Those acting for our Future - 1 July 2010
Submitted by Judy Walker while Tracy Sorensen is away.
I read with interest in Saturday’s Western Advocate about the Community College’s “new purpose built office and state of the art training complex”.
A group of people from BCCAN had a guided tour of this building earlier in the week. Bruce Bolam, the owner, had invited us to see why this will be a 5 star building. Inland Building Construction has used concrete tilt construction in a new way. By covering the concrete with refrigeration cladding the concrete becomes thermal mass and so has an insulating role. The roof insulation and the double glazing are other features.
There is an air-conditioning system, but what a system! It uses less electricity than a small shop’s air-conditioning. It transfers air cooled or warmed because of its position in the building (for example, where the sun shines in or from the basement) to other areas of the building. The air in the building is regularly replaced by fresh air. Central West Air-Conditioning, who is installing this system, will monitor the system by computer and the Samsung Company in Korea can be a part of this monitoring if needed. The new fast speed internet that is being rolled out, will be a boon for such projects.
******
Lis Bastian is another person who is actively working towards a greener future. Lis was appointed as Climate Adaption Officer for CENTROC earlier this year.
On 29-30 July there will be the 2010 Summit at the Mount for CENTROC Councils, called Recharging the Region. Lis has planned a Mayoral Bike Ride around Bathurst, an electric vehicle challenge at Mount Panorama and a visit to the Rahamim Ecological Learning Centre to hear about the School Garden Network, food production, tree planting, and biodiversity.
If you have an electric vehicle or are keen to showcase your sustainability business, for example bicycles, solar panels, water and electricity saving devices, contact Lis Bastian to register on 0457 835 730.
******
If you are concerned about the State government locking in further electricity production based on coal now is the time to let the Premier know. Email her at premier@nsw.gov.au and tell her why it is important to move away from coal to renewables.