February GreenUps is hosted by The Australian Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. We will enjoy a summer evening outside on the forecourt among the historic vessels overlooking the harbour and with views of the city skyline – it will be out most visually-stunning venue yet.

• Joining us on the night will be Planet Ark founder & 2010 Australian of the Year Jon Dee. Jon will share his experiences of the GoTap anti-bottled water campaign, part of the Do Something Project.

As part of the evening the Museum is offering free access to “AQUA: A Journey into the World of Water“. There will a 6.30 and 7pm admissions to the exhibition, so get in early!

An initiative of Guy Lailberté (Founder of Cirque du Soleil®) AQUA is a multi-sensory experience that explores the story of water and its importance in our lives.

“Be immersed in an adventure around the world, in which you are both actor and spectator, surrounded by 360 screen projections. And be inspired by the visual spectacle of AQUA to make a pledge to save water for the planet.” You can find more details about the exhibition here http://www.anmm.gov.au/

Please RSVP on Facebook

As George Monbiot has so eloquently put it – we dont want to talk about air travel because it requires us to sacrifice, not someone else. And what’s more annoying than George telling it how it is is; that if you fly to say Europe and back this year it will cancel out all the other good things you did for the planet – cycling, vegetarianism, bagging out Alan Jones. All of it.

Fair suck of the organic sauce bottle you might say, that’s a tad controversial for Chrissy drinks. But what better time to talk about greening your biggest contribution to the warming of our planet than right before the holiday season (hopefully before you’ve got your tickets!)

But hey it IS Christmas so we’ve got two rock star speakers who are going to surprise and delight you and give you a lot more than a guilt trip.

In fact Sue White* just might convince you not to take a trip at all. Sue’s preso entitled ‘Staying home this holiday – how staycations change the way we view travel.’ is based on her one week staycation experiment recently conducted in that notoriously unlivable suburb of Coogee beach.

Following on from her is a quietly spoken man with very dangerous ideas –  Mathieu Gallois* considers those who refuse to travel at all or who reduce their flights down to minimal levels (hint: funerals/weddings and emergencies count, a holiday to an eco lodge in Queensland doesn’t) to truly be at the avant garde of the green movement.

And it wouldnt be Christmas without a few (green) gifts … so we also have a special preview screening and free tickets to give away to the new Hopsctch film Wastleand which looks at Brazlian artist Vik Muniz’s solution to green travel – he travelled to the world’s largest garbage dump and made an inspiring movie about it. That’s got to offset his carbon emissions surely!?

See you at The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders Street darlinghurst on the Tuesday the 6th of December for the finale to a great year of green drinking and thinking!

* (Sue is a freelance writer with articles in the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age, ABC online, Australian Geographic online, G Magazine, Yoga Journal Australia. She is producer of Sydney On The Green on Twitter @SydOnTheGreen)

**(Mathieu Gallois has degrees in both fine arts (MA) and architecture (BA). Since 1997, his practice has entailed some 50 national and international art exhibitions, many site and context specific works (that sit somewhere bwetween art and architecture) and speculative collaborative ‘activist’ propositions such as Reincarnated McMansion. Mathieu has received major grants from the Australia Council and has won awards for his entries in national art prizes. He is a Samstag Scholar. His practice is documented on his web site: www.mathieugallois.com

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

This GreenUps is for everyone who wants to know more about how we can make sustainable food choices, foster a more connected approach to buying our groceries and produce, and how as a community we can grow food more sustainably.

We will hear from:

• Jared Ingersoll, Head Chef behind Danks Street Depot and Cotton Duck, who is committed to sourcing sustainable produce.
• Food Connect  a social enterprise that aims to make organic and ethically grown food affordable while paying farmers a fair price.
• Free range providores Feather & Bone who encourage their customers to be more aware of where our food comes from and how every part of the cycle from ‘paddock to plate’ directly or indirectly affects us and our environment.
• Alfalfa House Sydney’s oldest not-for-profit food co-op that provides members with minimally packaged and processed, affordable, wholesome, organic food.
• Sydney City Farm – a community organisation working with local councils to establish City Farms in Sydney to provide a showcase of how we can live more sustainably and have greater connection with where our food comes from.

Delicious free-range, organic and chemical free food (with veg/vegan options) - supplied and catered by
Food Connect, Feather & Bone, Alfalfa House and The Falconer

RSVP: on Facebook, Meetup or in the comments below….

Entry fee of $20 – includes food and  wine.

The Warehouse is a 10 minute bus ride from the city – Catch the 441 or 442 from QVB, or any of the 500 ‘Victoria Road’ buses from Town Hall. Get off at first stop after the Anzac Bridge
 (corner of Roberts St and Victoria Rd) walk down the hill, and turn left into Parsons St. 
2-8 is an industrial site with several factories and warehouses
, Walk around the back of Factory 1 and through large roller doors, and into this unique and amazing space.

Photo: UK City Farm, Mudchute Park, London – Photo by © Bo Løvschall care of http://www.globespots.com.

As Iris Murdoch once said “The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”

Good on you Iris – we think you’re bang on. And it is with a pure heart that we put on a great big party and invite you – cyclists and bike aficionados from all over Sydney to attend the biggest event of the GreenUps calendar – our October, For the Love of Bikes event.

What: A sneak preview of Bicycle Film and Ride Sydney Festivals, Bike Valet parking, Gold Sprints competition, vintage bike auction by Omafiets Dutch Bikes, prizes from MC Cyclery, sustainable food and wine and as usual our short, pithy and sweet 5 minute spiels from:

• Dr Ros Poulos from UNSW who will present some of her latest Bike Risk Research
• Patrick Jones, Director of Bike Wise will talk about the new ‘gracious cycling’ movement
• Josh Capelin will spruik the Bike Film Festival which happens the week after
• On yer’ bike presenter, Mickie Quick – will give the pot a good stir
• Sneak previews of BFF film trailers
• Lot’s of tight-buttocked cyclists with their glorious rides
• Free Bike Valet service thanks to the City of Sydney
• Sustainable food and drink options courtesy of the Beresford.

Cost: By gold coin donation which covers the cost of the bike valet service.

RSVP: www.facebook.com/GreenUps or Tweet us @Greenups

Whichever way you look at it, there’s been literally hundreds of thousands of words written about it and millions of dollars spent trying to convince us one way or another.

But do we really get it? Despite trying our best to keep up with the news, you are forgiven for scratching your head at times and wondering, ‘what is the carbon tax actually all about? And why don’t they just get on with it?”

At September GreenUps, we’ve asked three diverse political thinkers to explain what they think the carbon tax in five succinct minutes.

The idea of this event is to spark conversation, debate and discussion and hopefully give you the opportunity to ask the seemingly ‘dumb questions’, and get your brain around what it undoubtedly one of the most complex and important pieces of legislation we’ve seen in recent political history.

We’ve compiled a bunch of articles on our Facebook page and LinkedIn page for you to check out before the event, and hopefully pick up the conversation afterwards.

If you have any specific questions you would like asked of the speakers, please submit them to Jess – jess@goodytwoshoes.net.au prior to the event.

Speakers:

Ben Cubby, Environment Editor at the Sydney Morning Herald @bencubby

Ben has been writing about the environment for the Sydney Morning Herald since 2006. In this time he has reported on everything from radiation risk, species decline and has followed the carbon debate since it started making big news in 2007.

Intimate with the nuance of the carbon debate, Ben has interviewed sceptics, scientists and politicians and also caught the ire of Andrew Bolt and found himself amid the ‘Climategate’ scandal that emerged late last year in response to emails stolen from the University of East Anglia claiming a conspiratorial climate ‘cover up’.

Ben will explain WTF the carbon tax is from his perspective as a well-informed environmental journalist.

Ben has a special fondness for penguins and bacon.

Related Articles:

“Australia will have renewed authority in next global talks,” Ben Cubby, SMH, July 13 2011 link

“Psychology provides insight into why people doubt climate change”, SMH, September 20, 2010 link

Akshay Shankar

Akshay is a researcher and PhD student at the Australian National University’s College of Business & Economics, in the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis.

Akshay has co-authored a range of articles in with Anna New Matilda on a range of economic issues including the US and Australian economies, Why the Carbon Tax won’t cost you $800, and whether the Government has the details on the carbon tax right – Let’s Call a Tax a Tax.

Akshay’s research is about understanding what drives long-term economic growth, as well as figuring out what policy directions and decisions are best to encourage new ideas that will help solve some of the complicated environmental challenges we face – namely climate change.

Akshay will talk about the Carbon Tax from an economic viewpoint.

Ben Peacock Co-Founder Republic of Everyone  @BenfromBondi

Ben is a very good explainer of very complicated things.  He’ll have a crack at explaining why so many people hate the carbon tax so much that they don’t even really care WTF it is, or what it’s supposed to be for.

Ben came up with the award winning Tails for Whales, a global campaign to stop whaling, wrote the Greens ad made famous by the Gruen Transfer, co-founded the Garage Sale Trail and is proudly responsible for creating the stink caused by putting Cate Blanchett and Michael Caton on TV in support of carbon pricing.

Ben is a spokesperson for the Cancer Council and sits on the board of Soi Dog, a charity dedicated to helping street dogs in Thailand. Ben is a Frisbee aficionado, demon on a long board and an excellent eater of pretty much anything.

On the night you’ll get to hear from two inspirational speakers – Andrew Simpson (from Vert Design) and Chris Bosse (from L.A.V.A).

You’ll also have the chance to check out Muse Gallery’s exhibition of historical work and designs from the Sydney Institute’s graduates. Covering jewellery, architecture, fashion and 3D animation, the exhibition is running as part of the Sydney Design event ‘Sparkies, Foodies and Fashionistas‘.

There will be some gorgeous Moral Fibre t-shirts on offer as a lucky door prize – make sure you bring along your business cards to be in the running.

RSVP now through Facebook

Look forward to seeing you there!

Image courtesy of the Learning Landscape Network

What you do with your money is probably the most influential way you can help drive sustainability. Come and hear what you can do and why your money matters. 

This month’s event is being organised by guest programmer from the finance industry – Justin Medcalf of Green Equity Management.

Guest speakers for the night are:

Lauren Anderson from CC Lab on collaborative consumerism and sustainable spending

Rowan Dowland from MECU on sustainable saving

James Thier from Australian Ethical Investment on sustainable investing.

And we have our biggest lucky door prize yet – two $500 portfolios with the Climate Advocacy Fund. 

Australian Ethical is sponsoring the door prize and MECU and GEM are sponsoring the night itself. 

(We have some green thinking catering people on the case for this event too – with food by Love Grub, beer by St Peters Brewery, and wine by Tamburlaine.)

Hope to see you there, 

Justin, Phil and Ben

Once again we’re holding the event at the Oxford Art Factory. It’s close to the city at 42 Oxford Street. (Venue is downstairs in the basement.)

Drinks from 6pm, presentation starts at 7pm. Food by The Falconer. Entry is gold coin on the night.

It’s going to be a great night. Hope you can make it. Tell your friends. And don’t forget to drop your business card at the door to be in the running for the ticket give-aways.

If you’re on Facebook or MeetUp we’d appreciate if you could rsvp to give us an idea of numbers.

* The 2011 Sydney Film Festival starts the day after our event – on 8 June. As always there’s an interesting mix of movies in their line-up.

The green documentaries we’ve spotted are: ‘Windfall’, ‘The Hungry Tide’, ‘Cool It’, ‘Life in a Day’ and ‘If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front’. And there’s an interesting green themed feature film: ‘Letters from the Big Man’.

Check out the Festival’s ‘Green Screen’ program,
and here’s the full Sydney Festival Program

Once again we have the team from The Clothing Exchange running their popular clothing swap.

How it works is that you bring clothes that are still good (but just don’t wear any more), and swap them for other peoples’ threads that are also still good. It’s a win/win as they say. (Which is probably why this event went gangbusters when we ran it this last year.)

Simply bring along 4 quality items to check in by 6.30pm on the night.

There’s a couple of short talks by people in the industry about making clothing sustainable. And live music by Edwina Blush.

All of this at a new, interesting venue – Opera Australia (at 480 Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills, near Central.)

All for the price of a gold coin donation at the door.

Hope you can make it,

Jess and the GreenUps team (Liane, Kate, Dave, Ben, Alastair, and Phil)

ps. If you’re a stylist or an eco fashion designer and want to contribute to the event, Jess would love to hear from you. You can contact her via jess {AT} goodytwoshoes.net.au