The Fifth Estate

Sustainable property advocates have hit back at alarmist claims from fossil fuel proponents trying to keep gas in the home and commercial kitchens with claims of extreme costs to disconnect from the grid and fears of blackouts. Green Building Council of Australia Davina Rooney said: “Connecting gas to a new home today is like installing a fax machine in the age of email — it’s outdated, inefficient, and holds us back from a cleaner, smarter future.” Global Cooksafe Coalition’s Virginia Jones said “By shifting to all-electric homes, we can reduce strain on the grid through energy efficient appliances, on site solar, and battery storage—solutions that lower bills and keep the lights on, even during outages. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gRK_gjkR #Energyefficiency #fossilfuel #commercialkitchen #electrification #solarbatteries

How do we continue to harness steel’s strengths while reducing its environmental impact?

Around 15-20 per cent of the global population is “neurodivergent”, meaning their brains process information differently from the “typical” population; yet, our workplaces are designed to fit a narrow field of vision, writes Catherine Carter, DJAS Architecture. Sustainability redefined design’s purpose; neurodiverse design will revolutionise it again by prioritising inclusivity and human potential, The best designs won’t be where differences coexist but where differences are celebrated for elevating the collective whole. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gmRw_7bg #sustainability #neurodiverse #neurodivergent #planning #design

On Chevron’s CCS Gorgon project. “The latest data, released only a few days ago, show that the latest year saw the lowest amount of CO2 injected since it began operation, and that two thirds of all of the carbon dioxide ‘removed for injection’ has been pumped into the planet’s atmosphere rather than being stored underground. This, as the West Australian government doubles down on new fossil fuel projects paired with CCS.”

The amazing Tim Forcey, (Force of nature): conversations at 1000 kitchen tables, 135,000 followers on his Facebook page My Efficient Electric Home an eponymous handbook and dozens of local community “book launches” from Melbourne’s to Wagga Wagga and Lithgow

The sheer scale and rapid expansion of fire ant colonies is a stark reminder that humans should never conflate modifying the natural environment with the delusion of domination over it, writes Stephen Dark. Over the past 450 years, fire ants haven’t merely survived but have globalised their communities, establishing a presence that mirrors the expansion of human societies. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gH6kVtAq #environment #biodiversity #fireants #science #Entomology

Tim Forcey’s book - My Efficient Electric Home handbook has led to a raft of book launches in communities from Beaumaris in Melbourne to Wagga Wagga and Lithgow in regional New South Wales. The common denominator? Readers’ growing interest in electrifying for their homes. "The same heat pump technology can be used to heat your home’s water far more cheaply than by using either a gas-burning hot water service or a simple electric-resistive water heater", writes Forcey. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4VvsfMF #electrification #energyefficiency #hotwatersystem #householdelectrification

Former CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall’s innovation worldview was shaped by Stanford University and Silicon Valley in the US more than his Australian origins, writes Murray Hogarth These days, he’s on the board of mining company Fortescue, chairing its Innovation Committee, also chairs the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham) board and is a member of the Australian Government’s Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group. Read his full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gcuZi_br #sustainability #netzerotransition #renewableenergy #USAustraliarelations

The Government of New South Wales (NSW Government) has announced the six winners across two categories in the state’s Housing Pattern Book Design competition. In total five designs were selected over two categories: terrace and mid-rise housing. One Student design was also selected. The jury said the winning designs considered diverse household types and changing community needs and were sustainable with the flexibility to be customised to suit people’s budgets and lifestyles. Winning designs are also efficient in terms of heating, cooling and the use of sustainable materials. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9xemMhw #NSW #patternbook #studentdesign #designcompetition #architecture #planning #design

Creatives are being priced out of Sydney, with some paying more than 60 per cent of their income on rent. While Sydney is already seeing the results of the affordability crisis, the city’s cultural workforce is shrinking four times faster than the national average. Last week, the Committee for Sydney launched its Making it in Sydney report, and with the launch event at Rozelle’s White Bay Power Station with an expert panel discussion moderated by the committee’s culture policy lead, Matt Levinson. Joining him was WilkinsonEyre's Sebastien Ricard, Create NSW's Roslyn Mayled, The Nest's Daniel Bourne, and Mirvac’s Ryan Thomas. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4pEGzXa #creativespaces #adaptivereuse #creatives #affordabilitycrisis #culture