going to continue to flourish. This week's show was all about living more sustainably in the modern world through providing real life examples and all the latest technology and innovations to help us live the dream of sustainability! Listen to the show here.


Issue 130

Our guest today was Robyn Deed, editor of Renew Magazine published by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA). ATA is a non-profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. We spoke to Robyn regarding some of the articles in the Magazine and sustainability in general.  Robyn talked us through the article “Greeny flat experiment”  featured in the renew magazine where the author Andy Lemann shares how his first attempt to build an energy efficient full scale living house on a limited budget was a success. This piece highlighted some important factors that must be considered in house design/ retrofit in order to be sustainable including the layout of the house, the insulation, window positions, double gazing, low flow plumbing fixtures and many more. For more details, this is a direct link to the online version of the article.



Another article that was highlighted during the show was the “Energy Efficient Cooking” by Alan Pears.  There were some basic tips we could do to save the usage of energy in our kitchens. One interesting one was the fact that just putting the lid on while cooking can dramatically reduce energy losses while cooking.

Gazpacho soup

While on the topic of saving energy with cooking, Jamie mentioned the popular Spanish soup, Gazpacho, which is served cold! While it saves energy wasted in cooking, it also is a delight to your taste buds and is refreshing in this hot climate like ours. Maybe you can try your own “Gazpacho Soup” watching listening to this week’s show?! http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/gazpacho

The Timor-Leste Project by Dave Carlos was another topic we talked about on the show where he has written about solar-powered lights being provided to a remote villages in Timor-Leste and how it has changed the lives of many people living there as well as the volunteers travelling there to help install.

Installing solar panels for lighting in remote Timor-Leste villages

There are heaps more articles in the magazine that we were not able to cover (as usual!) so head to the Renew website to read all the latest.

Next week we have our resident gardening expert, Jodi Jackson so don’t miss it!

Environmentality wants to thank Smriti Panday for her contributions to this week's blog.
 

This week's music tracks

Steal the Light by The Cat Empire

Silent Night by Gurrumul and Delta Goodrem

Fear Of Failure by The Basics

Hills of Brisbane by James Blundell