Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, July 25th, 2014 - 14 comments
The Green Party’s election focus is on reducing poverty & inequalities (highlighting its impact on children), and developing sustainable communities. 2 recently announced policies are under-pinned by 2 crises: poverty/inequality; and the destruction of our environment (climate change, resource depletion).
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 15th, 2014 - 55 comments
Greenpeace has been told by the Electoral Commission that its Climate Voter Website requires third party authorisation and that a cap on the amount that can be spent applies. There is an exception in the law if the site is a “news media” site which is paradoxically the same defence Cameron Slater is running in his case against Matt Blomfield justifying his refusal to disclose who his informant is. The sense of irony is strong here …
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, June 25th, 2014 - 33 comments
On Monday, an alliance of environmental organisations launched the Climate Voter campaign. The aim is to get people to signal their intention to vote on the basis of climate change policy, in the hope of driving parties to compete for that bloc of support. I think this is a good thing. At the same time, it needs to get a lot more people to sign up for it to have the sort of impact it wants. These mass-signalling exercises can work. So, if you care about the climate, sign up.
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, June 12th, 2014 - 5 comments
The Greens promised to scrap the gutted and ineffective ETS and replace it with a carbon tax. National immediately claimed that the sky would fall if we stopped subsidising polluters and allowing them to rort us. But where it is used it has done exactly what it was designed to do: reduce emissions while lowering taxes on ordinary people. National just likes polluters?
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 pm, June 10th, 2014 - 67 comments
Without prompt, aggressive limits on CO2 emissions, the Earth will likely warm by an average of 4-5°c by the century’s end.
How big a change is that?
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, June 4th, 2014 - 71 comments
The media is trying to suggest that Labour is opposing the Green’s proposed Carbon Tax policy. This is a gross over dramatisation of the situation. Labour has in the past supported a Carbon Tax, has a policy formation process which prevents policy creation on the hoof, and prefers an ETS even though it is slightly more complex on the basis that it is slightly more effective in allocating costs and benefits across the board.
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, June 2nd, 2014 - 129 comments
The Greens have released their climate change policy and are proposing that the ETS is scrapped and a carbon tax imposed in its place. This is a proposal that in the past Labour has supported. The ETS was only agreed to because New Zealand First would not agree to a carbon tax. Second time lucky?
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, June 1st, 2014 - 228 comments
Russel Norman is tipped today to announce the proposed scrapping of the ETS. It is clear that it is not working. But what do we do instead?
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, May 14th, 2014 - 26 comments
As has been long anticipated under current conditions, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet *will* melt with a more than average 3 metre rise in world sea levels. The only remaining question is how long it will take to melt. No Right Turn explains points out the slowly unfolding disaster…
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, April 15th, 2014 - 34 comments
Catastrophic climate change can be averted without sacrificing living standards according to a UN report, which concludes that the transformation required to a world of clean energy is eminently affordable. “It doesn’t cost the world to save the planet,”. The average cost of adapting to climate change next year is less than $30. Remember that next time Bill English stands up in Parliament threatening economic Armageddon if we try and do anything about it.
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, April 9th, 2014 - 90 comments
National is starting to talk about adaption to climate change rather than addressing greenhouse gas output. And greenhouse gas output is projected to increase in New Zealand by 50% over the next decade.
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, April 3rd, 2014 - 40 comments
Two days after the IPCC has warned us of the threat posed by climate change and Simon Bridges has announced a huge block offer of parts of New Zealand and much of its territorial water. This will include the pristine waters off Auckland’s west coast, home of Maui’s dolphin. In a world that has to address its consumption of petroleum you have to question if it is worth the risk.
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, April 2nd, 2014 - 51 comments
No Right Turn notes the typical response from politicians to the Fifth IPCC Assessment report. Perhaps that promoting legislation with a penalty of long prison terms for political negligence would help? It sounds like a good way for lazy politicians to retire. After all the law recognises negligence as being a criminal action in other spheres – why not for our political servants?
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, April 1st, 2014 - 65 comments
The latest IPCC report has been released and not only are scientific views on the existence of climate change hardening, but the effects are becoming more pronounced. Meanwhile ACT has described action to try and save the planet as “moral exhibitionism” and has said that not improving the ETS is a bottom line for any future coalition with National. If you need any reason to work to get rid of this Government this has to be it.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, March 18th, 2014 - 38 comments
The biggest single threat to civilisation from human initiated CO2 forced climate change is going to be in food production and distribution. In a leaked version of the IPCC’s AR5 second volume ” the report predicts that climate change will reduce median crop yields by 2 per cent per decade for the rest of the century – at a time of rapidly growing demand for food.”
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, February 16th, 2014 - 239 comments
The text of Russel Norman’s speech to the Green Party Conference given today.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, February 11th, 2014 - 46 comments
Governments are holding on to their traditional roles and functions, but the world has changed. We need something else.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, January 23rd, 2014 - 97 comments
[Updated] Speeches: Key (today ZB Transcript). PM’s speech – untruths, misdirections & corporatisation of education – comment added. Cunliffe on Monday, on greater opportunities for all Kiwis. Metiria Turei’s speech, Sunday – will talk education, environment. Peters responds to Key. Greens response – education. Cunliffe’s Stand-up – audio.
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, January 23rd, 2014 - 91 comments
Deep sea oil drilling is in the news. Labour’s position is to require increased environmental standards and drillers would have to display an effective ability to clean up any disasters. The Greens would prefer to leave the oil in the ground. If there is a change of Government this year resolving this issue will pose a fascinating test of the parties.
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, January 21st, 2014 - 20 comments
It is quite an achievement for a sitting MP to be considered to be too nutty for the UKIP. But David Silvester has achieved this dubious distinction by claiming that adverse weather events in the United Kingdom are the result of legalising same sex marriage …
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 17th, 2014 - 153 comments
Over the last three centuries science has established a pretty robust technique for overturning consensus and examining the weirder areas of science. You have to publish. Waving an untestable vague idea of cause and effect around based on wordplay is something that is better left to politicians, con artists, and religionists. Waving his dick around like Rodney Hide did on Sunday merely proves that he doesn’t think with his brain.
Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, January 16th, 2014 - 10 comments
Some MSM reports crow about positive economic indicators, & decreases in the time people spend on benefits. Such statistics fail to show inequalities, & struggles of people on low incomes. An Oxfam comparative international report on food security is not good news for NZ, or the world.
Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, January 12th, 2014 - 38 comments
Oil Free Otago is holding a weekend of action and discussion on an oil free future.
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, January 11th, 2014 - 175 comments
There is an important debate for both Labour and the Greens to have about the level of cooperation they should display this year. Some commentators have suggested that the Greens will be sidelined and that the battle will be between Labour and National but this is MMP and every vote counts. The goal for progressives has to be to increase the overall left vote.
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, January 9th, 2014 - 255 comments
Some extreme weather events around the world are being cited as proof by the ill informed that global warming has ceased. Rodney Hide, Donald Trump and the commentators at Fox News rank amongst the most sceptical. But when even Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron concedes that these weather events may be linked to climate change then the failure to make fundamental change becomes even more puzzling.
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, January 5th, 2014 - 178 comments
The latest report on New Zealand’s performance under the Kyoto Protocol is out and the news is disturbing. Net emissions compared to our 1990 CO2 equivalent emissions are predicted to treble by 2030 at a time where they should be trending to below the 1990 level. And Government policies are shown to be making little difference. Meanwhile a report by Prof Euan Mason advocates that Agriculture should be in the scheme and that with a proper price for ETS credits significant reforestation with attendant benefits could occur. And meanwhile RWNJs continue to show their belligerent lack of understanding of the science of climate change …
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 pm, December 29th, 2013 - 84 comments
Cool-yet-depressing finding on why some people change their mind on climate change from one day to the next.
It can be summarised by saying Republicans in the US are scientific morons, and many Americans decide based on the previous days weathers.
Written By: - Date published: 6:14 pm, December 21st, 2013 - 41 comments
How will the media report the apocalypse? And other fun videos, images & links.
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, December 9th, 2013 - 19 comments
The Emissions Trading Scheme was never a particularly good way of curbing greenhouse emissions and the way that National gutted it made it distinctly worse. Now we are in a position where National has found a way to use it to providing even more polluter welfare.
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, December 3rd, 2013 - 38 comments
As Greenpeace make a bid in the High Court to challenge the EPA’s decision to grant Anadarko permission to deep sea drill, we can reveal the content of secret documents detailing the contingency plan in the event of a major oil spill. The documents outline how the stricken inter island ferry Aratere will be deployed in the cleanup effort, should a catastrophic event occur.
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, November 27th, 2013 - 34 comments
On the site we now have a a simple little graphic that shows how much heat has accumulated on our planet. It is expressed as multiples of of the heat energy of Hiroshima sized A-bombs. I’ve picked 1979 as being the start year because that was the year that I became aware of the effects of changing climate. I was a 19 year old student in my second year of a BSc in Earth Sciences, and the topic under discussion was the WMO’s recent World Climate Conference.
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