IN THIS ISSUE
(Click on the story link)

SERVICE PARTNERS

SPECIAL OFFER Mar 2003

ECO EVENTS

Cool Communities Program

1. Interested in reducing your home energy bills
2. Want to do something abut climate change and
3. Live in the Leichhardt municipality

The NCC would like to hear from you. The Cool Communities project will run workshops with community groups, but individual households are welcome to join in also. 

Contact: Felicity Calvert
Tel: (02) 9279 2466
greenhouse@nccnsw.org.au

Handy Water Saving 
Hints for the Home

• Install a AAA rated shower head (cuts water use for showering by two thirds)

• Install a toilet flush water saver (see the Eco Starters Pack for more details)

• Buy a front loading AAA rated washing machine

• Put a cover over the pool to stop evaporation (also helps keep the pool warm)

• Wash your car on the Lawn

Calculate Your 
Ecological Footprint

How much land 
& water do you need?

The average Ecological Footprint in Australia is 7.6 global hectares per person. Worldwide, there exists 1.8 biologically productive global hectares per person.

Q. Ever wondered how much "nature" your lifestyle requires?
 
A. Click here to complete a short Ecological Footprint Quiz to estimate how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard.

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CONTACT US

Ecological Homes Pty Ltd
PO Box 2504, Strawberry Hills
NSW Australia 2012
Phone: 1300 73 07 07
Fax: (+61 2) 9557 8422
twalsh@ecologicalhomes.com.au
www.ecologicalhomes.com.au

Our Shop Address:

230 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW 2042

FEEDBACK & ADVERTISING

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for the next issue? 
Let us know

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for the next issue. 
Contact us for a rate card 
or view it online

© Copyright 2002 Ecological Homes Pty Ltd (ABN 71 002 980 047)

Best Home Loan Rates

Best Fixed Rates

Following is a list of the best fixed rates currently available 
(as at 25th May 2003).

Fixed Period   

1 Year

5.25%

2 Years

5.99%

3 Years

6.05%

4 Years

6.19%

5 Years

6.29%

Best Discounted split rate: 4.89% 

Best Variable rate: 5.90%

Are you paying the best rate for your Home Loan?

Request a Free 
Home Loan Check 

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The Earth Repair Charter

Please Endorse the Earth Repair Charter

(If you haven't done so already)

Online at www.earthrepair.net

Send an E-Card 
and Help Support Nature

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Vol 1 (Issue 10) - April/May 2003

Dear Reader,

After a hectic few weeks getting things ready for our new commercial premises at 230 Enmore Rd, Enmore, we finally get a chance to put this (very late) issue of EcoNews together. This issue of EcoNews is packed with Good News stories!

Firstly, we finally have some good news from the Howard Government on the Environmental front with its decision to renew the Photo Voltaic (Solar Power) Rebate Program. Pressure still needs to be applied, however, to get them to sign the Kyoto Greenhouse Treaty Agreement (the Treaty will become binding if Russia signs it - see below) and increase targets for the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme (see below for more details).

On the alternative (non-petrol) fuel front - the Victorian Government in conjunction with the Alternative Technology Association has launched a Biodiesel fuel trial. Also, the first Hydrogen fuel cell filling station has opened in Singapore, bringing Hydrogen fuel cell technology one step closer to Australian shores. 

This month, we take a quick look at our new Eco Office and Consulting Space which is due to open to the public in early June. We will be sending everyone on our contact list an invitation to pop in and find out more about environmental housing solutions over a cup of organic tea or coffee.

Finally, for young families struggling to get their first home, we have some more good news from our Finance Partners, Hiley Home Loans, with the release of the "No Deposit" home loan (see below for details). 

As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback on the newsletter and stories related to the environment. The deadline for contributions to the June issue is 13th June, 2003.  

Story #1: Howard Government 
renews Solar Power rebate!

Sun Shines Again on Solar Power!

After extensive lobbying from the community, the Howard Government finally made the very welcome announcement that the Photo Voltaic (Solar Power) rebate scheme will be extended another 2 years at a cost of $11.5 million.

The rebate was introduced in January 2000 to provide households that wanted to install a solar power system with a rebate of $5 per wattage of the system installed up to a maximum of $7,500 per household. 

This rebate was frozen earlier this year when the allocated budget ran out due to strong consumer demand, thus threatening the jobs of more than 1,000 now employed in the sector and threatening the very existence of an important new industry for Australia.

This decision allows Australia's solar power industry to get back on track and provide Australian households with affordable solar power and help reduce our nation's emissions of greenhouse gases.

Now all we need is for the Howard Government to sign the Kyoto Agreement on Greenhouse Emissions and to increase the targets for the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme to help develop other renewable energy sources in Australia 

Click here for more details on MRET

Turn your roof into a solar power station!
Contact us today for information

Kyoto Treaty Binding if Russia Signs

If Russia ratifies the Kyoto treaty it will come into effect. Russia has vowed to ratify the treaty on several occasions and has been widely expected to do so this year. However, recent reports indicate that the government is now wavering in its commitment. Please take a few minutes to click on the link below and email Mr. Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, urging him to sign the treaty:

http://forests.org/emailaction/russia.htm

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Story #2: Alternative (non-petrol) 
fuel initiatives underway 

Biodiesel Trial Plant for Victoria

The Victorian State Government has granted $50,000 for the first official biodiesel trial plant in the State to a partnership between the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), the Shire of Yarra Ranges,  Alternative Fuels and Energy, Goldiesel and Fastfuel.  The partnership will build and run a large scale biodiesel plant in Mt Evelyn, north east of Melbourne.

The plant will take 4-6 weeks to build and will be ready to sell biodiesel to contracted users in about three months. The plant will be built inside a shipping container, making it portable and easy to relocate.

The biodiesel will be made from waste cooking oils from local businesses. It’s estimated that about 100,000 litres of waste oil are produced in the area each week. The plant’s output will be up to 20,000 litres per week. 

Visit the ATA website for more details.

First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Station in SE Asia

Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars are seen as the best hope for a non-petrol based and more environmental form of private transport. However, the development of this form of transport has several problems including the lack of any distribution centres or fuelling stations. This is about to change with the construction of the first fuel cell station in Singapore.  

Petroleum company BP and Air Products, an American supplier of industrial gases, plan to open the hydrogen refuelling station by the first quarter of 2004. Fuel cell driven cars are powered by compressed hydrogen, which emits no pollutants. 

Building the station will cost between US$500,000 and US$1 million. It will have the capacity to refuel about 11 cars per day. DaimlerChrysler will be bringing seven fuel cell vehicles to Singapore next year for testing.

Singapore announced two years ago that it would waive thousands of dollars in auto taxes for buyers of low-pollution vehicles. But the high cost of fuel-cell technology will likely prevent the market from growing in the short-term. Hydrogen vehicles currently cost US$1 million to US$2 million each to make, including the US$200,000 cost of making the fuel cell itself.

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Story #3: Our New Eco Office

Due to Open to the Public Early June

Ecological Homes will be opening its new commercial premises at 230 Enmore Rd, Enmore premises in Enmore in Sydney's Inner West in early June. 

The shop will provide home owners, designers and architects with a beautiful space to meet with our consultants and see some of the environmental housing technologies we use first hand. We will be able to sit down with you over a cup of organic tea or coffee and discuss ways that you can make your own home, school, office or commercial project more environmental. 

The shop is currently being re-decorated and fitted out with some of the leading environmental products that we supply including:

• the beautiful range of Oikos non-toxic and zero VOC natural paints 

• Sisal carpet (made out of the fibres extracted from the leaves of the AGAVE cactus plant)

• solar power panels, and 

• low voltage lighting. 

It is also an accessible space, designed to allow access for people in wheelchairs. 

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Story #4: The No Deposit Home Loan!

Beat the Home Deposit Blues!  

The biggest hurdle for many first home buyer is having to save up the 10% deposit required by the bank to give them a loan. This can take years to save when houses are selling for $300,000+ in most Australian cities today.

On top of this, house costs keep going up each year so that, by the time they have saved the deposit, the price of the property has gone up by another 10% and they can no longer afford to buy it! Sound like a familiar story?

This great new No Deposit Home Loan helps prospective home buyer overcome these hurdles and secure that home they have been working so hard to attain.

What Do I Need to Qualify for this Loan? To qualify for the loan, you need to demonstrate savings within the last 3 months to 2.5% of the value of the home you wish to buy.

Do You Qualify for the First Home Owners Grant? If you qualify for the first home owners grant, then you only need 1.5% of the house value in savings - this amounts to savings of just $4,500 for the average loan of $300,000!  That level of savings is well within the grasp of the average young couple or family.

Unbeatable Interest Rate for a 100% (No Deposit) Loan The variable rate for this loan is a low 6.87% - the nearest other 100% loan charges 8.5%. 

The Loan is available for Construction Loans, House and land packages, Strata Units and Townhouses. Variable and fixed rate options are available. The variable rate is currently 6.87% (indicative) 

Contact our Finance partners 
Hiley Home Loans today to find out more.

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Get Out Your Message 
Advertising Space Available in EcoNews

In less than a year, the Ecological Homes website has recorded more than 850,000 hits from over 16,000 unique visitors. On average, each visitor spends up to 7 minutes viewing our site. This is incredible growth for a website that has spent very little on mainstream advertising. 

The amazing growth in website visits is due largely to our visitors referring the site on to their friends and the power of the Web! 

Contact us today to find out how 
you can reach this fast growing audience

Wise Words that Inspire

"To accomplish great things, 
we must dream as well as act" 

Anatole France (1844 - 1924)

"Change your thoughts 
and you change your world"

Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

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