he tide has washed away our footprints tor2O12 and now 2013 lies clean and clear ahead of us, with just a few steps already marked in the sand. Many of us have spent time at the beach and have had a brush with sun- burn to prove it ... all part of a typical Australian holiday season. So, back to pick up what awaits. People talk so much about New Year resolutions, but how many of us really carry them through is highly debatable. The holiday season can give us time for our minds to wander into what could be possible in a fresh new year - a change of direction, new goals to achieve, new schools, new courses, new f challenges ... ' My holiday reading found some quirky directions being followed in the renew- able energy conversation. fhe Sydney Morning Herald on the 31 .12.12 had a story about architects in Paris using the excess warmth of the body heat of people in the Metro as well as the heat from friction on the trainlines to power underfloor heating for public housing apartments nearby. ln Sweden, the rail ventilation system heats water in tanks underground, which is then pumped to heating pipes. Swedish engineers are working on a way to 'capture excess body heat on a scale large enough to warm homes and office buildings in a perpetual cycle of mutual generosity'. What can we say but, "Wowl", recognising that those Swedes are serious people and are look- ing towards designing the system into new buildings where possible. Another apparently quirky idea was in The Australian of 29/30.12.1 2. lt told the story of Odette Lenane, a Tasmanian oyster grower. Apparently, oysters filter 6 litres of water an hour, which seems astonishing. She has a grant to investi- gate cleaning polluted estuaries around the world through the use of billions of oysters. Their shells could also be used by the building industry (as they were, in fact, in the early days of the colony in Sydney). I guess one of the problems in a hungry world would be to stop people eating them, every one, like the Walrus and the Carpenter in Alice, before they had a chance to do their job. I know the media use these stories over what is called the 'silly season', but nonetheless it's interesting to hear of people letting their minds think outside routine channels - that's how discoveries lctngonthecake with Susie Dunn and changes are made. A lot of those discoveries happen at our university, of course, but also in businesses around town, where people develop new ideas and better ways of doing things. Locally, among other such groups, the New England Wind Consortium and the Farming the Sun people are working to- wards 'community owned renewable en- ergy as part of the shift to sustainability'. I can never understand why the principle of renewable energy shouldn't be whole- heartedly embraced by everyone, unless I suppose they have a vested interest that overrides all other considerations. It underlines a chance to rethink and perhaps readjust our lives within our community to maximise the available advantages. There is so much available for every interest here, that I always hesitate to start listing for fear of leaving something out. Make the effort to try something new this year - go to a cricket school, go to the opera, listen to a new band in town, take up a new hobby, join a group (there's one for just about everything). And doing something with the com- munity comes back to give you pleasure, as well as what you give. Cast your bread on the waters ... _---_**;ffi$kil trCine ffi7' CAl(E