To show our support of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition's Climate Reality Week we are offering you the office AND home version of the Green Card Training Course absolutely FREE!! Use the promo code CLIMATEREALITY to get a 100% discount on the $59.95 course!

Check out the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQw8Kuy4nqA

This promotion has now ended.

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In 2010 Clean up Australia Day is celebrating their 20th anniversary! Clean up your local community on the 7th of March, join the Business Clean up on the 2nd of March or do both!

Prizes are also available for local Councils, Site coordinators, Local Heros and Green Teachers so dig out your gloves and organise an event for your area!

www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au

The highs and lows of the Australian response to climate change have never been more evident than over the past week... While the Government response flails with environmental rebate programs being cancelled, weak, ineffective and useless schemes proposed by the Liberal party gaining traction and baffling lack of appreciation of the issues with weak targets set by the dying ETS, ground level community action is taking off.

Last weekend the Transition Decade was launched as an accompaniment to the Transition Towns Movement - local communities addressing issues like peak oil and sustainability and generating visions of incredible futures that are still within our reach... This weekend the Sustainable Living Festival is bigger and better than ever with new initiatives like the Sharehood and CD recycling swaps proving that local communities will stand up and take action with or without Government support... And who can forget Darren Cheeseman's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) of turning Geelong into Australia's first carbon neutral region? Looks like the Australian public is finally starting to take action with or without our elected leaders!

Have you ever dreamed of living in a smart green home?

Have you ever dreamed of not paying rent?

Now both your dreams can come true courtesy of the NSW Government. They are looking for a family to live rent free in the home for a year in exchange fora blog documenting the pros and cons of the house.

The features of the house include:

• Rooftop solar panels
• An electric car
• A fuel cell that converts natural gas to electricity
• Water saving appliances
• Energy efficient lighting
• A worm farm

Interest families can apply here: www.tenderlink.com/energy

src: theage.com.au

I love reading about inspiring individuals who've made a huge impact on the world. It gives me hope that we have a better future, it inspires me to think bigger and better and it gives me the confidence to go ahead and take the first step.

These inspiring individuals have achieved enormous amounts of good in their short time on earth! Let's take a look:

Abhishek Humbad, 22
Abhishek founded NextGen in India - a company that sets up biogas plants and creates energy from food and garden waste and cow pats in both urban and rural settings. Their systems are already in place in IT parks and universities around the country with an ultimate vision to facilitate sustainable economic progress of India. While you may need to be a engineering nerd, at age 22 this is a phenomenal achievement that adults of double his age would be proud of!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a very green Christmas and my best wishes for your happiness, health and smaller carbon footprint in 2010 :-) After the debacle in Copenhagen I've been looking for ways to involve everyone in green on the ground action as we obviously cannot rely on our politicians.

One of the simplest and most fun ways to get involved is with your iPhone!

Check out these fabulously green iPhone applications:

Bliss Trek

Learn how to drive more efficiently with this on the go eco driving application. It tracks your speed on the move and gives you immediate feedback to save on fuel. At just 99 cents you should earn back your investment in no time at all! Try Green Gas Saver for a free version of the same idea.

For all those who found Tony Abbott's secret ballot to kill the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) an embarrassment of international proportions - here's your chance to make your vote count for climate action at Copenhagen. Justin Baird (sadly no relation) has created a google maps mashup that will be accepting votes for the next 2 weeks for a fair and effective climate deal.

Show your Vote encourages businesses as small as, well us!, to embed the map into their website to generate as much support as possible. No word yet on who will be promoting the final tally at the UNFCCC but a terrific initiative all the same. Vote below to make yourself heard!

Saturday November 28th is Buy Nothing Day. It's a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from shopping and anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

On a typical November weekend day Victorians alone spend almost $22 million dollars on household goods, $11 million in department stores and $9.6 million on clothing and soft goods (ref. TheAge.com.au), but how often are these purchase prefaced with simple questions... Do I need it? Do I already have it? Will I actually use it? Could I borrow it instead? Is it made sustainably? 

Got a big green idea? Need money to make it happen? Then the British Council has got a grant for you. All you have to do is tell them about your big green idea and how it will contribute to Australia's environmental future.

Applications are now open and close Friday 4 December 2009

For more information, please visit www.biggreenidea.com.au.