A snapshot into our future environmental landscape

Apr 13, 2007

Presentations by the President of the Australian Conservation Foundation and experts on how long the world’s oil supplies will last and artificial photosynthesis-based solar cell technologies will feature in Sustainability Week in Wollongong from 16-22 April.

Another highlight of the week will be the launch of the University of Wollongong’s Energy Futures Network.

Sustainability Week 2007 includes a wide range of events in the Illawarra on the theme of Climate Change and how we can personally influence this global issue. Sponsors of the week include Hatch, the University of Wollongong, Wollongong and Wingecarribee Shire Councils, Futureworld Eco-Technology Centre, BlueScope Steel Ltd, Oceanlinx (Energetech) and Blue Circle Southern Cement.

• On Monday 16 April at 6.30pm in UOW’s University Hall, the President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe, will outline necessary action by government, business, industry and the community to achieve a dramatic transformation, not just in technological capacity but also in our approach to the natural world and each other. The topic of his address is “A Comprehensive Response to Climate Change: Radical Solutions for Australia’s Environmental Crisis”. Professor Lowe directed the Commission for the Future and was named Humanist of the Year in 1988 and chaired the Advisory Council that produced the first report on the State of the Australian Environment in 1996. Professor Lowe has been a referee for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, attended the Geneva and Kyoto Conferences of the parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and was on the Steering Committee for the UNEP Global Environmental Outlook.

• On Tuesday 17 April at 6.30pm at the Greater Union Theatre (cnr of Burelli and Church Streets), Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ will be shown. Wollongong City Council is hosting this special screening that brings home the message that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue – but rather as the biggest moral challenge facing our global civilisation. Cost is $11 a person. It is a chance to watch the film and discuss the global warming issues and climate change with representatives of industry, local government and Futureworld.

• On Wednesday 18 April at 5.30pm at the Futureworld Eco-Technology Centre in Miller Street, Coniston, Matt Mushalik will explain how long we have before the oil runs out in a talk entitled: “Peak Oil: Reserves, Alternatives, Sustainability”. A retired civil engineer and town planner, Matt is a member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas. He is the author of several submissions to various inquiries including the Productivity Commission (Energy Efficiency), The Cross City Tunnel Inquiry and the Senate Inquiry on Oil Supplies.

• On Thursday 19 April at 6pm in Function Room 3, UniCentre, University of Wollongong, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Margaret Sheil, will launch the UOW Energy Futures Network *.

• Following the launch on Thursday 19 April at 6.15pm in Function Room 2, UniCentre, University of Wollongong, Professor David Officer (from UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute) will present a talk entitled: “Shedding Light on a Sustainable Energy Future: Is Artificial Photosynthesis the Key?” Sustainable economic growth in Australia and globally requires cheap renewable, environmentally acceptable, energy resources. Professor Officer will discuss the potential of artificial photosynthesis-based solar cell technologies and highlight the advances made at UOW and overseas.

* The UOW Energy Futures Network is a new initiative that brings together researchers from a broad range of disciplines to maximise the effectiveness of UOW’s involvement in the global effort to develop sustainable energy supply systems and to better understand the impact that the use of energy has on the environment.

MEDIA PLEASE NOTE

See http://www.hatch.ca/Infrastructure/Sustainable_Development/SD-week.htm for further information about Sustainability Week or contact Associate Professor Paul Cooper from the School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering on (02) 4221 3355 or mobile 0432 105 516. The speakers Matt Mushalik can be reached on 0407 608 272 and Professor David Officer on 4221 4698 or 0407 456 333.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128