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Judith Alcorn |
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Greetings to everyone! |
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As I write this, we are gearing up to one of the most exciting events for our members and other sustainability educators to ever take place in Melbourne – the Learning for Sustainability Conference 06. This is planned to be a truly transformative experience for participants – please make sure you are able to attend and “Celebrate, Reflect, Connect and Shape” with the delegates from all over Australia and beyond. The conference includes a rare opportunity to hear from the keynote speaker: Akpezi Ogbuigwe – Head of Environmental Education and Training, United Nations Environment Program Nairobi - from all accounts a truly inspirational person.
After that, the next event for members will be “Conversations for Change,” the Annual Dinner and the AGM all rolled into one in September – watch out for the details soon!
Please remember our own inspirational AWARENESS Journal needs contributions from all of you for the next edition by Friday 28 July – this publication is such a fantastic way of getting yourself into print, publicising what we are doing and attracting new members.
We welcome Fay Loveland, REO from SE Regional Waste management Group, as Secretary for the Executive Committee – Lisa Coffa has relinquished this role.
Please remember to renew your membership (if you bring in a new member, you receive a $30 book voucher!) and also send back the Member Survey we have attached to this newsletter. We would love to know your thoughts on how we can be of more value to you!
Thankyou to Zandy Tibballs and the SE Regional Waste Management Group for the production of this e-Newsletter!
See you all at the Conference!
Judith Alcorn
President AWARE
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Are you AWARE? |
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A quick reminder to you all that AWARE memberships are due for renewal on 1 July each year. Gosh that’s now! Please update your membership in order to continue to receive all the wonderful benefits of being a paid up AWARE member. Thanks to those of you who have recently updated your memberships or contributed via AWARENESS 2006 sponsorships.
Hopefully you’ve all received the latest AWARENESS in the mail which has some great stories in it plus the Membership Form in the back. Feel free to contact me at stan@eedge.com.au if you’d like me to email you a form or download the membership invoice attached to this newsletter.
Stan Vermeeren
AWARE Member Support |
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Exploring the connection between
ethics and waste
TWO BOOKS IN REVIEW
Last year I undertook a personal investigation into understanding my own morals and impending judgement. Ironically, this year I find myself concurrently reading two books on ethics, both just recently published. The first entitled “The Ethics of Waste: How We Relate to Rubbish” by Gay Hawkins and the second “The Ethics of What We Eat” by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.
Derived from the Greek ethos meaning "character" and from the Latin word mores, which means "customs" , ethics is a branch of philosophy that seeks to understand moral values and rules , or to put it more simply, to distinguish what is right from what is wrong.
So, how does ethics relate to waste?
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Gay Hawkins (2006) “The Ethics of Waste: How We Relate to Rubbish”,
UNSW Press, Sydney.
Gay Hawkins, an Australian academic based in NSW, looks specifically at an overflowing bin, plastic bags, shit, a dumped car, empty bottles and worms in her book “The Ethics of Waste: How We Relate to Rubbish”. In each of the six chapters, Hawkins explores the ways in which waste is currently framed and presents other ways in which waste could be treated. “This is not to abandon environmental politics but to come at it from a different angle, to ask different questions about configurations of “the political” and to use different tools” (p17).
Hawkins’ book is highly academic. The reader needs to have a good understanding of contemporary critical theory before delving into it. However, there are some valuable insights for waste educators to consider when creating educational campaigns (as well as some challenging perspectives to current models). What is needed is a shorter article or critique to make these reflections understandable and accessible to us all.
Insightful, but highly academic! |
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Peter Singer and Jim Mason (2006) “The Ethics of What We Eat”,
Text Publishing, Melbourne.
In “The Ethics of What We Eat” by Peter Singer and Jim Mason, the authors take three American families and investigate their food choices. There is the family eating the standard American diet, the conscientious omnivores and the other vegans. Although this book primarily focuses on animal rights, there are many references made which link food choices to wasteful consumption practices. A number of the chapters address waste in relation to issues surrounding food consumption: whether it is the choice to buy or grow organic food, eat locally or addressing the question “are vegans better for the environment?”
This book is very timely. Food and all the ethical issues which surround it are starting to make the environmental agenda. As Clive Hamilton clearly showed in his book on affluenza, most of our household waste is created from uneaten food, not to mention the waste created prior to purchasing it. In contrast to Hawkins, this book is very accessible but highly confronting: one chapter has a warning, alerting readers that the contents may be disturbing. Stories that vividly describe the ways in which animals are used and abused will alarm many readers. The book concludes by addressing the question “What should we eat?” and in light of recent debate on wasteful consumption practices, many of the suggestions outlined by Singer and Mason point towards more sustainable and humane methods of food production and consumption. I highly recommended it.
Ellen Regos
SERWMG |
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AWARE 5-minute membership survey |
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What's coming up? |
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What:
Date:
Contact: |
National Tree Day
SCHOOLS TREE DAY- Friday 28th July
NATIONAL TREE DAY - Sunday 30th July
Contact: www.planetark.com.au
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What:
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Who for:
Contact: |
EBATE (Eastern Business And The Environment) Seminar
Energy saving for your Business
Tuesday 8 August 2006
5.30 – 7.30pm
Ringwood Library
FREE
SMEs, Consultants, Council Educators, etc
Judith Alcorn (03) 9874 4633
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What:
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Learning for Sustainability conference
Celebrate, Reflect, Connect & Shape
2-4 August 2006
1st day Tours + 2 day conference
Rydges Hotel, Richmond
$488.75 - AWARE members, $575 - non-members
Sustainability educators, teachers, business people, etc
www.impactenviro.com.au/sustainability2006
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What:
Date:
Time:
Who for: |
AWARE ‘Conversations for Change’ seminar,
Annual Dinner and AGM
Date: 20 September 2006
Time: 5.30pm – 9.00pm
Who for: AWARE members and invited guests
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National Recycling Week
Recycle everywhere - at home, work, school or
around town.
6th - 12th November, 2006
www.planetark.com.au
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Learning for Sustainability Conference
SHOWCASING SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
The program for the upcoming Learning for Sustainability Conference happening between 2nd - 4th August is now available on the website at:
www.impactenviro.com.au/sustainability2006
This conference is THE one for Waste and Environment Educators and the AWARE Executive Committee strongly recommends that members seriously consider participating to meet and find out what's happening in our field around Australia.
Also, the cost for current AWARE, AAEE and VAEE members to attend is $488.75 which is 15% discount off the full registration cost of $575.00 - so this is the time to update your membership if you haven't done so recently. Contact Stan Vermeeren if you need an AWARE membership form and/or more information.
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Sustainability & Waste Wise School Awards
Here are the details on this year’s 2006 Sustainability and Waste Wise School Awards organised by Firestarter for Sustainability Victoria. Details will soon be available on Sustainability Victoria’s website at www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
CATEGORIES:
Category 1 – Waste Wise School of the Year – Regional / Metro – Secondary / Primary – so a total of four schools will win in Category 1. Each winner will win $1,000. Each of the finalists (2 in each category) will win $500 plus a worm farm.
Category 2 – Schools Sustainability Award – this award will be given to one of the winning schools from Category 1, who has also achieved significant results towards sustainability programs / outcomes within their schools. The winner will receive $2000 towards attending the 2007 International River Health Conference.
Category 3 – Schools Support Award – this $500 Award is for a school or group who has supported / continues to support a school (other than their own) to set up a Sustainability or Waste Wise program.
Category 4 – Sustainability / Waste Wise Hero Awards – Adult and Student ($500 each).
These awards are for an outstanding student and adult (teacher, parent etc) within a school who has contributed significantly towards a Waste Wise / Sustainability Program.
**An Innovation and Excellence Award will be awarded to an entrant (school or person) in any of the categories who has shown outstanding innovation and excellence towards a Sustainability or Waste Wise Program.
AWARDS DATES:
Early Bird Entries – August 11th
(will be entered in a Schools Sustainabilty hamper prize draw)
Entry Closing date – August 25th
Finalist Judging Tours
(Awards finalists to be visited by judging panel): 8th and 9th October
Awards Ceremony – Early November (TBC)
If you have any questions, please contact Ali Wallace at Sustainability Victoria at ali.wallace@sustainability.vic.gov.au or Cathy at Firestarter on cathy@fire-starter.com.au
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| © AWARE 2006 / e-News design by MILKWHITE |
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