Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, December 20th, 2012 - 221 comments
If you and I were told that (variously) our sons and daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were going to be killed tomorrow, would I be right to suspect that we might sit up and take notice?
Written By: - Date published: 5:16 pm, December 18th, 2012 - 83 comments
This is one of a series of posts I hope to write over the summer based to some extent or other on a recent presentation by Kevin Anderson: Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University of Manchester, Tyndall Centre.
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, December 17th, 2012 - 7 comments
I’m sure our thoughts are all with Fiji as it braces itself for disaster.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 14th, 2012 - 42 comments
With the GFC, changing climate and resource depletion, the struggles of the powerless get over-looked. Asia-Pacific has been described as the focal point of a new cold war. Storms in Samoa and the Philippines, a rocket launch from North Korea. How should we respond?
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, December 10th, 2012 - 14 comments
The climate change talks still grind on every year, but nothing useful seems to happen as a result. The recently concluded Doha talks are no exception. By the time the Power Shift generation takes over they will be facing a near impossible task.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 9th, 2012 - 3 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: Tax-shaming and the real shirkers, climate change, disability month and happiness.
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, December 4th, 2012 - 66 comments
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has defended the Nats’ decision to drop out of the Kyoto treaty, describing the move as “ahead of the curve”. Quite apart from being absolutely stupid short-term thinking and a pathetic abdication of leadership, the idea that this retreat is “ahead of the curve” is a rather unfortunate turn of phrase.
Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, November 29th, 2012 - 14 comments
Anthony has already mentioned the amazing record of us winning both first and second prize in the first Fossil of the Day awards at the Doha climate talks – quite a remarkable achievement, particularly for a nation that trades on its “100% Pure” environmental credentials. Over at Pundit Claire Browning has an extensive list of […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, November 28th, 2012 - 111 comments
With its head deep in the rapidly warming sands, John Key and the National government have been rolling back climate change measures. We are not even “fast followers”, we are stand-out obstacles to progress, and subject to international ridicule. On climate change they have made me ashamed to be a New Zealander. They shame us all as a nation.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 25th, 2012 - 14 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: politicians, economies, elections, feminism and climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, November 21st, 2012 - 20 comments
John Key’s crony-capitalist, neoliberal government is failing NZ on the environment, affordable housing, and a living wage. Mana and the Greens are leading the way on affordable housing and anti-poverty campaigns. The Greens still lead the way on pressing environmental issues.
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, November 13th, 2012 - 80 comments
John Key doesn’t want NZ to be a leader in the fight against climate change. Much better to be a lemming (sorry – a “fast follower”) and follow all the other lemmings off the cliff.
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 7th, 2012 - 107 comments
Voting starts. What will the new president do about Climate Change? For good or ill, America has a tradition of global leadership. When it comes to climate change America needs to lead more actively in the world – not from behind, but from the front. Will Obama be that president? Will Romney? Or will we have to wait another four more terrible years of rudderless inaction?
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 4th, 2012 - 1 comment
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: inequality, language on social media, and feminism.
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, November 2nd, 2012 - 133 comments
On the back of Duncan Garner’s scathing piece on David Shearer, David Farrar endorses Grant Robertson for leader. Yeah, because his last recommendation’s worked out so well. Call me cynical, but I just don’t think National’s pollster has the Left’s interests at heart. No, I don’t think people will be looking to the Right for advice on who should lead Labour again.
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, October 31st, 2012 - 33 comments
If any good can ever be said to come from a natural disaster, then let the good of Sandy be its function as a clear and present wake up call. It’s a crisis, and it’s an opportunity.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 29th, 2012 - 62 comments
Bugger the environment – who needs it? That’s the message from National, both domestically and internationally.
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, October 28th, 2012 - 18 comments
On Planet Key natural body processes are ignored, and nature has been tamed into a golf course. It’s a place where mothers don’t lactate or have a heightened sensitivity to their babies’ cries; a place disconnected from the chaotic consequences of climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, October 25th, 2012 - 9 comments
The Maori Party has pulled its support for the latest weakening of the ETS. As usual Peter Dunne will be personally responsible for propping up the worst of the Nats’ agenda.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 28th, 2012 - 34 comments
Another report confirms the findings of the 2006 Stern Report. The future economic costs of doing nothing far outweigh the current costs of taking action on climate change. But National is taking us backwards…
Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, September 17th, 2012 - 175 comments
With proposed ETS changes National is abdicating our responsibility on the world stage, and sending the bill to the taxpayers. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment calls it ‘a farce’. It’s cowardly, it’s weak, and it’s shafting the working Kiwi.
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, September 12th, 2012 - 248 comments
So the government is announcing the “lifetime cost” of social welfare payments today to soften the ground for cracking down on beneficiaries.
By coincidence they’re also in the process of rushing through changes to the emissions trading scheme that will cost the taxpayer billions of dollars in corporate welfare.
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, September 1st, 2012 - 156 comments
Planning permission has been sought to construct the world’s largest windfarm off the Scottish coast. Estimated to cost around 4.5 billion pounds and cover some 300 square km of ocean, if the project receives the green light, it will produce up to 40% of Scotland household power use. When compared to other forms of energy […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, August 26th, 2012 - 80 comments
Like many people I’m always bemused by the lack of logic that the climate change deniers (CCD’s) have in their extremely selective picking of things to get wound up about – especially about climate models. But when an actual self-evident flaw shows up in the models, well they simply seem to miss it entirely. Like it is now evident that the climate models used to predict Arctic melting vastly underrate the speed at which it is happening. The consequences are going to be unpleasant for the north.
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, August 1st, 2012 - 83 comments
There aren’t many climate skeptics whose opinions can be affected by mere evidence, so hats off to Richard Muller.
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, July 17th, 2012 - 103 comments
Could we be about to have our very own Scopes trial? In that famous Tennessee Court Case, the State prosecuted a teacher for teaching evolution. He walked free and it was a decisive moment in mainstreaming evolution and making the creationists the crackpots. Now, the climate change deniers are suing NIWA and their loss will be a dagger through the heart of denialism.
Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, July 12th, 2012 - 57 comments
Climate change is causing the world’s temperatures and seas levels to rise but this isn’t a steady process. Instead we see more frequent and more extreme weather events. The record-busting heatwave in the US and floods in Russia are examples. The big problem is the effects of these weather events on our production of food and other vital goods.
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, July 12th, 2012 - 57 comments
The oceans are doing their best to save us from climate change apparently… but just ending up dooming us in another way.
Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, July 9th, 2012 - 138 comments
Tim Groser: “Our farmers have been reducing their emissions by 1.3% per year for two decades” (that’s emissions per unit of output, btw, not absolute – although total agriculture emissions are down in recent years). Groser on why farming should be out of the ETS: “we’ll introduce biological emissions into the ETS when we think there credible abatement technologies out there.”
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, July 7th, 2012 - 1 comment
Well said. What a tragedy that they heard, but did not listen.
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