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Environment

Categories under Environment

Peak Oil Demand

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, October 20th, 2016 - 95 comments

A decade ago peak oil, or the capping of supply was thought to be an imminent problem. Now it is looking more likely that demand will peak, and soon.

Protecting the seabed and foreshore

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, October 19th, 2016 - 7 comments

With the sudden departure of deep sea drilling company Statoil from Northland here’s a timely look the role of community action in that, the state of play in NZ and what is next.

Statoil leaves Northland, Greenpeace announce summer of Climate Action

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, October 15th, 2016 - 14 comments

Congratulations and thanks to the people of Northland!

The Essential Forest-Gardener – chapter 2

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, October 15th, 2016 - 20 comments

Robert Guyton continues his series on life in a Riverton Food Forest.

“This is my act of love” – the shut down of the trans Canadian/US pipelines

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 15th, 2016 - 31 comments

The words of the climate justice activists and why they are stepping up.

Nothing’s Going to Happen.

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 11th, 2016 - 104 comments

A wee reflection on our psychological fuck-edness.

Water and community

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 10th, 2016 - 10 comments

In coming together around a common need to protect water and land, community forms.

International Days of Prayer and Action with Standing Rock

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 9th, 2016 - 4 comments

What we know is coming largely from outside the mainstream. Which is how it should be.

The Essential Forest-Gardener

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 9th, 2016 - 21 comments

Robert Guyton begins a weekly series on life in a Riverton food forest.

Water and cultural values

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 8th, 2016 - 60 comments

Day one of the International Days of Prayer and Action with Standing Rock. Here’s a post on NZ’s relationship with water, and whether water is a resource or a taonga.

Why we need to stand with Standing Rock

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, October 6th, 2016 - 25 comments

For seven months the next movement of social and environmental justice and resistance has been growing. We should be paying attention.

Clinton vs Trump; Debate 1

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, September 27th, 2016 - 274 comments

The first Presidential kicks off this arvo. Who will win? Do we care? Should we care? Stay tuned Standarnistas, it’ll be a doozy!

When the levee breaks…

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, September 20th, 2016 - 99 comments

Bar the ear-worm, nothing to do with Led Zeppelin.

Maui embarrassment

Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, September 19th, 2016 - 15 comments

The government didn’t make much of a show of Conservation Week – which was probably for the best the Conservation stories coming out weren’t exactly positive for it.  US wanting us to do more on dolphins, the Kermadec sanctuary, fish dumping…

The Kermadecs and racist environmentalism

Written By: - Date published: 6:14 pm, September 18th, 2016 - 154 comments

This week has been a revelation in how willing Pākehā are to throw Māori under the bus for the sake of environmentalism.

Delivering the Green New Deal

Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, September 18th, 2016 - 3 comments

London-based macro-economist Ann Pettifor will speak on this topic at Wesley Church, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington, on Tuesday 20 September at 5:30pm. Ann is a member of the Green New Deal Group, whose proposition  is designed to power a renewables revolution, create thousands of green-collar jobs and rein in the distorting power of the finance sector while making more low-cost capital available for pressing priorities. All welcome; more info inside.

Conservation Week

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, September 17th, 2016 - 21 comments

It’s Conservation Week.  We should all go and enjoy the great outdoors this weekend… but be careful of the polluted rivers and the wallabies.  But at least we’ll be pest-free by 3300…

Fortress NZ

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, September 16th, 2016 - 120 comments

TS regular Tony Veitch has some practical ideas as to how we insulate NZ from the ravages of neoliberalism and climate change. Readers may agree with some, none or all of the suggestions. However, whichever way you look at it, the time for hand wringing is over. It’s time for action.

Maori Party to make a stand?

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, September 15th, 2016 - 113 comments

The Maori Party are threatening to pull out of their confidence & supply agreement with National.  This would leave National with a Hair-thin majority in the House. The Kermadec Sanctuary, if handled with competence instead of arrogance, should have been a massive win for National.

Big Oil in plain packaging

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, September 10th, 2016 - 95 comments

Big Tobacco was hit this week in New Zealand after Parliament passed laws requiring smokes to be sold in plain packaging. The science about the health threats posed by smoking is settled, as is the science over climate change. When can we expect laws being passed against the oil companies?

PETITION: Stop Govt. funded river pollution

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, September 8th, 2016 - 4 comments

Help get the petition to 45,000.

Race, Class, Global Warming and Democracy.

Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, September 7th, 2016 - 18 comments

Nothing and no-one is separate in this world. Nothing and no-one is more important than anything else or anyone else; no voice greater and no voice lesser.

On the whiner’s excuse “but we are so small”

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, September 6th, 2016 - 20 comments

Damon over at civicanalysis wrote an interesting post over the weekend “How New Zealand can help save the world” (and then pointed my attention to it 🙂 ). It looks at what we can do to structurally alleviate climate change. But also looked at some of the economic benefits

Can a national park be a person?

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 6th, 2016 - 17 comments

While New Zealand trashes its water and argues over whether we are allow to say ‘dairy cow’ at the same time, this 1 min video on The Guardian Facebook page about the Rights of Nature in NZ gets 2.4 million views

Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, September 3rd, 2016 - 8 comments

The Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) brings leading thinkers and culture creators from around the world to the Sydney Opera House stages and online to discuss and debate the important ideas of our time.

World Water Week

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, September 1st, 2016 - 11 comments

Never heard of it? Neither had I.

Water quality too important for bird-brained excuses

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, September 1st, 2016 - 59 comments

Nick Smith’s latest excuse for inaction on water quality is birds. Yes birds. You couldn’t make this shit up.

For a dose of blessed sanity, watch the (10 min) webcast by Dr Mike Joy explaining what the real problem is.

NRT: A death-knell for Ruataniwha?

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, August 31st, 2016 - 54 comments

I/S at No Right Turn writes: If the ruling stands, it won’t just kill the dam, but also National’s policy of trying to crack open reserves for development through an ideology of “net conservation gain”.

The elephant in the room

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, August 31st, 2016 - 4 comments

the elephant in the room climate change

Fair and sustainable economics

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, August 27th, 2016 - 168 comments

Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter starts a conversation about post-neoliberal economics.

Abrupt climate change: CO2 equivalent now at 485 ppm

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, August 26th, 2016 - 76 comments

We are now at 485 ppm CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas concentrations, up from 250 ppm in the 1700s. And climbing fast.