It’s always good to see a new magazine on the racks dedicated to sustainability and green living. Although the Greenpages magazine has been out for a while, today is the first time I have managed to get my hands on a copy.

The magazine is quarterly and extends from the Greenpages Business and Lifestyle directories. The magazine features sections on design, food, travel, style, science and eco-culture. It’s a good read, grab a copy.

Check out the Greenfoot directory for more magazines dedicated to sustainable living.

Trying to find products made from sustainably harvested wood can be tricky in Australia.

To help consumers do just this Greenpeace has releases its online Good Wood guide.

The guide lets you search for furniture and materials made of timber from ecologically responsible sources, as well as find out the eco status of certain timber species and find alternatives.

Thanks to Jerry over at the Sustainable House in Brisbane, I’ve learnt that the Total Environment Centre has released its Safer Solutions website, which aims to help people keep their homes healthy and green.

The site has loads of information about topics such as reducing hazardous chemicals in your home, organic gardening, and greener ways to renovate your home and loads more. Check it out for more information.

A global study of the “water footprints of nations” found that Australian households held the world’s worst record for water consumption, despite our industry and farmers being relatively efficient.

According to the study, Australian households had a “water footprint” equivalent to 341,000 litres per person per year - the global average being 57,000 litres. Ouch!

Can ordinary suburban households help save the planet? Find out by tuning into the Eco House Challenge, which begins April 11 on SBS TV at 7.30pm.

The show features two families trying to radically reduce their consumption to live more sustainably. The challenge — without warning four environmental hotspots (energy, water, transport and waste removal) are shut down until further notice. Both families are high consumers but will have eco coach Tanya Ha to help them out.

Viewers will also have a chance to take part in the challenge. Find out how.

Well green certainly is becoming the new black as I noted in a previous post. Not only are Australian publishers producing more green themed publications but television networks are also getting involved. An upcoming Network 10 program is asking Australians to go on a carbon diet to help save the Planet. The program COOL AID: The National Carbon Test will highlight how all Australians can act on global warming. The show will feature four Aussie celebrity families plus provide ways for viewers to calculate their household’s carbon emissions. Cool Aid airs on Network Ten, Sunday, March 4 at 8.30pm. The ABC is producing a series called Carbon Cops where environmental scientists help six Melbourne families determine their carbon output. In April SBS will release Eco House Challenge where eco coach Tanya Ha assists two families produce a more sustainable footprint. Cable TV channel Sky News is also launching a new environmental program this weekend called Eco Report. I was lucky enough to be involved in one of the segments, so check it out if you can.

Green blog Treehugger recently launched its Green Guides. The guides aim to help people easily green their lives and understand why they need to make the change.

So far Treehugger has guides on greening your: work, gifts, electricity, wardrobe, meals, water, lighting, car, heating and public transport. Keep checking back because they aim to eventually have over 100 guides. So go on, get greening!

About this time every year my neighborhood lights up! The locals go mad for anything that glimmers, shines, glitters and sparkles. Yep you guessed it, Christmas lights.

A quick tour of the surrounding streets reveals lit up miniature windmills, cars, Santas, moving reindeer and even a Harbour Bridge. Plus larger than life nativity sets, angels, stars and snow men.

The once quiet suburban streets are filled with families licking Mr Whippy ice creams while peering into front yards and windows to check out Christmas displays.

All this makes for a great social event and awesome Christmas spirit but it does make me wonder how much electricity these people use to run their lights and more importantly if they use green electricity? (more…)

If the latest green publishing launches are anything to go by, it seems the green consumer market is becoming a larger and trendier demographic in Australia.

The bi-monthly G magazine, launched in November, touts itself as Australia’s first green living magazine.

At first I thought it might be a similar type of magazine to the now defunct Simply Living magazine, which folded in the 90s. But it seems to have a slightly different audience.

The hippy, mother earth stereotype of green consumers has given way to a more upbeat and chic feel. (more…)

Unfortunately there aren’t plenty more fish in the sea. According to marine scientists over 75 per cent of the world’s oceans are overfished or fished up to their limit. Australians eat over 206,000 tonnes of seafood a year and our surrounding oceans aren’t faring too well.

“But I love seafood,” I hear you say. Well never fear, there is a solution.

Luckily, the Australian Marine Conservation Society has released the expanded version of its Australian Sustainable Seafood guide.

The guide helps us choose seafood more wisely by providing information about which seafood to avoid, think twice about and which is a better choice. (more…)