Imagine our world devoid of plants and wildlife. This stark picture is enough to sour your coffee (sorry!). Unfortunately, it could be the way we’re headed in Australia, if outcomes from the recent national State of Environment Report are anything to go by.

The report shows that our biodiversity is under increased threat and continues to decline at a rapid rate. The top culprits? Feral species, urban development and habitat fragmentation.

It’s not all bleak however. 

Who doesn’t love their morning coffee to-go? With three million cups enjoyed each day, it’s a real romance for most of us. Sadly up to a billion takeaway coffee cups end up in landfill every year and many in our oceans. They take years to degrade or just break into smaller pieces causing damage on land and in the sea.     

Here’s some business, industry and packaging expert advice on how to make your next coffee guilt-free.

Looking to cut back the amount of rubbish you toss? We asked founder of Zero Waste Sydney and local Second Nature Champion, Madolyn Garnham, about her last 12 months in trying to do just that.  

Interview with Benjamin Young from Frank Green  

We love coffee so much that we drink it by the bucket load, three million cups a day to be precise. The number of take away coffee cups that end up in landfill has been quoted as anything from 500 million to one billion a year.

So what is the deal with so many coffee cups ending up in landfill? And what are the solutions?

I caught up with Benjamin Young who has been on a journey to launch his reusable cup company Frank Green.

This March marks the 10^th anniversary of Earth Hour, a global initiative for raising awareness on climate change and ways to combat it.  While progress has been slow, climate-friendly living has never been easier and more cost-effective now with low-carbon home solutions on our doorstep.

Better yet, these cheaper technologies today also mean bigger dollar savings for people doing the right thing: "The beauty is that the desire for low bills and low environmental impact now lead to the same answer - energy efficiency and solar," says Damien Moyse, Energy Projects and Policy Manager at the Alternative Technology Association.

There is still huge potential to grab these benefits locally, since our homes are getting more energy-hungry. Electricity demand in our area climbed last year, according to recent Ausgrid data. Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs also has one of the lowest uptakes of rooftop solar power compared to other regions nationally.

So as Earth Hour asks populations worldwide to ‘switch off’, consider switching to these alternatives to shrink your carbon footprint and boost your bank balance over the long-term. Let’s make that second nature!

Save hundreds of dollars off your home electricity bills (and help save the planet) with these 10 simple tips.

I recently caught up with one of Australia’s best-known gurus on nutrition. With over 50 years’ experience, 32 books and over 3000 articles to her name, Rosemary Stanton knows a thing or two about clean living for your body and our planet. Here are some of her expert insights.

As published in The Beast magazine - Oct 2016 

Ever had the feeling money flows through your hands like water? If you haven’t fixed your leaks or installed water-saving appliances in your apartment, you may be literally pouring money down the drain. With three-quarters of our local population living in units, that’s a lot of wet dosh.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a block’s pool or large gardens that are the thirsty culprits.  ‘Most people are surprised when they find that over 85 percent of all water used in an apartment building is used within individual apartments (not common facilities),’ says Andre Boerema of Sydney Water.

The good news is that it’s often easier to save water in apartments than houses, with significant consumption cuts for the whole building. A recent review of 30 apartment buildings in the City of Sydney showed the potential to reduce apartment buildings’ water use by 25 per cent. 

As published in The Beast magazine - Sept 2016 

You’ve probably heard all the ‘hoo-ha’ about the scourge of plastic on our planet. About how an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year, where it entangles and endangers wildlife.

Single-use plastics, like straws, take a whole heap of resources to make, are used within minutes and then take hundreds of years to leave our environment. It’s sobering to think that every bit of plastic ever made still exists somewhere (and hopefully not in the gut of a poor unsuspecting turtle). This very real and scary problem has gained much deserved attention lately, especially with Plastic Free July.

Check our A-Z list of simple ways that we can try to curb our plastic addiction every day, even beyond July.  

When the Beatles sang ‘here comes the sun, and it’s alright’, they weren’t wrong. Neither are the 1.5 million sun-powered households across Australia that are sourcing carbon-free energy and enjoying reduced electricity bills.