Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 55 comments
Labour has announced it will put a moratorium on deepsea oil drilling until it’s proven safe. Good. Basic precautionary principle. Clearly necessary given the piss-poor handling of a relatively small spill. Besides, there’s no rush to dig this stuff up. It’s not going anywhere and we can only extract it once. Will only become more valuable over time.
Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 20 comments
From my facebook. Some opportunistic bugger is trying to offload their boat. TomScott in Weellington does his cogent best as does the Herald cartoonist. Then there is my favorite (despite its grammar error).
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, October 14th, 2011 - 14 comments
Thanks also to the volunteers who are turning up in their hundreds for the Rena cleanup effort. We’re lucky to live in a country with such a generous and active volunteer tradition.
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 pm, October 13th, 2011 - 60 comments
* Tupperwaka: $200K per day
* Specialist environmental response vessel: Dunno, didn’t bother buying it.
* Leaving scene of shipwreck/oil disaster to open fake boat made from oil products: valueless
Just me or is he developing a severe list? Could be in danger of breaking up.
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, October 13th, 2011 - 30 comments
The Rena disaster has put the spotlight on the environmental risks of National’s deepsea oil drilling plans. Yes, they’re not the same thing. In fact, an oil spill from a drilling platform or one of the ships serving it is more likely than from a freighter plowing into a well-known reef.* And there’s a hell of a lot more oil involved.
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, October 13th, 2011 - 213 comments
One of the turning points of Bush’s presidency was the failed non-response to Hurricane Katrina. It’s starting to look now very much as if the wreck of the Rena is John Key’s Katrina moment.
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, October 12th, 2011 - 184 comments
In a depressingly familiar pattern, National is more interested in avoiding responsibility than fixing the Rena disaster. They left it to Maritime NZ. Who left it to the shipping company. Now, the oil’s coming ashore. The promised soldiers didn’t show up yesterday. All the Nats can do is criticise locals for acting on their own.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 12th, 2011 - 12 comments
Remember when New Zealand used to lead the world on the environment? Yeah, well not under the Key Government. Now, New Zealand is preparing to veto making the Ross Sea a marine protected area. Why are we alone in blocking this last pristine sea from protection? For the sake of a $18m fishery, probably fished by slave ships.
Written By: - Date published: 6:37 am, October 12th, 2011 - 55 comments
3News has him caught out lying, The Standard has his office caught lying, and his government’s failed to act on the worst environmental disaster New Zealand has had.
Not to mention the crisis at first five-eighth.
Written By: - Date published: 1:42 pm, October 9th, 2011 - 7 comments
It’s scary ‘coz it’s true.
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, October 9th, 2011 - 60 comments
National’s handling of the Rena oil spill is fitting into the same depressing pattern as Pike River and Christchurch – hands off, leave it to the private sector, ministers trotting out excuses rather than leading. We’re even getting the mandatory Key photo-op today, doubtless accompanied by a hollow promise.
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, October 8th, 2011 - 71 comments
The stranding of the Containership Rena on Wednesday morning, occurred in clear fine weather which has persisted for 3 days now. This clear weather is due to deteriorate starting today with a change in wind direction around midday. It is expected that by the middle of the week it will be too late. That before the next calm period the ship will be broken on the reef. What should have been done?
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, October 8th, 2011 - 15 comments
If we can’t deal with a small oil leak from a grounded ship, what are we doing planning deepsea drilling on a grand scale?
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 6th, 2011 - 71 comments
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died today at the age of 56.
Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, October 6th, 2011 - 5 comments
Remember when Key had a super-duper secret plan to end whaling? Turned out the ‘plan’ was to restore commercial whaling as long as they promised to stop some time (the draft ‘phase-out’ plan didn’t actually have any reductions in it). Well, over-promise, under-deliver Key’s made no progress and whaling is resuming.
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, October 6th, 2011 - 9 comments
The low-lying island nations of Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared water emergencies and parts of Samoa are rationing water. Climate change has raised the sea level so that what little freshwater lens the islands have has been reduced. Higher temperatures evaporate more of it. Climate change is also causing more frequent and severe La Ninas, which causes droughts.
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, October 2nd, 2011 - 5 comments
Gerry Brownlee has, predictably, been incredibly high-handed and insensitive in his handling of the Christchurch earthquake, especially when it comes to the red-zone. He created a clumsy, one-size fits all, buyout system and a Catch 22 for homeowners wanting to appeal by denying them access to the geotech data they need. Labour’s done much better.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, September 29th, 2011 - 5 comments
The crime of ecocide will be tested, as if it is already law, by barristers before a judge and jury, at the UK Supreme Court in London.
Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, September 28th, 2011 - 19 comments
250 jobs lost at Chch meatworks.
55 jobs lost at Canterbury leather.
Insurers warn they’ll pull out.
Kaiapoi redzoners to be $24K worse off. That’s before they get screwed by the landbankers.
10,000 Cantabrians left for overseas in the past year.
The recovery ‘delayed‘ again. It’s clear we still haven’t hit bottom.
The Nat’s plan: “muddling through”
Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, September 27th, 2011 - 24 comments
Nick Smith is looking at issuing a “Government policy statement” to ensure that the Auckland Plan complies with their agenda. They may ban the urban limits that are proposed to keep green, productive land around Auckland and help ensure rates stay low and public transport works in a more liveable city.
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, September 23rd, 2011 - 7 comments
Moving Planet is a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis. It is being held on 24th September 2011 – a day to move beyond fossil fuels. Check out an event near you…
Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, September 22nd, 2011 - 39 comments
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, September 21st, 2011 - 29 comments
A guest post from Jarm Ohnstrong: I want to start this article with an apology. A couple of weeks ago, I attacked Labour for its criticism of National’s performance on the Christchurch rebuild while not having released its own recovery policy. That was unfair and petty. Now, Labour has released its policy. It’s deserving of the highest praise.
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, September 20th, 2011 - 74 comments
Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, September 19th, 2011 - 49 comments
We’re going to need a lot of innovation to survive the coming decades. Today’s innovation is a simple modification that at least doubles the energy output of a wind turbine. Brilliant.
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, September 19th, 2011 - 109 comments
Today Labour released another substantial policy, a plan for recovery in Christchurch. It’s a policy that works for ordinary people, and a much needed helping hand for displaced red-zone residents.
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, September 19th, 2011 - 24 comments
The Press reports: “The Central Christchurch recovery is under threat as quake-weary property owners start using their insurance money to buy new buildings in Auckland and overseas.” Hmm. If only they had been repeatedly warned about this for the past seven months. Hopefully, we’ll see a real plan from Labour today.
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, September 17th, 2011 - 64 comments
The warnings on the economy are coming thick and fast now, both globally and nationally.
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, September 16th, 2011 - 16 comments
When it comes to making any kind of effort to saving the planet from catastrophic climate change I guess being even a “fast follower” was just a little too ambitious for the Key government.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 16th, 2011 - 59 comments
When the Nats say they must cut early childhood education funding – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to cut women’s refuge money – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to sell our assets to pay their debt – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
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