Sydney, Australia

Powerhouse Museum (Sydney, Australia)

 On Monday, January 10, 2011 we explored the downtown area of Sydney, Australia.  We walked to the nearby monorail station (a very sustainable mode of transportation).  Along the way we stopped by the Cathedral of St. Mary to admire the architecture. Then, we took pictures at the famous Opera house by the dock. 

I took special notice of the model of the “Sustainable House”.  The actual house was created by Michael Mobbs, author of an excellent book, “Sustainable House”.  The house is unique in that it sits in the middle of an older inner city neighborhood in Sydney.  The model showed how Mr. Mobbs was able to implement a sewerage system, a rain tank, and solar panels in order to create a sustainable residence. 

Our group was headed to the Powerhouse Museum to see display after display of sustainable exhibitions and facts.   For example, there was information about how front loading washing machines use 30 percent less energy than top loading models.  Despite this overwhelming evidence, top loading washers are sold much more frequently. 

Another interesting display to me was a simulated timeline video that showed how much of the Earth’s geological properties have been changed by human behavior.  For example the polar ice caps that are constantly melting and resulting in extreme climate change in the past 20 years. 

The Sustainable House

On Tuesday, January 11, 2011, we visited the real Sustainable house in Chippendale, an inner-city suburb in Sydney.  Just like the book, “Sustainable House” outlined, you cannot necessarily tell that this house is any different than the surrounding ones.  The author and resident, Michael Mobbs, took us on an hour long tour of the house where he explained his systems and lessons learned on his road to creating a sustainable environment. 

The thing that impressed me was that he and his family didn’t live any differently than any other family.  They still flip on switches to activate lights when necessary.   They have all the same appliances such as a microwave, fridge, toaster, range, etc.  His children still enjoyed electronic video games, sleepovers, and long showers.  The only difference was that their carbon footprint was significantly lower than any other family. 

The biggest thing I learned from visiting with Michael was that each person must establish what they want in their sustainable undertaking and then make it happen.  You will face fear, regulations, and dishonesty when you try to accomplish certain things, but his house is one example that you CAN achieve what you want.  Resilience is the key and as long as communities work together towards these goals, we will eventually get there. 

 For example, many people feared and still fear the notion of drinking rainwater; however, Michael’s water has consistently tested cleaner than the city’s own drinking water.  Things like reusing water go a long way toward prolonging the longevity of our planet and humanity itself.  It’s just a mindset that we must try to change, one house at a time.