Residents of Port Augusta in South Australia’s ‘Iron Triangle’ have voiced strong support for a proposal that would keep hundreds of power jobs in Port Augusta, and protect people’s health and the environment. This week, 3550 residents voted for solar power in the Repower Port Augusta Community Vote. [ + ]

With a range of events being planned around Australia, the 2012 National Carbon Capture and Storage Week will highlight major developments supporting the commercialisation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. [ + ]

The Agrecovery Rural Recycling program has experienced unprecedented growth over the last two years, with collection of waste plastics reaching record levels. Container plastic collected and sent for recycling by Agrecovery in the 12 months to June 2012 was 157,390 kg. [ + ]

Professor Michael Regan from Bond University’s Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture has been appointed to the newly formed Infrastructure Queensland committee. [ + ]

Thiess Services has built a portfolio in fields such as contaminated site remediation, waste management, water management, energy distribution and facilities operations and maintenance. Now the company has been brought into alignment with the needs of the mining industry, so General Manager of Remediation and Infrastructure Doug Moss is looking to take advantage of this. [ + ]

Research at The University of Western Australia into new farming practices that will reduce greenhouses gases, sequester carbon and enhance sustainability has attracted $5.7 million in funding from the federal government. [ + ]

MWH Global showcased a winning poster presentation during last week’s Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), which achieved record attendance of nearly 15,000 water professionals and elected officials from 99 countries. [ + ]

A change in Victorian legislation will allow property trusts to gain access to finance for environmental upgrades, significantly increasing opportunities to retrofit buildings in Melbourne’s city centre. [ + ]

In 2011, NCSI conducted an online Corporate Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Governance Survey. The survey was aimed at Australian senior and executive corporate managers and looked at current Australian corporate practices and aspirations concerning environmental sustainability and climate change. [ + ]

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers suffer from the fear of being stranded, as charging facilities leave a lot to be desired, claims a report by power experts GlobalData. The report suggests that this fear could be mitigated by the further implementation of charging stations, which will hopefully encourage electric vehicle usage. [ + ]

Kimberly-Clark is pleased to announce that all its Australian manufactured tissue and paper towel products (excluding Scott Facial Tissue) are now certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), considered the ‘gold standard’ in forestry certification by leading environmental organisations such as WWF and Greenpeace. [ + ]

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, is concerned that prices being circulated by wholesale refrigerant gas suppliers show significant price hikes unrelated to carbon pricing. In many cases, these price rises have been similar in quantum across different wholesalers. [ + ]

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus have cautioned businesses not to mislead customers by claiming recent price hikes in state government waste levies are as a result of the carbon price coming into effect. [ + ]

Only seven days remain for businesses, individuals and organisations to be nationally recognised for their water-efficient projects and efforts. Entries for the national 2012 savewater! awards close on Friday 20 July. [ + ]

Wave-energy technology company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and global security company Lockheed Martin have entered into a teaming agreement with the goal of developing a 19 MW wave-energy project in Portland, Victoria. It is said to be one of the largest wave-energy projects announced to date and could provide energy to approximately 10,000 homes. [ + ]