As a project officer for BIEDO (Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation) I am involved with a community permaculture garden based within Wondai State School. As a part of this project we intend to showcase a range of sustainable building techniques and alternative technologies. To this end we are building a... (read more)

Climate Code Red: The Case for a Sustainability Emergency is a new report published by Greenleap Strategic Institute Inc., Carbon Equity and Friends of Earth. It is the starkest, most honest report I've ever read on the seriousness of climate change and it demands immediate and global action - what... (read more)

From 6pm (Melbourne time) tonight (5pm Queensland time), Sonya Wallace - Relocalisation Group coordinator and co-founder of the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre will be interviewed on Wonderful World Media network on 94.1FM (in Melbourne) 3WBC. Also available on podcast via wonderfulworldmedia.net I'll be discussing the community education centre here on... (read more)

QUEENSLANDERS are the highest producers of greenhouse gas in the world, emitting 38.9 tonnes per person every year – nearly 11 tonnes more than the Australian average, a first-ever audit has found. The audit, undertaken by the Wet Tropics Management Authority between Cooktown and Cardwell, offers stark warning about the threats... (read more)

In early 2008 the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre (associated with Sunshine Coast relocalisation groups) will offer an intensive energy descent action planning course for individual home owners. An abridged version of our popular new Time for an Oil Change course, this course will cover how to prepare your home,... (read more)

The latest IPCC assessment report pulls no punches. This urgent, Nobel Prize winning call to action is yet another tool for any relocalisation group trying to convey the importance of reducing consumption and producing locally. Climate change is "severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action" can head it off,... (read more)

Last night I interviewed Klaus Harvey, from one of the most well known and successful relocalisation groups in the world, Transition Town Kinsale in Cork, Ireland. Hearing about the progress they're making and the involvement and enthusiasm from the community and the local council is inspiring. I have high hopes... (read more)

Tim Flannery, one of Australia's top scientists and author of The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change talks to Andi Hazelwood of Global Public Media about his suggested mitigations for climate change on the heels of the alarming new report from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial... (read more)

NEWS FLASH... The Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre received official notice today that the Sunshine Coast has been recognised internationally as a 'transition town' by the UK Transition Town Network. Through SEAC, the Time for an Oil Change course, the Energy Descent Action Plan, plus all the long-term, well-established, and strong... (read more)

This upcoming ad campaign has become a big hit around Australia - the organisation running it has asked for donations to allow them to air it in today's AFL Grand Final and have been overwhelmed by the response. The fundraising continues with the intent of airing the ad in other... (read more)

[From the current issue of Eco News - the newspaper of the Sunshine Coast Environment Council, Queensland Australia - due out Sept 21] A NEW community action centre has opened on the Sunshine Coast, which aims to lead the way with real community-based solutions to climate change and peak oil. The... (read more)

I'm very proud to have just completed and published this interview with our new Sustainability Minister for Queensland, Andrew McNamara. Queensland's newly appointed Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation talks with GPM's Andi Hazelwood about his robust new portfolio (with double the previous environmental budget), the impending public release of... (read more)

We congratulate Andrew McNamara on his appointment to Minister for Sustainability in the new Queensland cabinet and also congratulate Premier Anna Bligh on her decision. It's encouraging to see a vocal supporter of peak oil action appointed to such a position of responsibility (as State Minister for Sustainability in Queensland Australia).... (read more)

QUEENSLAND is heading for an oil shock. And it is not a matter of if, but when. As crude oil prices hit a record high yesterday, an as-yet unreleased Queensland Government report warns of massive social dislocation, rising food prices and infrastructure headaches because of rising oil costs. The report on the... (read more)

Hi everyone, There is a new relocalisation group on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia - at Eudlo. We've had our first meeting and some great ideas came up such as exchanging excess fresh vegies from our own gardens within the group (we have a few permaculturists in the group with their own... (read more)

Tomorrow 16 people will begin the very first Time for an Oil Change course and the first Sunshine Coast Energy Descent Action Plan. The ten-week part-time course has been designed to generate community-led, positive, practical solutions and action strategies in response to peak oil and climate change. The response has been excellent,... (read more)

This article was posted on EnergyBulletin today - these acronyms are silly, but they're great for promoting all the different aspects of relocalization to the uninitiated in every town! People love acronyms, particularly in the United States where acronyms like GWOT (Global War on Terror) are household words—at least if... (read more)

(reposted after relocalize.net upgrade, sorry for any duplicates!) This note is just to let all our members know of recent changes to Relocalisation Works in the Burnett Inland (RWBI). Co-coordinator Andi Hazelwood and her husband Dean are moving from Biggenden to Bundaberg, Queensland, north of the Burnett Inland. As such,... (read more)

The Australian Government’s Drought Bus is wrapping up its tour of Southern Queensland and is now headed further north to speak with local farmers and small businesses about the range of drought support available. “To make it easier for farmers to access drought assistance payments and other support services, the Drought... (read more)

In response to what has been called Australia's worst drought in a thousand years,1 on Tuesday January 23rd Woolworths will donate its entire supermarkets profits from all Australian Woolworths & Safeway supermarkets to the Country Women's Association to help farming families with household bills, and for research into sustainable farming... (read more)

In what's believed to be a world first, 16 of Australia's leading faith communities released a document on global warming. Entitled 'Common Belief', it's a collection of theological and spiritual statements on the climate change debate. ABC Radio National spoke to representatives of a number of the involved faith communities. Listen... (read more)

So what do you do when you're pretty sure that the end of the world as we know it is coming soon, but your girlfriend doesn't believe you? Sure, she might nod her head when you confront her with some of the gloomier facts, but then she shrugs and goes... (read more)

This issue in LIVING SMART Jo Turner looks at the effects of globalization and the countermovement that’s gaining momentum in Queensland – relocalization; starting with people using their consumer dollars to support their local community from within. I wonder if our great-grandparents would have imagined a global trading system worth $10... (read more)

Peak Oil is the term used to describe the peaking of global oil production. After the peak, there will be a gradual, but irreversible decline in the world’s oil production. There is a high probability that this will occur within the next decade. Currently only about 1 barrel of oil is... (read more)

RWBI has become a member of the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO). BIEDO is is a non-profit, non-government, and incorporated, regional development organisation and the peak regional development body for the 12 shires of the Burnett Inland, comprised of representatives from communities, councils & business. We look forward to... (read more)