by Andrew D Moore | 12 Nov 2015 | Uncategorised
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to assess a range of environmental impacts that occur throughout the life cycle of products. Although many different environmental issues were commonly included in these studies (e.g. carbon footprint and water scarcity footprint) the impacts of land use on biodiversity have often been excluded due to reasons including a lack of widely accepted methods and data limitations. Land use was the main causes of loss of biodiversity so it is important that these impacts were included, especially in agricultural LCA studies where large areas of land are occupied. This study reviews the current methods that can be used to include biodiversity impacts in LCA and the data required to apply these methods. This work was funded by the Meat and Livestock Australia. You can view the full report on the MLA website using the button below. View full...
by Andrew D Moore | 8 Apr 2015 | Uncategorised
You’ve heard that Cyclone Pam has had a devastating effect on Vanuatu but let me try to put the intensity of this storm into perspective. Firstly, this cyclone was a category 5. Cyclone Tracy which destroyed Darwin in 1974 was a category 3 cyclone. The sustained wind speeds of cyclone Pam were over 250 kilometers per hour (kph) with gusts over 320 kph. Winds at this speed wouldn’t just blow you off your feet – they are strong enough to lift you vertically at over 120 kph! It’s amazing that anyone survived this. Imagine that you are sheltering from this storm in your own house, as your it is struck with sand, rocks, dust, branches and debris flying at those speeds, in pitch black, in the middle of the night. The locals said the worst thing was the sound. Not only was it as deafening as a jet engine but the pressure changes and “warbles” were unbearable yet went on for hours and hours. Ok, now imagine that you aren’t sheltering in your house but in a thatch hut in the jungle. Oh, and when the storm surge comes rushing in you have to hold your precious children over your head so they didn’t drown. After it had passed and the morning light broke you would see that not only has your house and all your possessions literally been blown away but the rest of the village has to. Children have no schools to go to. Fruit trees and the crops are gone. Your beautiful “Avatar” forest no longer has leaves. Many of the massive trees are uprooted and coconut palms snapped off half way...
by Andrew D Moore | 30 Mar 2015 | Uncategorised
At Life Cycle Logic we have been hard at work developing innovative ways to view sustainability. It’s always about seeing the bigger picture – to put things into perspective and to achieve real measurable progress. I’m delighted to announce our latest innovation is literally taking off to help Vanuatu- sustainability drones. For several years I have been building remotely controlled aircraft (a.k.a – drones) and experimenting with how they can help with our sustainability work. This tool is a real game changer and the applications are only limited by your imagination; from assessing the potential of buildings for solar, searching for threatened species, monitoring revegetation progress to capturing an organization’s sustainability story. The most urgent application, however, is to provide the bigger picture when the effects of climate change are felt. Vanuatu was recently hit by one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. Cyclone Pam struck with wind speeds over 250 kilometers per hour, leaving the archipelago devastated and thousands of our near neighbours without food or shelter. I am extremely proud to have been asked to travel to Vanuatu to assist the United Nations to map the impact of the cyclone. We will be using drones to capture ultra-high resolution aerial photos and video to provide the UN with the big picture to help to coordinate the rebuilding efforts. Stay tuned for updates as I embark on this amazing...
by Andrew D Moore | 19 Jan 2015 | Uncategorised
Nestled in the forest of Northcliffe Western Australia is a small family owned dairy company with a goal that is as big as the giant Karri trees that surround them – to be the global leader in ethical dairy farming. Since Bannister Downs began processing and selling their own milk they have been known for their use of sustainable packaging. Now they plan to do so much more, and this time, over the whole supply chain. We were invited down to the farm by Sue and Mat to help them to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. You may be wondering where on earth would you start? Our stepwise approach breaks it down into four achievable stages. Step 1 – Map After working on the carbon footprint study for Dairy Australia we gained a thorough understanding of every aspect of the dairy supply chain so this part was easy. Step 2 – Measure Before diving into a full life cycle assessment study (which includes a wide range of environmental impacts) it often is wise to start by assessing the carbon footprint first. For Sue and Mat, we first calculated their carbon footprint from ‘paddock to dairy parlour’. Once we had a measure on their existing performance we could investigate the next step. Step 3 – Manage Over the years Sue and her team developed a list of potential solutions and they were excited to investigate those first. These included the use of solar and even manure power to provide their electricity and hot water. Throughout this exercise one opportunity stood out – a solar system for the Perth depot. To demonstrate the savings this could achieve we conducted a detailed solar...
by Andrew D Moore | 22 Nov 2013 | Uncategorised
I recently had the pleasure of presenting at Green Drinks in Perth where the theme of the event was “food and sustainability”. I presented a life cycle assessment perspective on foods showing examples for foods grown in Western Australia, Australia, and overseas. You can find the essence of the presentation above. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did preparing and presenting it! Thanks again to Flavia, the Green Drinks team and City Farm!...
by Andrew D Moore | 2 Oct 2013 | Uncategorised
In just a matter of days after the new Australian Government shut down the Climate Commission over 30,000 people have come together to raise $969,000 to put Tim Flannery back in his job. The new crowd-funded Climate Council have got straight to work analysing the latest 2000 page IPCC report and have prepared a summary. The four key messages you need to know from their summary are: 1. Our understanding of the climate system has only continued to strengthen in the last six years. Ocean and air temperature are rising, mass from glaciers and ice sheets is being lost, and sea level is rising. 2. Scientists are more certain than ever that increasing global temperatures since 1950 have been caused primarily by human activities. 3. A warming climate is increasing the frequency and severity of many extreme weather events and is changing rainfall patterns, creating risks for human well-being, the economy and the environment. 4. Stabilising the climate system will require substantial and sustained reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We will have to decarbonise the economy. The world’s leading climate scientists have agreed since 1971 that we have a climate problem and the latest report confirms we still have a problem. Read the full report here. Support the Climate Council...
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