How Conscious are Gold Coast Residents of their Carbon Footprint?

Story by Anna McDougall with additional reporting by Ella Johnston

Electricity consumption on the Gold Coast increased by 5% during Earth Hour this year according to Energex.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007 and saw 2.2 million people participating in the event. This year, 4300 cities in 126 countries celebrated the event with 4200 business and 1100 schools and universities taking part. Earth Hour is mostly about raising awareness of climate change and energy efficiency. Not only does it provide an example of just how simple it is to reduce energy consumption, but also serves as a reminder to the less energy conscious.

This year, however, Earth Hour was opposed by another event known as Human Achievement Hour. Originally conceived by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2009, Human Achievement Hour was intended to salute human achievement by encouraging people to keep their lights on.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, (ABS) the reason that many Australians do not take steps to limit their personal energy use is because they felt it was already low enough.

Almost all Australian homes use electricity. ABS reports that the rise in residential greenhouse emissions is due to larger home sizes, more appliances and IT equipment in homes and increased use of heaters and coolers.

Gas is the second most common source of energy in Australian homes at 61% in March 2008. Across Australia, there has been a downward trend in the use of wood as a source of energy in homes, with use decreasing to 14% in 2008. Solar energy was used by 7% of Australian homes for heating water in 2008.

Despite the 5% consumption increase during Earth Hour, there are still many Gold Coast residents who are energy conscious.

Seven Sanctuary Cove restaurants collaborated in Earth Hour with, ‘Candles, Cuisine and Couture’, enjoyed by over 400 patrons. Guests were treated with live acoustic renditions from musical duo Musgrove Hill. Palm Beach boys, Wazza Musgrove and Mark Hill, make up the group and were delighted to see the community involved.

“It’s a great event and a great opportunity,” said Mr. Musgrove, “Earth Hour is so important for us to let the rest of the world know, yeah, we give a damn and we want something done about it.”

Mr. Hill, stated his passion for standing up to climate change.

“There’s two ways to go about it,” he said “One is do something and the other is to do nothing. It’s the future of the planet we’re talking about, not a sci-fi movie. The reality of what needs to change is obvious.”

There are also the energy conscious residents of the Currumbin Eco Village. The homes of the Village are energy self-sufficient with its 1.5kW grid connected solar power system. Environmentally sustainable products that were used to build the homes ensure low toxicity for cleaner living. Water storage of over 50,000 litres capacity is provided through the use of both underground concrete water cells and above ground tanks.

Rick Douglas, a Currumbin Eco Village resident, concludes that the ‘5 star’ energy efficient homes make him “conscious of [his] energy consumption” which helps him create “a smaller footprint on the planet”.

Copy Editor: Kannagi Bhatt