An alliance of global companies has announced that energy self-sufficient buildings are a reality. The buildings will be designed and constructed so that they will use no energy from external power grids, are carbon neutral, and can be built and operated at fair market values. [ + ]

Residents of Victoria can now get rid of unwanted household paint by taking advantage of the free service, Paintback, which aims to keep paint out of the garbage and away from drains where it poses a threat to the environment. [ + ]

Transpacific Industries Group (TPI) and Australian Renewable Fuels (ARF) have formed a 50/50 unincorporated joint venture to develop a biodiesel production facility in Brisbane, Queensland. [ + ]

Installing on-site sewage systems in the wrong soil types can lead to potential environmental and health hazards, a Queensland University of Technology researcher has warned. [ + ]

Dutch researcher Phil Ham has developed a mathematical model to calculate the natural degradation capacity of polluted groundwater. [ + ]

Australia could eliminate more than 90 % of the CO2 from convention coal-fired power stations after the CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development (CCSD) signed a memorandum of understanding as a supporting partner to the next stage of the Callide Oxy-fuel project. [ + ]

Like many Australians, millions of Britons are reeling from water restrictions. [ + ]

The Master Plumbers Association (MPAQ) is calling for more community education and awareness for the safe use of greywater in domestic gardens. [ + ]

A Sydney business executive has donated $1 million to create Australia's first Chair of Water Management, based at UNSW. [ + ]

Queensland's first Natural Resources Conference will be held on Wednesday 17 May 2006 at the Brisbane Convention Centre. [ + ]

International Composting Awareness Week (ICAW) is being held for the first time in Australia from 7-13 May. [ + ]

The Australian consortium participating in the international IMS PROMISE (Product Embedded Information System for Service and End of Life) project has received over $470,000 in funding in the first round of the Australian federal government's $25 million ICIP (Industry Cooperative Innovation Program) competitive funding scheme. [ + ]

Six young Australians are circumnavigating the continent powered only by pedal power (bicycles) and a van powered by vegetable oil. [ + ]

Eligible organisations across the country will have the opportunity to invest in major water resource projects with the announcement today of a new call for proposals under the federal government’s Water Smart Australia program. [ + ]

National and international solar thermal energy researchers now have a unique research facility available to them. [ + ]