The Standard

Environment

Categories under Environment

Hospo resilience: pairing covid response and climate action

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 8th, 2021 - 13 comments

We’re now in the time of synchronous and overlapping crises. With Delta Level Two and ongoing restrictions affecting the hospitality sector, and eighteen months into our covid response, solutions need to be for the long haul. One of the keys to that is positive adaptation.

Down With Farmer Bashing

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, August 13th, 2021 - 126 comments

A Guest Post by DB Brown on how and why regenerative stock grazing matters ecologically, and where best to place our anger about climate change.

Ways out of the climate catastrophe

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, August 10th, 2021 - 130 comments

As the IPCC drops its grim, damning report on humans and climate change, and as we are surrounded by social and mainstream media narratives of disaster, we desperately need cogent and hopeful visions of where we can go next, and stories of futures where things work out.

What if saving the world meant life was tasty, beautiful and just long enough?

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, August 4th, 2021 - 22 comments

The nasty, brutish and short meme is a failure of the imagination. We can have less and still live good lives.

The latest Reid Research Poll result

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 2nd, 2021 - 134 comments

Last night’s Reid Research poll result suggests that the electorate is reverting back to a more conventional dynamic after the stratospheric heights that Labour enjoyed immediately post Covid elimination.

Why isn’t govt hitting utes much harder?

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, July 26th, 2021 - 51 comments

Aotearoa has been super sizing its vehicle fleet for over a decade and given Jacinda Ardern claim that Climate Change as her generation’s nuclear-free moment, why is her government not smacking ute owners and other gas guzzlers much harder than the just the feebate? Large vehicles increase climate change and wild weather. Fringe Benefit tax is payable on them and usually not collected. Plus they are deadly dangerous to pedestrians and other vehicles.

Keep the faith, deep greenies

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 22nd, 2021 - 75 comments

For those that understand the cyclical, interconnected nature of reality and why growth is inherently limited in the physical world, kia kaha, we’re making headway.

Mother Nature gives Groundswell NZ the middle finger

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, July 20th, 2021 - 78 comments

With record floods in Marlborough, half of Westport evacuated, disastrous flooding in Germany and the North East and the threat of record bushfires in the North West of the United States Mother Nature is passing rather cruel judgment on Groundswell NZ’s recent protest.

Why Not Support The Farmers?

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, July 17th, 2021 - 106 comments

The Groundswell farmers movement want the new freshwater policy scrapped, the “ute tax” removed, lots of imported labour for farm work, parts of the ETS dumped the new Significant Natural Area policy dumped, the draft policy on indigenous biodiversity scrapped and Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill stopped.  How likely is this?

If a thousand baby flamingos die in the desert does anyone hear them howl?

Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, July 16th, 2021 - 43 comments

Farmers aren’t the problem here, they’re the mirror New Zealand is holding up to itself. We say we want change, despite the evidence.

The billionaire race into space

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, July 12th, 2021 - 90 comments

UK billionaire Richard Branson has won the rich man’s pissing competition by being the first billionaire into space even though 12 months ago he was urgently seeking Government grants while at the same time paying no tax because of his tax residency status.

No Right Turn: Climate Change: Legal action

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, July 6th, 2021 - 2 comments

Lawyers for Climate Action are taking the Climate Change Commission to court over their lax budgets and dodgy accounting.

All the right words on climate have already been said

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, July 4th, 2021 - 19 comments

So I was just driving around thinking, “Ugh it’s hot. Ugh there’s a new fire starting near me at least every other day. Ugh, how is this my life, also this is just the beginning, I feel like I should be waking up from this nightmare at some point and yet I am not,” when the editor finally reached me.

Denis Tegg: Regional Transport Plan Will Increase Emissions And Is Thus Unlawful

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 28th, 2021 - 26 comments

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) has approved a transport plan which assigns just 3% of its 10-year budget to walking and cycling, and only 5% to public transport. This must inevitably increase overall transport emission pollution in the region.  In my opinion the law requires the plan to reduce transport emissions to achieve consistency with central government transport policy.  If emissions will rise under the plan this makes the plan unlawful and places WRC at significant risk of a successful legal challenge.

Let the Mills die

Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, June 24th, 2021 - 13 comments

From Kawerau to Nelson to Tiwai Point, our accelerated decline of heavy mass manufacturing factories continues.

Fisheries reform is under way

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, June 23rd, 2021 - 10 comments

David Parker has shown a deft handling of the Oceans and Fisheries portfolio and in the past week has announced the accelerated roll out of cameras on fishing boats and a suite of actions designed to address the failing health of the Waitemata Harbour.

He’s baaack

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 21st, 2021 - 30 comments

For the first time since the election Winston Peters has reemerged.  But instead of talking about the country’s problems such as  climate change, child poverty and recovering from the global pandemic he chose to concentrate on the “over” use of Te Reo, cycleways and gangs.

Public transport, to complement cycling?

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, June 17th, 2021 - 51 comments

Jenny looks at extending public transport to include cyclists

Climate transition transport and the rural road tumbleweeds

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 16th, 2021 - 69 comments

Beyond the cycle/car wars.

Fear and loathing in cycleland

Written By: - Date published: 3:52 pm, June 15th, 2021 - 32 comments

I am pleased the right have moved on from overtly racist attacks on minorities. But I am bemused by the current level of vitriol that has been thrown at a group who apart from wearing lycra is doing nothing wrong.

The Government’s Feebate scheme

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 14th, 2021 - 70 comments

Labour and the Greens have announced the establishment of a Feebate scheme to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles and disincentivise the purchase of gas guzzlers.

Auckland’s Northern Pathway

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 11th, 2021 - 144 comments

Last week’s announcement of major changes to the New Zealand Upgrade program in my view was welcome.

Greenpeace on the cow shaped hole in the Climate Commission report

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, June 10th, 2021 - 22 comments

Greenpeace says there is still a cow-shaped hole in both the Climate Change Commission’s advice and the Government’s approach to climate action, following the release of the Commission’s finalised climate plan.

The Climate Commission Report

Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, June 9th, 2021 - 54 comments

As they said they would, the Government has today released the full advice from the Climate Commission, taking into account all the submissions and all the big fat evidence.

NZ Nuclear-Free Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, June 8th, 2021 - 3 comments

June 8 is the anniversary of Aotearoa’s 1987 nuclear-free legislation. NZOnScreen is running a retrospective of our proud history, the Nuclear-free Collection. It is well worth a watch. I particularly liked the movie “Nuclear Reaction,” with Big Norm seeing off the French, Big Dave seeing off the Americans, and Kiwi Keith also clear about where we stood. The nuclear risk is worse now than it has ever been.

 

Riverton rocks: support the pilot for social and economic rejuvenation and resilience in rural NZ

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 31st, 2021 - 12 comments

The South Coast Environment Centre is creating a local food network that connects growers and customers directly, creates food resiliency, and keeps money in the local economy. Today is the last day of their Pledgeme, and they need a bit more support to push them over the top.

Cycling Politics is Winnable Politics

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, May 29th, 2021 - 100 comments

This Sunday Aucklanders have an opportunity to protest the catastrophic failure of NZTA to generate a cycleway from the North Shore to the CBD, and to promote a practical proposal to “liberate a lane” on the Harbour Bridge which would do the job in the meantime.

New Zealand’s Perverse Economy

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, May 29th, 2021 - 37 comments

At a forecast farm gate milk price of between NZ$7.25 and NZ$8.75 per kilo of milk solid, Fonterra is going to fill up its milk tankers, drive back to their suppliers with cash and pump it straight back into the farmhouse like we haven’t seen in a decade.

Cycling Politics Is Damn Serious Business

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, May 26th, 2021 - 73 comments

Don’t knock local politics until you’ve had to stand up and defend a cycleway in public.

What local food can look like (and why)

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 21st, 2021 - 10 comments

The South Coast Environment Centre is creating a local food network that connects growers and customers directly, creates food resiliency, and keeps money in the local economy. This is an exemplar of climate, economic and community sustainability.

Regenerative agriculture and climate solutions

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 6th, 2021 - 94 comments

Research is now showing the advantages of regenerative agriculture. Are we wise enough to make best use of them?