What local food can look like (and why)

The South Coast Environment Centre is creating a local food network that connects growers and customers directly, creates food resiliency, and keeps money in the local economy. This is an exemplar of climate, economic and community sustainability.

Requiem for a smelter

New Zealand was always a odd place to have a aluminium smelter. Untapped hydroelectricity capacity at the bottom of the world. But thousands of kilometers from raw material sources. Tens of thousands of kilometers from the major markets. Now our ever rising electricity prices show that we really need that 13% of power in our electricity market rather than making aluminium. 

Southland floods and toxic waste

As Southland starts post-flood recovery, the question arises of why 10,000 tonnes of waste known to become toxic on exposure to water was allowed to be stored on the banks of a river with known flood risk in a building with known flood risk? 

Police – ignoring their job in Southland

“Allegations of trespassing and intimidation as Southland winter grazing protest escalates” yesterday. The reporter completely missed the most important salient point – the police don’t seem to be doing their job. Leaving a pissed lynch mob of farmers trying to force people out of their house to ‘talk’ to them is pretty clearly an act of intimidation. And that doesn’t even cover the original idiot farmer who is alleged to have rammed someone’s car.

Totally shit farming

Farmers blockading environmentalists to stop them taking photos of their degraded farms. Is this really what we’ve come to?

Drip, drip, drip…

In the middle of the Southland drought, people in Invercargill are no longer allowed to water their gardens.

Local Bodies: Climate Change Just Got Personal

“At 46 degrees latitude south, New Zealand’s southern most city has regularly been experiencing similar temperatures to cities near the equator. When we were sizzling at 32 degrees, we equaled Cairns, were 2 degrees warmer than Jakarta and Suva and 6 above Nairobi. These cities are used to such temperatures and their ecosystems have adapted to it, it has been a severe shock to ours.”

Catherine Delahunty: My Mataura River visit

Green Party Spokesperson for Water, Catherine Delahunty, has been down South as part of the Greens’ Swimmable Rivers Tour. She reports on restoration of the Mataura River, farmers doing the right thing, and the community being further ahead than the government on water.

Stunning nature

Drilling for oil we shouldn’t use, in a place that should remain untouched. Is this really what NZ wants?

Rio Tinto ups the ante

Our “let’s make a deal” PM is outclassed on this one. I actually have some sympathy this time, the government is between a rock and a hard place. But while most of us worry about Southland, I suspect the Nats’ concerns will be a little closer to home…

Plans to mine a schedule-4 protected wetland

Yesterday, No Right Turn wrote this post pointing out a case where L&M Lignite has a exploration license on schedule 4 conservation land granted back in 2003 before a schedule 4 site was expanded.. The legislation for putting land into schedule 4 needs to be amended to remove such licenses when land is moved into a protected status.