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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Energy comes clean online By Megan McAuliffe, ZDNet Australia May 11, 2001 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/soa/Energy-comes-clean-online/0,139023165,120221107,00.htm
Energy Australia has embarked on a new web-based campaign to educate Australians on electricity and greenhouse emissions. It follows research indicating we are none the wiser when it comes to energy consumption. "The greenhouse issue is one of the most important environmental challenges the community is facing and we want to raise awareness of where energy comes from," Energy Australia Managing Director Paul Broad said. Energy Australia surveyed almost 500 people in Sydney, Newcastle and the ACT. According to Broad, the results found that most of the respondents did not realise electricity is generated by burning coal. Thirty four percent of those surveyed did not know the source of their electricity, while nearly one-quarter of respondents thought hydro generation was where power came from. "But the fact is that a quarter of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions comes from burning coal to produce electricity," he said. The company launched its Web-based campaign called 'Clean Air Calculator' to filter awareness into the community on the greenhouse issue and alternative energy sources available. The program is an interactive tool, which allows Internet users to see how much greenhouse gas is created from electricity used in the home. By entering the amount of each quarterly electricity bill, the program will calculate how much carbon, nitrogen and sulphur dioxide could be saved using alternative energy. According to Broad, the average electricity customer could save about 7 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year by choosing to buy power from renewable sources. "When told coal was the source of their electricity, people involved in the survey were very supportive of an environmentally-friendly alternative, "Eighty-four per cent like the idea of personally making a difference and 98 percent said helping the environment appealed to them," he said.
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