Green Urbanism Down Under: Learning from Sustainable Communities in Australia

Australia and the United States share a common trait: the two countries are both the world's largest contributors to greenhouse emissions.

But Australian homes use about a third of the energy of U.S. homes, and about half as much for household transport.

So what are Australians doing to reduce their carbon footprints at home?

Timothy Beatley, author of Green Urbanism Down Under: Learning from Sustainable Communities in Australia looks at how greener ways of living have been adopted in Australia.

Examples include city gardens in cosmopolitan Melbourne, a koala-friendly housing development along the Tweed Coast, solar street lights that send electricity back to the city's power grid in Adelaide, and the 180-kilometer long electric rail system in Perth.

"If the adage 'think globally, act locally' still has currency today, as I believe it does, Australia represents a good model of how this might work," writes Beatley.

"Partly a response to the lack of leadership at the national level (as in the United States), there is much energy and much activity at the local level in Australia."

Beatley, professor of sustainable communities at the University of Virginia, shows how intrepid Aussies have worked to protect biodiversity, improve transportation options, and reduce energy and resource consumption.