From the street, Michael Mobbs's inner Sydney terrace house looks like any other. But 20 years ago, Michael and his wife transformed their Chippendale home into an experiment in sustainable living: solar power, rainwater tanks, and a septic system to process their waste.
Mobbs nicknamed himself the "off the grid guy." His backyard contains laying chooks, honeybees, and a small edible garden. He even helps to cultivate community gardens around the neighborhood. The couple still relies on gas for cooking, but they're spending less than $300 . I came across a huge amount of ignorance. That's why I wrote the book Sustainable House.
Then I wrote Sustainable Food because I'd discovered that the growing, production, and transport of food is the second biggest climate polluter in Australia after coal-fired power stations.
How much of your food do you get from the garden?
Probably one percent. Look at it, it's five meters wide, and it's mostly overshadowed, but I've got a lot happening there. That's why I started gardening in the street. The neighbors liked it, the media loved it, then the mayor came and planted a fruit tree, and now we have this policy where you can garden anywhere in the City of Sydney without government approval.
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