How efficient are solar panels on my house after 19 years?

To check the efficiency of the solar panels on my house after 19 years of use, and to obtain regular reports on them, I’m receiving a report from Solar Analytics. The first report is here as a PDF and you’re welcome to download it and read it for yourself. SA-Report-Mobbs_Chippendale-01.2015  Read More

Join a small class and talk with leaders building cool roads and neighbourhoods

I’m blogging to invite you to join us and work with leaders in their fields in the new short course at Sydney’s UTS - How to build a sustainable neighbourhood.   Leading speakers who will present costs, design, politics and industry experience about small and large projects include: a Council Mayor, a NSW government Parliamentary Secretary, a Chief of Staff in the NSW government, a Council Manager of Sustainability, a Council General Manager, experts from the Australian... Read More

Spiders getting bigger, ants dying out in hotter cities

Black roads that absorb heat are killing ant populations, making spiders bigger and causing premature human mortality, too, mainly among the young and old. There’s growing research and more diverse research into the impacts of the growing heat in our cities. Our cities are 6 or more degrees hotter in summer because of black roads, no tree cover and dark roofs. At least two PhDs are underway into these impacts in Sydney; one by Matthias Irger into the different impacts of... Read More

Fun vid: some Chippo gardeners make a pallet into a vertical garden in an hour for Toby’s cafe

Lovely fun vid of some of our gardeners here: enjoy: vimeo.com… Sustainable Communities Plan vimeo.com… Michael Mobbs has a plan to create sustainable suburbs, and he is coming together with Chippendale residents and City of Sydney to make this ha  Read More

Frasers’ face of greed

Face of greed - pedestrians jammed in narrow footpath to make way for Frasers' car park Trucks, utes and speeding vehicles do left turn here against thousands of pedestrians Took these photos today of the busy Broadway footpath now jam packed with pedestrians.   At one point the passage is about 1 metre.  The photo of the mum with kid in stroller didn’t come out too well so it’s not here.   Frasers greed is now expressed in the footpaths along its site.... Read More

Frasers’ Broadway project to slow city traffic

  New lanes being added and footpath narrowed for new 3,300 car park, Broadway (Apology for pedestrian giving the works the finger in the artwork.) Frasers will slow city traffic with their new project, and we’re looking at more minutes added to the journey for buses and cars going to and from the city.   The 30,000 students at UTS and Sydney Institute  and the 40,000 + students at Sydney uni and the thousands of citizens who walk the pavement will have their... Read More

Urban heat island data for Chippendale

Average Temperatures by Time of Day – Period of Record: April 2010 – July 2011 We’re measuring the urban heat island in two Chippendale streets, Myrtle and Buckland.   In a partnership with Sydney City Council, our community and Professor Peter Newman’s Biophilic Cities project, we’re getting data of the temperature of the streets every five minutes.  Every 25 minutes the data is sent to a computer in Hobart using a data system developed by HydroTasmania... Read More