In their second annual survey to measure and monitor consumer behaviours that have an impact on the environment, the National Geographic Society and the international polling firm GlobeScan have found an increase in environmentally friendly consumer behaviour in 13 of the 14 countries that were surveyed in both 2008 and 2009. Consumers in India and Brazil are in the top index, US consumers rank last, while Australian consumers were among the best in the improvement category.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) at the inaugural meeting of institute foundation members in Canberra on 16 April 2009. The government announced the institute back in September 2008 with annual funding of up to $100 million to accelerate the deployment of commercial-scale CCS projects globally.

A new wind turbine that promises to advance the harnessing of offshore wind energy has been given the go-ahead in the UK. No longer is the structure just a gigantic propeller atop a cylindrical tower, but instead it is a pair of V-shaped arms up to 120 m high with four rigid 'winglets' along their length.

Modern manufacturing methods are spectacularly inefficient in their use of energy and materials, according to a detailed MIT analysis of the energy use of 20 major manufacturing processes.

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More construction groups are choosing solar photovoltaic panels than all other renewable energy technologies put together — making it the most popular, green energy system for the trades to diversify into, according to recent research from the Britsh government’s Department for Business & Regulatory Reform (BERR).

An engineering and environmental adviser has called for a set of uniform voluntary national emissions reporting standards to guide the development of emissions reporting by companies lying outside mandatory reporting regimes.

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest water recycling project is using a community grants program to help grassroots organisations deliver environmental programs in South East Queensland.

Following an influx of close to 12,000 customer service requests last year, primarily for missed bins, Hume City Council in NSW has implemented a Spatial Waste Collection & Incident Recording System to streamline workflows for its waste services crew.

A discussion on the potential benefits of biochar technology in the fight against the global warming challenges — provided by Best Energies Australia.

Institute supports paper on emissions assistance program and points out tight reporting timeframe.

Trials promise a new era of solar cells that are printed like money.

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest water recycling project is using a community grants program to help grassroots organisations deliver environmental programs in South East Queensland.

A scale model of a wave-energy device is being tested at Southampton University, UK. Its inventors believe the device may provide a practical way of producing low-cost electricity from the energy in sea waves.

In a continent where the evaporation rate is typically four times more than the average annual rainfall — which is declining in any case — limiting the loss of water from farm and station storages is becoming a priority, according to a report released by the Desert Knowledge CRC. The study looks at several of the new methods for lowering evaporation — floating blankets, shade cloth, floating modules and thin layers of a chemical to ‘seal’ the surface.