Help for Tonga
Cyclone Gita has caused devastation across the Tongan islands, and is being called the worst storm in at least 60 years.
Environment
A storm is coming
A big storm is set to hit Auckland next week. And it won’t be the last.
Bio-fuels.
Biofuels and fossil. The difference?
Fonterra a failure in concept and in practice
New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.
Fonterra and Fletcher Building
New Zealand only has two businesses of world-competitive scale that are also majority owned by New Zealanders: Fonterra, and Fletcher Building. And they appear to have lost their way and put much of their value and our wellbeing at risk.
Two Labour Governments, two coal mines
The New Zealand Government has rejected the OIO’s proposal to allow Bathurst to purchase DOC land for coal mining purposes. And in Australia the Queensland Labor Government is working out how it can back out of an agreement to permit the Adani coal mine to proceed.
Climate activists threatened with “draconian” Anadarko Amendment
“We can’t burn existing fossil fuel reserves if we are to avoid climate catastrophe.” – Russell Norman.
Drip, drip, drip…
In the middle of the Southland drought, people in Invercargill are no longer allowed to water their gardens.
Greening the government: economics
In his State of the Planet speech, James Shaw lays out the Green Party’s bold vision and plan for a truly sustainable economy to replace the crumbling architecture of the last 30 years.
(image from Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics)
Plastic Fantastic
Billions of disease laden pieces of plastic killing reefs. No effective solution offered.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership
The positive aspects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
High Country selloff scandal laid bare
A feature in yesterday’s Domion Post Weekend lays bare the extent of the scandalous selloff of huge tracts of our high country. The tenure review of the high country has been conducted since 1992 to privatise some of the land and also bringing parts into the conservation estate. The process has been followed by both National and Labour governments.
Cape Town
A 100 day count down.
Local Bodies: Climate Change Just Got Personal
“At 46 degrees latitude south, New Zealand’s southern most city has regularly been experiencing similar temperatures to cities near the equator. When we were sizzling at 32 degrees, we equaled Cairns, were 2 degrees warmer than Jakarta and Suva and 6 above Nairobi. These cities are used to such temperatures and their ecosystems have adapted to it, it has been a severe shock to ours.”
Can This Government Regain Power on Its Policies?
The sixth Labour led Government has made a good start to its term. But what policy results will New Zealand have to vote for and campaign on in 2020?
Really buffering climate change
The recent development of accident and disaster insurance over the last century is now having a profound influence on buffering climate change. The Economist had a recent article with an excellent graph. Perhaps this is worth encouraging to give a price signal and a political lobby against that of the polluter lobby.
Is it time to Nationalise Auckland?
It has been a decade now since Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide proposed amalgamating all of Auckland’s city councils into one enormous entity by dumping much of the Royal Commission’s proposals. Well it’s time to hold its results to account.
Climate Change and the New Zealand Defence Forces
It’s always bugged me that our military forces are under-used in New Zealand. It’s time we invited them to protect us from climate change.
The Saviour Machine
Our ingenuity.
When the jet stream slows…
…let’s ridicule Donald Trump.
The joy of biking
As I prepare to fly out of NZ yet again for work, I’m contemplating how much my personal transport has changed over the years. These days I most ride a e-bike. Faster than a car for my commute because of the frigging Auckland traffic. Effective exercise without too much pain. And a lot of fun.
Teggtalk: Trump-Like Climate Science Meddling by NZ Ministers
Denis Tegg has been responsible for showing that the previous Government stonewalled and hid a report prepared by the Ministry for the Environment which warned local bodies of the threats posed by sea level rises caused by climate change.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves.
The “Adapting to Climate Change in NZ” report.
James Shaw: a stocktake on climate change action in Aotearoa – livestream announcement 11am
Spoiler alert: We need to do better.
World Bank to stop funding oil and gas exploration
It is time for all of the institutions, countries, investors and individuals who are still in the Paris Agreement to stop funding fossils – once and for all.
– Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International
Sea level rise: coming to a town near you
From Newsroom:
“We now see building new suburbs on land prone to liquefaction in much of the country as foolish … We should see allowing new subdivisions on vulnerable coastal land as equally foolish.”
– Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright
Economy 2018
It’s that time of year where we start making predictions for 2018. I see it looking not too hot, not too cold.
4 just became the new 2.
Someone just did something sensible, and it’s frightening.
Guest Post: Monbiot, Attenborough and Soper on environmental collapse
Guest post by Ed about the intellectual rigour of George Monbiot and David Attenborough and the rater strange response of Barry Soper.
Progress from the Labour led government
Just over one month in the new Labour led Government and it is time to measure progress.
Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.
It’s no longer really working out (kicking the AGW can down the road), but we seem to be hooked into a peculiar form of madness even as everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. It’s beyond me…
The Pike River Supreme Court decision – Helen Kelly would be pleased
Helen Kelly blogged four years ago why the deal that allowed Peter Whittall to walk free following the Pike River disaster was unjust and flawed. Yesterday the Supreme Court agreed.
Queensland State Election and Coal
The Queensland election is turning into one of those rare and weird ones in which a large-scale environment-versus-economy fight looms largest.
Labour accelerates action on Pike River re-entry
National is trying to spin that Labour has adopted its position on re-entry of the Pike River mine. But the Pike River families are having nothing of this.
Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk
A guest post by Christine Rose on Fishing Minister Stuart Nash’s strange decision to delay the implementation of video surveillance on fishing ships and the implications for endangered Maui’s dolphins.
Can Ben Mack please make his mind up
Herald lifestyle columnist has published two recent opinion pieces, the first wondering if Jacinda Ardern will be able to address the many and varied problems the country faces and the second suggesting that the Government is under the control of the extreme right. Can he please make up his mind.