Most of us never think about where our power really comes from. That’s what Nate Hagens calls “energy blindness” - we flip a switch, charge our phones, and enjoy a world of instant everything, without noticing the fossil-fuel magic behind the curtain. For the last 150 years this incredible “carbon boost” has super-charged life: bigger economies, global travel, non-stop convenience. It’s been an amazing ride! But we've grown accustomed to abundance, forgetting the finite nature of these resources.

In his brilliant and beautifully animated film The Great Simplification , Nate unpacks all of this, but also claims that our evolutionary drives for reward and connection, do not thrive in excess. We are more fulfilled when we’re connected to each other and to nature - not when we’re chasing more stuff. As the big ‘energy party’ winds down, we’re being invited to build something even better. We are called to innovate with renewables, build resilient communities, and foster empathy-driven futures. The invitation is for us to evolve toward wiser, more fulfilling paths. See practical examples of boosting well-being through living with less at the terrific documentary A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity.

In a major policy shift, the Liberal Party of Australia has formally abandoned its 2050 Net Zero commitment, following a party-room decision announced on 13 November. While the party says it will still aim for emissions reductions over time and remain a signatory to the Paris Agreement, it no longer supports a long-term legislated Net Zero target. “Net Zero” refers to the goal of balancing human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions with an equivalent amount of removals, so that no more carbon is added to the atmosphere than is taken out. Under the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, this is the benchmark many countries use to help limit global warming to well below 2 °C — and ideally to 1.5 °C — by mid-century. Learn more at Behind the News.

Shop Ethical! has updated its net zero assessments with three recent reports to evaluate corporate carbon targets - As You Sow's Road to Zero Emissions (2023); Corporate Accountability's The Big Con (2021); and New Climate Institute's Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor  (2025).

Australia is blazing a trail in renewable energy, with over 4.3 million homes and businesses now boasting rooftop solar panels—and 1,000 more systems popping up daily. This boom is a vital step in reducing dependancy on fossil fuels and working towards clean energy. 

Yet, many companies in our new Solar Panels category receive  a low rating. This is due largely to human rights issues, common place in the solar panel and battery supply chain. Forced labor, especially among Uyghur people in China's Xinjiang region, is rife in the mining of raw materials like polysilicon and cobalt. China produces 95% of the world's polysilicon, often via coal-powered factories in this region.

According to  Fuzz Kitto of Be Slavery Free there is enough non-Xinjiang supply in existence globally, but Australia has a weak Modern Slavery Act that "lacks teeth”. The US have an import ban on products connected to alleged Uyghur human rights abuses.

Sign the Be Slavery Free petition to allow us to pursue both clean energy and ethical supply-chains. For best-practice options, check out Australian-made panels from Tindo Solar.