IN THIS ISSUE
(Click on the story link)

SERVICE PARTNERS

SPECIAL OFFER July 2003

ECO EVENTS

The Watershed Initiative

The Watershed is a Community Environmental Resource Centre located on King Street in the heart of Newtown. It is a joint initiative of South Sydney and Marrickville Councils and is funded by the NSW Stormwater Trust.

Resources and experienced staff on hand to provide information and advice to local residents and businesses on ways to reduce the impact on local waterways and protect Sydney's aquatic environments.

Visit the Watershed to find out about a wide range of environmental initiatives, such as, worm farming, composting, rainwater tanks, recycling, sustainable housing and permaculture. The Watershed runs free weekly workshops on Saturdays.

Contact: Therse Hor
Tel: (02) 9516 6366
218 King St Newtown NSW 2042
watershed@marrickville.nsw.gov.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

Are you paying the best rate for your Home Loan?

Learn how to finance a solar power installation simply by re-financing your loan

Due to recent changes to the legislation governing home loan brokers, we are no longer able to advertise best home loan rates in this format.

However, our friendly loans consultants at Hiley Home Loans are on hand to advise you on the best rates over the telephone. 

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)

Visit Their Great New Website www.earthrepair.net

Send an E-Card 
and Help Support Nature

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Vol 2 (Issue 1) - July 2003

Dear Reader,

This month's issue of Econews is packed with lots of goodies including: 

Your Favourite Tradesperson - This month we are launching a new competition asking readers to tell us about their favourite tradesperson - a 2 week holiday package and 5 double movie passes are up for grabs (click here to go directly to the online referral form).

Our New Recruits - We have two new staff members that we would like to introduce to you - Richilde Flavell (our Office Manager) and Patrick Chidambaram (our new Loans Consultant).

Great New Solar Hot Water System in the Pipeline - We also have some news about a great new solar hot water system that is due to be launched onto the Australian market very soon - the Evacuated Glass Solar Hot Water system.

Newtown Car Sharing - We take a brief look at an innovative new scheme aimed at reducing our reliance upon gas guzzling, polluting and expensive cars. 

As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback on the newsletter and stories related to the environment. The deadline for contributions to the August issue is 15th August, 2003.

The Ecological Homes Team 

Story #1: Your Favourite Tradesperson

Tell Us About Your Favourite Tradesperson and Win a Holiday Package for 2!

We get regular requests from our readers to put them in touch with reliable, affordable and quality tradespeople for various jobs around the home, renovations and new home construction. As everyone knows, good tradespeople are hard to find, especially those that know about sustainable products!

So we have decided to ask you, our readers, to help make our task easier by telling us about your favourite tradesperson. He (or she) could be a plumber, carpenter, painter, electrician or gardener/Landscaper.

Simply click here to be taken to a short online form which you need to use to make your recommendation. There is no limit on the number of tradespeople you can recommend. 

We will compile your responses into a database and will publish this on our site to help people locate a good tradesperson close to where they live.

Click here to nominate your favourite tradesperson 

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Story #2: Introducing our new recruits 

We are happy to announce the appointment of a new member of the Ecological Homes team - Richilde Flavell, our new Office Manager (see photo on left). 

Richilde is a recent arrival to Sydney from the beautiful Bellingen Valley on the NSW mid-north coast. She can help you with any initial inquiries you may have about our Environmental housing products and services.  

Our Finance partners, Hiley Home Loans have also added two new members to their team of hard working loans consultants - Patrick Chidambaram (see picture on right). 

Hiley Home Loans have greatly expanded their range of services to include the following:

Contact our finance experts at Hiley Home Loans today to find out ways that you can beat the home buyers blues and take the hassle out of buying a home.

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Story #3: Great new solar hot water 
system in the pipeline

Evacuated Glass Solar Hot Water - 30-40% More Efficient than Flat Plate Solar!

Product innovation on the environmental housing front is proceeding with leaps and bounds bringing even greater efficiencies and cost savings! Thanks to research and development being conducted in China, Australians will soon be able to purchase a revolutionary new form of solar hot water heating based on evacuated glass tube technology.

These tubes are filled with an inert, non-toxic liquid that turns into hot gas when exposed to sunlight. The heat from this gas is then transferred by conduction from a copper film around the glass tube to water pumped through a small tank that sits on your roof (see diagram below).

The greatest advantage of these systems is that they can absorb 30-40% more heat energy from the sun compared to flat plat solar systems. Flat plate solar systems only operate at their optimum efficiency when the sun is directly overhead (i.e. midday). In contrast, evacuated glass systems can work optimally throughout the day as demonstrated below:

We hope to be able to offer these systems to our customers within the few months. Price details are yet to be finalised but we expect that these systems will retail for about $3,500 before rebates - definitely competitive in price with an average flat plate solar hot water heater and 30-40% of the running cost due to their significantly greater operating efficiencies.

Register your interest in one of these systems today via an email to our sales team or call our office on 1300 73 07 07.  (Images supplied by Focus Solar)   

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Story #4: Newtown CarShare Scheme

"Use a Car when you need it - save money when you don't" 

Readers of past issues of Econews (April-May03, June03) would be familiar with our crusade to find less polluting and better forms of personal motorised transport. One interesting initiative on this theme is the Newtown CarShare program launched by local Newtown residents Nic Lowe and Bruce Jeffries.

Newtown CarShare offers the perfect solution by giving car users access to a clean reliable vehicle whenever they need it and only charging for the time it has been used.   

The scheme is designed to offer all the benefits of having your own car, without the hassle and expense of actually owning one. It is available on a membership basis via an occasional users or a frequent users plan. 

Membership starts at $15 per month paid or $180 (for occasional users). A $25 application fee and a $500 fully refundable security deposit are also payable.

Newtown CarShare estimates that an average car user in Newtown can expect to save up to $6,000 per annum compared to owning and running their own car as outlined below:   

Contacts:

Nic Lowe - Director: mob 0416 372 713
Bruce Jeffries - Director: mob 0422 467 130
Car Bookings: 9519 4929
Website: http://www.newtowncarshare.info/index.html

Post/Snail Mail - PO Box 1009, Newtown 2042 Sydney

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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 1 million hits from over 17,000 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

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." 

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

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