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  4. 22 November 2006

True Green Book Launch

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About this Item
SubjectsBooks; Environment
SpeakersPearce The Hon Greg
BusinessAdjournment


    TRUE GREEN BOOK LAUNCH
Page: 4603


    The Hon. GREG PEARCE [10.39 p.m.]: Tonight I bring to the attention of the House True Green, a useful and important publication that has just been released. The book was written by two good friends of mine—Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin—and published by ABC Books. I attended the launch of the publication last Sunday at Mrs Macquaries Chair at Fleet Steps, where another good friend of mine, Ian Kiernan AO, Chairman of Clean Up Australia, launched the book. Many honourable members would know Ian for his valuable contribution to the community and, in particular, for his practical environmental solutions for members of the community.

    The AC Nielsen poll published in the Fairfax newspapers on 7 November 2006 showed that almost two-thirds of Australians are now prepared to pay more to reduce greenhouse emissions and 91 per cent believe that global warming is a problem. I have been concerned for a long time about the future of the Earth and future generations and, in particular, global warming issues. In 1992 I had the good fortune to be part of the Australian delegation that went to the Earth Summit in Rio, where the climate change convention, the biodiversity convention, Agenda 21 and various other documents were signed by the world's leaders.

    Ian Kiernan was one of the people who stimulated my interest in this area. Kim McKay, Ian's deputy chairman for a long time, is a co-founder of Clean Up Australia and also Clean Up the World, so I was pleased to see the new book written by Kim and Jenny Bonnin. True Green provides 100 everyday ways to contribute to a healthier planet. It also gives practical tips on what all Australians could do to minimise their environmental impact, whether in the home, at work, while shopping, travelling, in the garden, or in the community. So it is a very practical publication. The authors wanted to create a book to help all Australians understand that they can make a difference, with the opportunity to reduce our carbon emissions, some say by up to 40 per cent, by taking easy and practical steps.

    The key to involving the community in environmental issues is to come up with practical, down-to-earth ways that we can employ in our daily lives to make a better contribution to the way in which we live. True Green includes 100 easy to follow tips using renewable energy to walking more, using the car less, and unplugging appliances that do not need to be on all day. Those are the sorts of things with which members of the community can identify to see how they can make a contribution without necessarily having to be part of an international debate over sometimes scientific and difficult issues such as climate change. I recommend this publication to all honourable members and direct them to the web site www.betruegreen.com. They might even think about acquiring this book. I commend Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin for their serious work in getting this publication into the community and making practical suggestions as to the ways in which every citizen can help to address environmental issues.

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