Celebrities from across Asia are leading the global ambassador efforts for Earth Hour this year, lending their voices of support for the campaign and taking up the challenge to inspire ongoing positive actions for the environment beyond the hour. This year’s focus for India is to encourage people to make the switch , calling for individuals to adopt household products powered by renewable energy; organisations to adopt renewable energy solutions to run their business operations and production processes; and Governments to promote policies favourable to the production and uptake of renewable energy. Read More

Earth Hour report 12 March 2013:

SINGAPORE: Celebrities from across Asia are leading the global ambassador efforts for Earth Hour this year, lending their voices of support for the campaign and taking up the challenge to inspire ongoing positive actions for the environment beyond the hour.

Nadya Hutagalung, Utt Panichkul, Pevita Pearce, Andy F. Noya, Ariel from NOAH, G.E.M. and S.H.E are among the biggest names in Asia supporting the global environmental movement now in its seventh year.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30PM.

The growth of support for the campaign across the continent reflects the rise of a growing Asia, both as an economic powerhouse and as an influential hub for global initiatives like Earth Hour.

“The issues that face our planet are as relevant to Asia as they are to the rest of the world. As our economies grow and Asia becomes the predominant economic force across the planet, we have to pause and think about what legacy we want to leave, not only for our countries in the Asian region, but also for the whole planet,” says Nadya Hutagalung, WWF Earth Hour ambassador and host of Asia’s Next Top Model.

Nadya is the face of the ‘One Degree Up’ campaign in Singapore, as part of Earth Hour’s global ‘I Will If You Will’ initiative, and has pledged to plant 100 baby trees in the Heart of Borneo If 20 shopping centres in Singapore pledge to support the campaign by turning their air conditioners up by one degree.

CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley, says this year’s ambassadorial support shows the growth of global influence of Asian celebrities.

“Historically international media has not fully acknowledged the power and influence of figures coming out of Asia. You can see this is already changing. The fact that voices from celebrities across the region are so strong shows the power of their influence. After all they represent more than 4 billion people, more than half of the world’s population,” he said.

This Earth Hour, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore is challenging Singaporeans to take action for the environment by turning their air-conditioning up by one degree. According to the National Environment Agency in Singapore, air-conditioning accounts for up to 60% of the electricity bills of buildings in the country.

Joining Nadya in her support of the One Degree Up campaign is Thai media personality and newly appointed Earth Hour ambassador, Utt Panichkul, who has promised to drop one piece of clothing for every 1,000 people who pledge to turn up their air-conditioning by one degree.

In Indonesia, which has recently seen the Earth Hour movement explode to 31 cities across the country, some of the most recognised figures on social media are using their digital presence to inspire actions in the Ini Aksiku! Mana Aksimu? campaign, which is the localised version of Earth Hour’s international I Will If You Will initiative.

Indonesian actress Pevita Pearce has taken up the challenge to sleep without air conditioning for one month and plant 100 trees if 10,000 of her Instagram and Twitter followers share their action for the planet using the hash-tag #dukungAKSIpevita.

Dubbed the “Oprah” of Indonesia, Andy F Noya is a journalist and famous presenter of award winning talk show ‘Kick Andy’. He will paint his face half blue and half green, if 10,000 @kickandyshow followers refuse to use plastic bags and send him their photo as proof.

Indonesian singer Ariel from the band NOAH was next to join the local campaign and has pledged to wear a Panda costume during his one of big concerts after Earth Hour, if 6,000 people plant trees and send their photo to @EHIndonesia using the hash-tag #IniAksiku.

Asia’s Next Top Model contestant Filantropi Witoko is challenging the other 13 finalists of ANTM to refuse plastic bags and bring reusable tumblers wherever they go, and in return will do a solo fashion show during Car Free Day in Jakarta if they accept.

Having last year reached a record 1,671 provinces, cities and municipalities across the country, the Earth Hour movement in the Philippines is also targeting its I Will If You Will campaign specifically for the Filipino community.

Newly-appointed Earth Hour Philippine Ambassador, equestrienne and actress Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, has pledged to contribute 500 seedlings to WWF-Philippines’ agroforestry programme at the Abuan Watershed in Isabela if 500 people agree to quit smoking for 5 days.

She joins WWF-Philippines national ambassadors Rovilson Fernandez, who has pledged to conduct a free CrossFit class if 1000 people pledge to use reusable bags instead of plastics; and Marc Nelson, who has also pledged to kite-board from Boracay Island to the main island of Panay while wearing a Panda hat if 1000 people commit to use reusable water tumblers instead of disposable plastic bottles.

Heading further north, singer /songwriter and actress G.E.M, who was the highest selling female artist in Hong Kong in 2012, has been enlisted as the celebrity judge for WWF-Hong Kong’s Green City Photo Competition and stars in an adorable Earth Hour short film featuring the tagline “Lights Off, Life On”.

WWF Hong Kong’s Earth Hour digital platform also went live last week, and is being promoted with the help of G.E.M, alongside Eason Chan and Kay Tse.

Additionally, WWF-China is encouraging people to take part in Green Week for Earth Hour 2013 by challenging people across China to adopt one of seven environmentally friendly actions as an ongoing practice all year round. The initiative is supported by actress Li Bingbing, singer Eason Chan; singing duo Yu Quan, gymnast Chen Yibing; pianist Li Yundi; singer Li Yunchun; and Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu, who have each chosen a day of the week to share what they’re willing to do to help save the planet.

Taiwan has also just come on board with the global I Will If You Will initiative, and has enlisted support for Earth Hour from stars such as JJ Lin, Amber Kuo, Christine Fan and hugely popular girl group S.H.E.

“Love your planet, don’t just live on it,” was the call from India with actress and singer Shruti Hassan announcing her support as the new Earth Hour ambassador for India.

“It is my honor to be associated with such an inspiring and meaningful cause like Earth Hour. If we aspire for a clean and healthy environment, and for cities that develop sustainably, then we should be aware of our part as well, and be willing to change our own behaviour. Imagine the difference that it will make when all of us get together,” said Hassan at the local media launch in the country.

This year’s focus for India is to encourage people to make the switch to renewable energy, calling for individuals to adopt household products powered by renewable energy; organisations to adopt renewable energy solutions to run their business operations and production processes; and Governments to promote policies favourable to the production and uptake of renewable energy.

Further south in Sri Lanka, one of the country’s biggest music artists Bathiya and Santhush (BNS), will participate in I Will If You Will by pledging to create an Earth Hour song if 10,000 Sri Lankans sign up for earth hour at www.earthhour.lk. They are hoping their song will inspire artists to collaborate to create the world’s first global Earth Hour album.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on Saturday 23 March

About Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative in partnership with WWF. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. In 2013, Earth Hour’s I Will If You Will concept invites individuals and organisations to challenge others to an ongoing environmental commitment beyond the hour. Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and by 2012 involved hundreds of millions of people in 152 countries across every continent, receiving reports as ‘the world’s largest campaign for the planet’.

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with almost five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Source:  www.earthhour.org

Ecomagination Challenge, the first cleantech competition to be held in Australia and New Zealand by GE, has produced its winners. Out of 191 entries and 35 finalists, five companies specialising in wave energy, smart grid, water efficiency, recycling and carbon free engines were named the winners. Millions will be invested in promising ideas from these entries whose innovation plays a crucial role in improving people’s lives, economic growth, and confronting the challenges of climate change. Read more

GE names five low carbon competition winners in Australasia

By Giles Parkinson in RenewEconomy (20 March 2013):

GE has named five companies specialising in wave energy, smart grid, water efficiency, recycling and carbon free engines as the winners of its first cleantech competition to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

The “ecomagination Challenge” attracted 191 entries and 35 finalists in the competition, which was something of both a marketing and a fishing expertise for GE, one of the largest industrial companies in the world and one of the most committed to next generation technologies.

CEO and chairman Jeff Immelt was in Australia to present $100,000 cheques to the winners, and $10 million will be available to invest in promising start-ups and ideas from these and other entries that impressed the GE selection board. Others will be helped in validation, distribution and development.

“Innovation plays a crucial role in enhancing people’s lives and improving national productivity, economic growth and competitiveness. GE has a strong track record of investment in clean technology and we recognise the importance of supporting new technology developments beyond our own operations,” said Ben Waters, Director of ecomagination, GE Australia & New Zealand.

Applicants to the Australian Government’s $200 million Clean Technology Innovation Program will be able to use  GE’s ecomagination Challenge as part  of the private sector contribution to their project. The government’s Department of Industry and Innovation is also involved in another cleantech competition which is being launched next week.

The five winners of the GE challenge were:

Engineair – Melbourne engineer Angelo Di Pietro has invented the Di Pietro Engine, a carbon-free alternative to internal-combustion and electric motors. The rotary air engine, powered by compressed air, has up to 94 per cent efficiency and zero polluting emissions.

Hydroxsys – an Auckland-based company, started by engineer Daryl Briggs, has designed membrane technology that captures and recycles 90 per cent of water and around 85-90 per cent of energy from industrial processes to be fed back into the manufacturing process.

Bombora – renewable energy generation technology invented by a West Australian company, which takes advantage of Australia’s significant wave resource. Each Bombora device could supply electricity for up to 500 homes.

Greensync – Melbourne-based Greensync has developed an advanced software tool that enables electricity network planners to find alternatives to capital infrastructure. The technology reduces energy consumption by three per cent and costs by 10 per cent by monitoring and managing loads at peak times.

Outpost Central – New Zealand-based co-founders James Riddell and Jedd Forbes have developed smart water meters that can help water utilities, mining and farming organisations achieve 20 per cent savings in water usage within the first year

Here’s some more about the individual winners (material supplied by GE)

GreenSync

Like many start-ups, GreenSync was started out of a garage to address challenges to the electricity grid from the instability of wind and solar penetration. GreenSync founder, Phil Blythe, a research scientist and an engineer by training, worked hard over a number of years to develop the software and analytics.

“After working with demand response for two years, we got to know the business domain inside out , and where the pain points were for customers. Once we understood that, we could see a new way of doing things that strengthened the value proposition for everyone,” Blythe said.

GreenSync applied specialised ‘big data’ analytics to the task of managing peak energy demand, increasing the reliability of the grid, and lowering energy costs for end users. The technology represents a cheaper method than gas peaking power stations to offset these peaks, whilst lowering customer energy costs.

“The transition to a low carbon economy is tough in the energy sector, and it is going to take many small steps to get there. We see our technology as one of the key steps to stability and flexibility in the electrical grid,” Blythe said.

“By monitoring for residual loads, and curtailing loads at peak times, we typically demonstrate a three per cent reduction in overall energy consumption, and around 10 per cent reduction in energy costs. Overall, our contribution to greenhouse gas reduction through supporting the transition to renewable energy as well as direct emission reductions is forecast to be 88,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next five years.”

EngineAir

Two key challenges the world faces is a dependence on fossil fuels and climate change from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Melbourne engineer Angelo Di Pietro has invented a rotary air engine which tackles these problems. Powered by compressed air, the Di Pietro Engine is a carbon-free alternative to internal combustion and electric motors, with proven mechanical efficiency.

Twelve years ago, Angelo closed his engineering business to pursue his lifelong passion to develop a technology that he believes will eliminate unnecessary waste, inefficiency and excessive pollution in vehicle propulsion. This was based on an idea he had 30 years earlier when he was working on the Wankel engine in Germany.

“I’ve always had a strong passion and belief that through mechanics I can help solve some of the toughest problems the world is facing. It’s a belief that’s moving closer to reality every day,” said Di Pietro. He says the true breakthrough of the technology lies in the simple design of the motor which is compact, inexpensive and has market potential, particularly in motoring applications.

“Compressed air-powered vehicles are not just environmentally friendly, they are cheap to build and could benefit cities and industries across the world. Our technology is many times lighter and smaller than a conventional engine, but capable of similar performance.”

Already fitted to a number of motor vehicles, the Di Pietro technology has proven it is possible to power vehicles by compressed air, replacing internal combustion engines and electric motors. The electricity used to compress the air can come from renewable sources such as hydro, wind and solar.

“We can run a forklift on compressed air continuously for two hours, with a two minute refill time. This shapes up really well when compared to an electric forklift that will run for four hours but takes hours to recharge. We’ve also seen strong performance from vehicles including a burden carrier, a utility truck, motorcycles, and a car.”

Bombora Wave Power

Glen Ryan has a long history of developing renewable energy projects and services in the wind turbine space. After a career as a technical and commercial energy specialist in the mining industry and through his exposure to the renewable energy sector, Glen saw an opportunity to take advantage of Australia’s largely untapped wave resource.

Working in partnership with his brother Shawn, their goal was to develop a wave-based technology that was economically competitive with on-shore wind power generation, currently the lowest cost renewable energy source. The key for Bombora was to create a cost effective device that was robust, reliable and strong enough to withstand the strong storms often encountered by wave generators.

Different to many of its competitors, Bombora’s devices are placed at depths of just five to 10 metres, taking advantage of near shore wave power rather than deep water waves. This allows for greater reliability and uses the surge and heave motions of the waves to generate power. The technology also allows for direct conversion to electricity within the device which only requires a simple power cable back to shore. This provides efficiency gains and is a lower capital cost than the alternative of large hydraulic pipes used by other near shore devices.

The CSIRO predicts that by 2050, 11 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation could come from wave power, and Bombora hopes its technology will be at the forefront of this mass power generation. “Wave power is complementary to other sources of renewable energy but offers predictability up to several days which other sources like wind can’t. The ocean resources are virtually untapped, and given that 90 per cent of the world’s population is located close to the coast, the technology has the potential to be a real game changer,” Mr Ryan said.

Hyrdroxis

Daryl Briggs, a self-confessed membrane boffin with a strong background in dairy engineering, started developing the technology that HydrOxSys would later commercialise out of his back shed in Auckland in 2010. His vision was to create a technology that could help solve water problems around the world and give traditionally “dirty” industries the technology they need to clean up their operations.

His initial focus was to create a chemically durable, abrasion resistant and food safe membrane for the dairy industry to remove water from milk. However, the further Briggs progressed with the technology, the more it became apparent that the membrane had applications well outside the dairy industry. The technology is also relevant for traditionally water-heavy industries like mining, bauxite and oil and gas, to help recycle and reuse water and energy.

Fast-forward three years and HydrOxSys is in full flight. Mark Hartstone, who has had a 35 year career in successful start-ups, management and international marketing, has joined the organisation as CEO, working with Briggs, the board and advisory board to commercialise the technology.

“We are currently working in conjunction with two New Zealand universities and industry partners in mining and dairy to validate the technology in their plants and processes,” Hartstone said. “GE’s support is really a game changer for us. It gives us the ability to provide working prototypes to organisations in the dairy, mining, bauxite and oil and gas sectors, with a goal to commercialise these partnerships.”

Outpost Central

The world is facing a fresh water shortage by 2025. According to the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world’s population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.1

With this in mind, Outpost Central co-founders James Riddell and Jedd Forbes set out to develop an alternative technology that addresses the demand for water, rather than trying to increase supply. Together, they developed WASP – smart water meters built with an internal SIM card, 10- year battery life and a waterproof data logger.

Starting in 2002 and growing to a team of 15, Outpost Central now works with water utility customers in NZ, Australia, Africa and Europe as well as customers in the mining and farming industries. “We wanted to help organisations manage their water needs. Rather than spending more to invest in dams and larger desalination plants, our goal was provide them with an alternative solution that will help them to reduce the demand in water, rather than to increase the supply.”

The Smart Meter collects data and sends it to a secure database stored in the cloud. The data is analysed and alerts customers if something is operating outside of normal expectations or there are usage irregularities. From this data, customers can make informed decisions on where there might be a leak or where to invest in upgrades to infrastructure. The systems read the meter every five minutes, to ensure each customer has the most up-to-date data.

“The results speak for themselves,” said Riddell. “A commercial customer will start seeing reductions in water usage almost immediately. Some can achieve 20 per cent savings in water usage within the first year.” A project with a West Australian-based customer has seen early savings of 290 million litres per year as a result of identified leaks, faulty equipment or improved irrigation efficiency.  ”My long-term goal is to have our device on every household water meter worldwide. To provide customers with the information they need to direct planning and infrastructure investments by having a better understanding of how residents use water.”

Source: www.reneweconomy.com.au

It is more than connections and connecting the dots. It is making things and people work together. Water and oil don’t mix, but water-colours and oil paintings do. Water and earthly objects can cohabitate our planet and have mutual dependency. Art and the environment are convenient and creative bedfellows. Creatively managing resources and inventing eco products draws on – and inspires – the innovativeness and energy in us all. Climate change and sustainability also share a common enemy and there are co-joined solutions to deal with both. As air travel adds to our footprint, we are normally reluctant high fliers, but for some very important reasons this month, we engaged in an excursion to explore art, energy and the environment. We didn’t ignore though important people and events in Singapore. Ken Hickson accounts for his time by sharing his recent diary entries. Read More

No Idle March for some!

We have to start somewhere so let’s make it begin here:

Thursday 7 March: Serious Business and No-frills flying

It’s the deadly serious and fun side of the business of Serious Games International (SGI), which occupied me for some of the day (and week). In Singapore were CEO of SGI Tim Luft and business development chief Felix Bradshaw – both from Coventry, United Kingdom. Helping to get traction in Singapore and Asia is one of my objectives, as we see a strong affinity between gamification – games technology and platforms – with education, training, social enterprise and sustainability.  Collectively we call it “games for good” compared with all the rest of the massive gaming industry. So setting up and attending meetings with private and public sector potential users in Singapore was the name of the game as well as an introduction for Chee Shin Yee, who’s just been appointed to help drive the business of Serious Games in Singapore.

No time to stand or sit on ceremony, as the airport called and I was whisked off on my first flight with the budget carrier Scoot, the newest member of the Singapore Airlines stable. The 7-plus hour flight from Singapore to Australia was quite comfortable. You get what you pay for and “no-frills” was perfectly acceptable. I’ll be telling Campbell Wilson, the airline’s CEO, who I met recently just that. A cost-effective (and sustainable) way to fly. Perhaps not as “great” as flying with parent SIA, but a worthy son or daughter of the leading international airline.

Friday 8 March: Exhibiting a close relation to art

Arriving at Gold Coast Airport around 8am Australian east coast time, was as good as anywhere to land. The weather/temperature was sunny and pleasant. The very necessary but rather time-consuming processing by Australian officials didn’t seem to be aided by the technology on hand. The long queues, two machine passport readers plus a camera meant an hour elapsed before I was through. And that’s without having baggage to collect!

But all was forgotten when I was driven through the pleasant green countryside, across the border into New South Wales, to meet up with artist son David – everyone else calls him Dave Hickson. Inspecting his home and studio alongside the canal at South Golden Beach, it wasn’t long before it was time to get ready to attend the launch of the art exhibition at Tweed River Gallery. This was primarily, the reason for my journey. His first one man exhibition with drawings, small sculptures (assemblages in wood and paint) and photographs, mainly covering his observations during his travels which included Europe, America and Asia last year. Singapore figured, but predominantly his work exhibited his impressions of art and architecture, the life and soul, of Spain and the US.  For more on the show and his work, go to the website:  www.davehickson.net

Of course it was a mix of fatherly pride and appreciation of art when Richard Weinstein flew especially from Sydney to launch the show – he is a barrister and art collector – and likened David’s art to that of Picasso and Matisse! He also spoke of the art which had been commissioned and acquired by the late and great Roddy Meagher, a strong supporter of “Dave Hickson”, who he described as one of Australia’s leading sculptors. One of the local papers gave the show and the artist a worthy mention: http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/magical-dawn-inspires-art/1785717/

Saturday & Sunday 9, 10 March: Home & country, art, food & wine

The weekend was spent in a very pleasant part of the world: Tweed Valley, South Golden Beach, Byron Bay and Murwillumbah. Windy roads, rolling country-side, where sugar cane grows on the flat and banana palms on the side of hills. Where everything is green.  And art abounds. Not only at the Tweed River Gallery where the works of Margaret Olley have a welcome home. Plans for a new wing for the gallery dedicated to the memory and art of Olley – plus an artist-in-residence retreat – will make this place one of the best regional galleries in the whole of Australia.  The towns and countryside boost many galleries and studios. A vibrant artistic community thrives in Byron Bay and beyond, competing with the surfing and fishing enthusiasts.  It all made me determined to visit again, to explore the art and environment, to write about it to a larger audience. And purchase an excellent map of the artistic attractions of the place!

Monday 11 March:  Change in the Air for Energy

Brisbane was the destination for some important business. A meeting at University of Queensland (UQ) with Adrian Ward of the International Energy Centre (IEC) – www.internationalenergycentre.com – to see how the educational objectives of the centre can be best exported to Asia. Already I had introduced the IEC to Singapore and we discussed next steps to develop some specific programmes on a low carbon energy future – and energy efficiency – which would be applicable to Singapore. I also visited the Global Change Institute – www.gci.uq.edu.au – where Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg has a team of people focusing on a cleaner, greener and brighter future for life on earth. I also inspected progress on the $30 million state-of-the-art building for the Global Change Institute (GCI) at the St Lucia campus which is due for completion this year.  It employs sustainable design, construction and operating practices. It was enjoyable dipping back into delights of Brisbane and UQ, visiting Toowong for shopping and banking. Public transport, in particular the train service from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, was efficient, but as I observed and others agreed, there certainly is a place for a speedier and more sustainable rail service. It cannot compete currently with the speed and efficiency of the four lane highway over-populated by gas-guzzling vehicles and their occupants.

Tuesday 12 March:  Air time for a book

It was time to leave terra firma – and in particular the pleasant home, art and environment of David and Jerusha in Northern Rivers of New South Wales – to embark once again on a high-flying experience with Scoot. Gold Coast, Australia to Singapore. The journey was once again pleasant enough – opting for an exit row seat ensures leg room and avoids the need to climb over resting fellow passengers. With an excellent book to while away the seven hours – Ian McEwen’s “Sweet Tooth” turned out to be a welcome diversion from all the heavy going, business and climate related material I usually digest on the road. He is also the author of “Solar” – more appropriate for a clean energy advocate – which I have also read.  Unlike travelling on “normal” airlines, Scoot does not offer screens built into the seats. But as the “pitch” says, the airline can “Stream content from our cabin server to your own tablet or laptop” for a small price or “if you want to engage in some on-board gaming, you can Rent-a-Tablet for S$20”.  I did think of my Serious Games friends and made a note to alert them to the opportunity of educational games for on board Scooting.

Wednesday 13 March:  Home for a change of pace

Back in home territory in Singapore, there’s work to catch up on and home life to fit back into, including meeting and greeting friends from afar. Angie and Robin from Dorset, UK have come to stay. An escape for them from the bleak European weather before they too fly on down to Australia. A conference to prepare for, clients to deal with, some writing and editing to undertake before another round of meetings gets underway.

Thursday 14 March: Eco Products to the fore

The show must go on. Eco Products International opens at Marina Bay Sands and SASA and its associates /clients have space to display our wares.  After the ceremonial opening there’s the networking and checking out who’s there and who’s not. A big presence of Japanese companies and people, including the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), which plays the key role in organizing these events around Asia. www.epif2013.com  We meet the other speakers and get ready to act as moderator for a session on Sustainable Urban Planning. We meet and learn a lot more of the work of APO, as well as some key players, ORIX, who go beyond leasing to manage waste and develop solar energy.  Among the host of products on show, we latch on to the work of Enviplast from Indonesia with their cassava starch “plastic bags. We also meet – and get interviewed by – Nobuko Kashiwagi. Go to www.ubraintv.com to learn more of this innovative new media and its coverage of the Singapore event.

Friday 15 March:  Engineering Change

There was much more to do and see at the Eco Products show with presentations covering all manner of worthwhile topics. And people to meet. But a highlight of the day/night must have been the lead up event for the World Engineers Summit held at the BCA Academy. On hand was none other than Engineers Australian National President 2012, David Hood and PUB CEO Chew Men Leong. While I had another moderating job to do, I was most impressed by the attendance (mostly young engineers) and the quality of the speakers.  David Hood will be back for more at the September event – www.wes2013.org – and meantime he will continue to be the engineer at the forefront of change in Australia and throughout the region.

That was the week that was! And I better stop there. There’s more to do and connections that go beyond sustainability, eco products, environment, energy, water and earth. There’s the connections in the “cloud” that don’t relate to planetary climate but to technological advances to make things work better and more efficiently. It’s all connected. It’s all real. And it’s essential that each one of us continues to see that we have a critical role to play in this inter-connected world of ours.

As Shakespeare wrote a long time ago: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”