The Standard

Environment

Categories under Environment

A Response to ‘No Exit’.

Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, May 3rd, 2020 - 91 comments

In a recent post, Bill hit his straps with – “Either way, wind power won’t save us. Solar power won’t save us. Carbon capture and storage won’t save us. Your God won’t save us. Nothing but ourselves will save us.”

I felt miffed and more than a little grumpy at Bill’s flippant reference to God, and so sent through this long form response.  ~ Adam.

Covid-19 and climate change

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2020 - 55 comments

The International Energy Agency is forecasting that disruptions caused by Covid-19 will reduce CO2 output this year by 8%. To avoid the worst excesses of climate change the world has a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6% for the next decade. How are we going to keep repeating the reductions that we achieved this year for the next decade?

His work here is not yet done

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 1st, 2020 - 71 comments

Former Prime Minister John Key has said that under current conditions employers are going to sack 20 per cent of their workers even if the company is doing well and that employers should never waste a crisis.

No Exit.

Written By: - Date published: 5:25 pm, April 30th, 2020 - 22 comments

Reaction to Covid 19 has done more in a few weeks to blunt the drive behind climate change than anything the environmental movement has managed to do in over thirty years.

How to kill the car

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 29th, 2020 - 45 comments

What would you do so that instead of wandering endlessly through tilt-slab monstrosities soaked in 80s music and fluorescent lighting, surrounded by oppressed minimum-wage slaves who hate being there and you hating being there worried about your wheeled asset damaged in their carpark instead you get freedom?

Green Party: COVID-19 recovery and investment in people and nature

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, April 27th, 2020 - 16 comments

Most of the funding will go directly to employing people – the tools needed for wetland restoration such as spades and seedlings are far cheaper than big excavators and asphalt.

Draconian Tourism or no Tourism?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 27th, 2020 - 192 comments

If overseas tourists want to visit NZ, they may have to give up a little bit of their privacy to keep all of us safe.

Russel Norman: Climate change is harder to visualise than coronavirus, but no less dangerous

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, April 24th, 2020 - 6 comments

Executive Director of Greenpeace NZ, Russel Norman writes about the different responses to climate change and covid-19, and the things we can learn from the pandemic.

Our damaged rivers and streams

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, April 23rd, 2020 - 25 comments

A new report out from the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ showing that New Zealand’s fresh water system is getting worse, all over the place, but particularly in the South Island.

Running for cover

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 pm, April 21st, 2020 - 41 comments

More 1% Americans are heading our way, according to Bloomberg. The Texas company building underground bunkers is getting more enquiries. They’re not running from the virus but fear the aftermath when the breadlines turn.

Greens push for large intercity rail infrastructure to ensure sustainable post-COVID-19 rebuild

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, April 19th, 2020 - 122 comments

“The Greens are highlighting fast intercity rail improvements as the type of climate-friendly, job-creating project that should be prioritised for post-COVID-19 economic stimulus investment.”

Time to Pivot?

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, April 18th, 2020 - 11 comments

It would appear NZ and much of the rest of the world has made a first rather coincidental step on the AGW front.

No Right Turn: Climate Change – the need for a green recovery

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, April 15th, 2020 - 7 comments

The Climate Change Commission – the expert panel tasked with getting New Zealand carbon neutral – has written to the government asking it to apply a “climate change lens” to the post-Covid-19 spend-up.

How Not to Engage in Public Debate

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2020 - 95 comments

The best way to engage in public debate on the lockdown is to be open, clear, and transparent and show the facts. A press release full of beliefs and reckons is unhelpful and irresponsible.

What we were doing wasn’t working.

Written By: - Date published: 6:32 am, April 15th, 2020 - 112 comments

After the lockdown, it is tempting to try and go back to what we had before. To the familiar and comfortable, especially for us that were comfortable. Forgetting that for so many, things were anything but, comfortable. That won’t be happening. “Before” no longer exists.

Better footpaths and cycleways are a socialist inspired plot?

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, April 14th, 2020 - 65 comments

National MP Simon O’Connor thinks that making under used streets safer for walkers and cyclers is a Socialist inspired plan for world domination.

Greenpeace’s Green Covid Response

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, April 12th, 2020 - 77 comments

Oil giant OMV finally leave New Zealand, and Greenpeace releases its Green Covid Response plan to the government.

Has the EU failed during COVID-19?

Written By: - Date published: 5:16 am, April 10th, 2020 - 20 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog 

For global governance organisations, this is an important moment. This is the chance for them to demonstrate their worth and coordinate the response. In many ways how these structures respond becomes more important than the response of nation-states. This also is where the deficiencies and shortcomings of such organisations become very apparent. The noise coming from the EU in the last 48 hours is far from reassuring.

Tourism is the elephant in the living room

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, April 9th, 2020 - 148 comments

Rather than saving an industry that has multiple sustainability and resiliency failures, how about we regenerate local economies and set them to serve our communities?

What about Climate Change then?

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, March 31st, 2020 - 26 comments

Shouldn’t this global shock from this COVID-19 virus make us all wake up to the power of collective global action on climate change?

What kind of system change do we want right now?

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, March 19th, 2020 - 37 comments

As mainstream systems are forced to adapt to the new state of affairs in a covid world, what are the bigger picture changes that need to happen so that we are future-proofing our communities at the same time?

Red tape bonfire of the vanities

Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, March 9th, 2020 - 19 comments

National has promised a bonfire of regulations. Just like conservatives in Australia, the United Kingdom, America and previous National administrations.

Quick Question.

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, March 8th, 2020 - 61 comments

Your material life; would you trade it for the world?

Update/edit.

Interesting that the definitive answers all ran in one direction.

 

RIP Jeanette Fitzsimons

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, March 6th, 2020 - 33 comments

Former Greens co leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has died.

Climate change – the right schemes and the left despairs

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, March 2nd, 2020 - 27 comments

The Australian Liberal Government has signalled a movement away from solar and wind power  to untested technologies including carbon capture, hydrogen and lithium. Meanwhile the woman who led the negotiations for the Paris Agreement is calling for civil disobedience to force institutions to respond to the climate crisis.

Happy cows and land restoration

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, March 1st, 2020 - 12 comments

The point here isn’t to go ‘boo vegans’, it’s to point starkly to the problems with the current food and environment debate, and show case the pathways beyond the meat/no meat binary.

National’s new conservation policy was previously announced in 2014

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, February 29th, 2020 - 12 comments

National has announced a “new” policy that it previously announced in 2014.  And that has already been implemented.

Someone should keep a Talley

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 26th, 2020 - 15 comments

Radio New Zealand has published details of Talley donations totalling $27,000 being made to the NZ First Foundation.

WTAF NZ First?

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, February 22nd, 2020 - 148 comments

It has been reported that NZ First will oppose the Green’s attempt to make the country’s car fleet more sustainable and that it may hold up proposed gun law changes designed to address the problems clearly shown by the Christchurch massacre.

Sustainable NZ not so sustainable after all

Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, February 21st, 2020 - 23 comments

It appears that National’s dream of an alternative Green party that would drive the real Green Party below the threshold is in tatters with news that Sustainable NZ is on the skids.

Pure clear water

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 21st, 2020 - 44 comments

It’s probably time to notice why Jones’ Provincial Growth Fund had to step in and provide several million of funding to patch up the water supply emergency in Northland.