John Connor, CEO, The Climate Institute endorses The Plan

Posted by on June 13, 2012 · 1 Comment 

John Connor, CEO, The Climate Institute, has read the Plan to make a suburb sustainable – the Sustainable Communities Plan – and has endorsed it in these terms: ‘Tackling climate change requires ambition and action from all directions: top down; bottom up, and; from all sides.  Your plan is fresh thinking from the ground up and a few laterals thrown in. It persuasively sets out a vision which reveals a prosperity that is smarter,... Read More

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Making units green

Posted by on June 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment 

Article about making units green, positives, negatives, red tape, solutions and barriers to change: www.thefifthestate.com…   and here:   theplan.sustainablehouse.com…  Read More

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Sustainability education courses in Australia

Posted by on June 7, 2012 · Leave a Comment 

A question popped in my email some time ago but I lost track of it until reminded today: “Hi Michael Hope this email finds you well. In late 2010 I visited your house – thanks again for opening your doors. Since then I’ve read your book and am very interested to know whether there are any tertiary / TAFE courses (or otherwise) which focus on sustainable house design. I understand that architectural degrees do, to an extent. A permaculture... Read More

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Making ice without electricity

Posted by on June 7, 2012 · 1 Comment 

An ice house in Iran - Image from Gardens of Persia, Penelope Hobhouse, photo by Jerry Harpur, published by Floriligium (yes, the same wonderful gardening bookshop in Glebe) Four hundred or so years ago Persian engineers made ice without electricity. Ice houses (yakhchal in Farsi, or icehouse) kept ice in the burning heat of the Iran plateau.  They’re rarely used today. They’re up to 20 metres high and 6 or so metres below ground.  A single... Read More

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Another turn around the sun

Posted by on June 6, 2012 · Leave a Comment 

“Getting old is not for sissies”, said my aunt Maude. Why then, sissy that I am, do I mark today another turn around the sun? Enough already. Time to pause, consider what’s important.  Well, another turn would be beaut. Walked out early into the wild, wild wind of this morning.  Branches all over from the night’s storm. As I gathered up some branches to bring home for a fire, thinking about journeys around the sun, two people... Read More

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  • Michael Mobbs

    Michael is a former Environmental Lawyer who is uniquely placed to consult in four main areas:

    • Sustainability Coach and Speaker,
    • Sustainable Urban Farm Design greening, watering and cooling the cityscape, roads, parks, suburbs,
    • Major Projects Consultant Commercial and Industrial,
    • Residential Sustainability Consultant.
    For permission to re-print any articles or to book Michael for a speaking engagement go to Contacts. Please ensure all quotes from Michael's blog include a reference to sustainablehouse.com....au.