Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 21st, 2009 - 94 comments
I got along to the Greens’ sold-out screening of The Age of the Stupid last night. It’s a powerful movie, perhaps a bit disjointed at the start but it builds to a conclusion that really hits home. You can’t watch it and not come away more determined to do your bit, and demand your government […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 19th, 2009 - 32 comments
Key, Mr Ambitous when it comes to cycleways and Job Summits, says that reducing carbon emissions from developed countries like ours by 2020 to 40% below 1990 levels, which the scientists say is mandatory if we want to avoid run-away climate change, is “too ambitious“. Fair enough, I suppose. I’m sure the laws of nature will understand. Maybe they’ll […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, August 18th, 2009 - 34 comments
An excellent post from Idiot Savant (reproduced with permission) on the cost to taxpayers of subsidizing polluting industries. I haven’t noticed the mainstream media reporting this critical aspect of the governments climate change proposals. Too hard for them to grasp perhaps? Climate change: An illustration How unfair is the government’s plan to cap the price […]
Written By: - Date published: 5:43 am, August 18th, 2009 - 37 comments
I’m proud to be a Kiwi, and I’ve always enjoyed celebrating the successes of our tiny country. It’s not often that I feel ashamed of our role in the world. But our National Government’s position on greenhouse gas emissions is a disgrace. It’s not just that our emissions reduction target is too low, it’s that […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, August 17th, 2009 - 54 comments
The climate change debate is over (apart from a few luntatics of course). The debate is now about what to do, and the current focus is on the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately we’re only getting half of the story on the costs. Here’s a typical example of half-assed coverage: National has set […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:01 pm, August 13th, 2009 - 67 comments
Well, there goes our clean, green image. After Key announced the pathetic 10-20% emissions reduction target, we were declared ‘fossil of the day’ by environmental groups attending the Copenhagen climate change conference. Here’s Eco, talking about the failure of New Zealand and other developed countries:”The New Zealand target completes a rather dismal Annex I picture. The […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, August 11th, 2009 - 14 comments
As a recent article in the Guardian newspaper asked: “Can art succeed where science is proving insufficient to generate the will to act effectively on climate change? Scientists sound increasingly desperate as the evidence they are carefully accumulating stacks up but fails to prompt the urgency they insist it requires. Science seems only to create […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 pm, August 10th, 2009 - 47 comments
It’s interesting to see how National’s spin doctors are trying to frame the Government’s pathetic and shameful emissions reduction target of 10-20% by 2020. Stuff has ‘Ambitious’ emissions target announced The NZ Herald has New emissions target ‘big ask for NZ’ – Key And 3 News has Sia Aston quoting long-discredited figures supplied to her by […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 pm, August 10th, 2009 - 45 comments
If ever there were a sentence that summed up our collective folly it’s “Scientific opinion is that a reduction of 40 per cent is needed to prevent serious global warming but few countries are expected set that as a target.” That’s from the NZPA article on the Key Government’s newly announced climate change target. 10-20% below […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 10th, 2009 - 18 comments
Dark material gets warmer in sunlight than light-coloured or white material. Heat energy enters our atmosphere after light strikes the surface of the Earth, is partially converted into heat, which then radiates into the air. White stuff reflects the sun’s energy straight back into space without converting as much of it into heat. Because of this, […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, August 6th, 2009 - 11 comments
John Key has recently acted like a jerk to a young mother worried about what climate change is going to mean for her future and that of her child. Essentially he said that she should stick to what she knew. Bearing in mind the complete lack of understanding that both John Key and his NACT […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, August 6th, 2009 - 42 comments
The Greens have presented a sensible and feasible plan to reduce our greenhouse emissions to 40% less than 1990 levels by 2020. Contrary to Nick Smith’s scaremongering, it won’t break the bank. In fact, at current carbon credit prices, they will save us money. phase out fossil fuel plants and set higher energy efficency standards. […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, August 6th, 2009 - 18 comments
Hot Topic has very interesting post up about how Act took a sudden interest in climate change denial after they received $100k from prominent climate change denier Alan Gibbs. As Gareth at HT points out: Hide’s repositioning coincided with a major donation to ACT by Alan Gibbs, a wealthy NZ businessman best known here for […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:27 pm, August 5th, 2009 - 89 comments
Seems John Key’s been name-dropping Kiwi film stars to business leaders in Brizzie. In today’s NZ Herald Key is quoted slamming actress Keisha Castle-Hughes for speaking out on climate change, saying that she should ‘stick to the acting’. Remember it’s just a matter of days after public consultation wrapped up over what the Government’s 2020 […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, August 5th, 2009 - 72 comments
By telling Keisha Castle-Hughes she should “stick to acting” and keep out of the climate change debate, Prime Minister John Key is signalling to young New Zealanders everywhere keep out of politics. I guess he doesn’t want us to “join the conversation” after all. Speak up, get shot down. That’s the modus operandi of the […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, July 29th, 2009 - 12 comments
Nick Smith is the front-man for this government on climate change, and it appears that he knows absolutely nothing about the numbers. The ones he has been using are not related to his claims. It is puzzling because he was an engineer who are usually accurate users of numbers. It is more likely he is […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:21 am, July 27th, 2009 - 44 comments
As expected, the Key Government has decided not to listen to the scientists on climate change. Rather than the 40% reduction in emissions by 2020 that the scientists are saying the the minimum developed nations need to achieve to start greenhouse gas levels heading back to safe levels, they’ll be setting a weaker target instead, […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, July 24th, 2009 - 21 comments
Just saw this…pretty good. Didn’t realise Darby was another Signer Oner. Nice to see a bit of humour injected into something as grim as a toiling planet.
Written By: - Date published: 5:39 am, July 22nd, 2009 - 48 comments
Greenpeace and others are campaigning for the Government to agree to a target of 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. Where did they get that number from? From the science. The scientific consensus is that if we let carbon dioxide rise stay above 350 parts per million in the atmosphere we will […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, July 21st, 2009 - 2 comments
Short notice, but just got this in from the Drinking Liberally Wellington crew: This week Drinking Liberally is hosting Geoff Keey from Greenpeace. Geoff has been attending the recent climate change negotiations in Bonn and will reflect upon them, and Greenpeace’s “Sign On” campaign. The Sign On campaign is to advocate for for a commitment […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 6 comments
Who’d have thought? An oil company coming out on the side of New Zealand’s biggest environmental organisation over emission reduction targets. Gull says let the science dictate how much New Zealand cuts its greenhouse gases by, and that the cost of inaction will far outweigh the cost of urgent cuts. Curious times call for curious […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 30 comments
I just don’t see why medicating an entire population to prevent a handful of spina bifida cases, which will only work if women eat far more bread than they do, is a good idea. It’s such a grossly untargeted and unsophisticated approach. Saying ‘well many women don’t get enough folic acid and many pregnancies are […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, July 12th, 2009 - 34 comments
What a horrifying sight today’s Q+A interview with Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson made. It was a shameful performance from a media point of view, with Wilkinson looking ineffectual, implausible and well out of her depth. But from a political point of view it was gobsmacking. Wilkinson enthusiastically admitted that she didn’t agree with new […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, July 10th, 2009 - Comments Off on Greenpeace to Obama: Show some leadership
From Greenpeace USA: Greenpeace climbers hung a banner on Mount Rushmore challenging President Obama to show real leadership on global warming. The banner read “America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming.” The demonstration comes as President Obama meets other G8 leaders in L’Aquila, Italy to discuss the global warming crisis in the lead-up to […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 8th, 2009 - 101 comments
Inaugural Lectures are very traditional University events; held these days to permit outstanding researchers to present an overview of their work to the wider academic community and public. Last night Prof. Tim Naish delivered a clear and decisive verdict about human induced climate change; the evidence is unassailable. Held in the very formal surrounds of […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, July 7th, 2009 - 46 comments
Now days everybody wanna talk, like they got something to say, but nothing comes out when they move their lips, just a bunch of gibberish, and all of you act like you forgot about oil. Yup, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the dealer’s lot, oil is back and in […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, July 6th, 2009 - 11 comments
Great new video from 350.org.nz calling on the Government to back a 40% reduction in emissions by 2020. Current National Party policy is 50 by 2050. Public meetings on the Government’s emissions target start today. Check out frogblog for more information about how you can have your say.
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, July 6th, 2009 - 22 comments
The US has finally managed to pass a bill through the house of representatives dealing with climate change (sort of). It is laden with pork-barrel initiatives because the congress members realised that they could treat carbon credits as a type of free-money boondoggle. It still has to pass the senate and get approval from Obama, […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, July 6th, 2009 - 19 comments
Pop quiz – did you know that earlier this week the UN released a major report on the “Green Economy”? Here is a good summary: Green Economy: A Transformation to Address Multiple Crises The current financial and economic crisis is throwing millions of people into poverty, especially the most vulnerable in the developing world. This […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, July 5th, 2009 - 12 comments
There are a few odd times that I wish I was living in Wellington instead of Auckland (not often).This is one of them. There is a lecture by one of the leading researchers looking at the geology of the West Antarctica ice sheet (WAIS) and the critical medium-term effects of climate change. Tim Naish says […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, July 3rd, 2009 - Comments Off on Private member’s ballot
The Left continues to have luck with the private member’s bill ballot, getting both of the bills drawn today just like a couple of weeks back (well, not so much luck, most of the bills in the ballot are from the Left). Metiria Turei’s Marine Animals Protection Law Reform Bill was drawn, which while worthy […]
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