climate change

Categories under climate change

The 2024 US Election: A No-Win Scenario

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 pm, November 4th, 2024 - 49 comments

Tuesday (Wednesday in NZ) is election day in the United States of America. Where billionaires buy elections, the President is not elected by popular vote, and the nominee of the Republican Party attempted to overturn the results after he was voted out of office four years ago. Somehow, despite his crimes, Donald Trump is a coin-toss away from taking back the White House.

When a right becomes a wrong

Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, October 31st, 2024 - 66 comments

The Free Speech Union is wanting an extremist right wing shock jock who the Christchurch Killer described as the person who most influenced him the privilege of visiting New Zealand to host a fundraising event.

Hurricane Milton: watching the climate train wreck in slow motion

Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, October 10th, 2024 - 59 comments

Catastrophe and meaningful response.

Ferry ferry quite contrary

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, September 26th, 2024 - 24 comments

There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.

Trouble at Mill

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 12th, 2024 - 25 comments

It seems clear that the Government refused to do anything to stop Winston Pulp from closing its mills. And the Government’s plans to address price volatility by the use of LPG is counterproductive, especially when the cost of renewable energy is considered.

A new Labour electricity policy

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, September 9th, 2024 - 70 comments

Proposed policy for the Labour Party. New Zealand’s power system should empower the people in their lives and systems, secure electricity use and production for New Zealand in perpetuity, and make the electricity system serve New Zealand not the other way round. How do we achieve this?

Simeon Brown peddling porkies about gas shortage

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, August 27th, 2024 - 43 comments

Energy Minister Simeon Brown is peddling lies about a gas shortage. The country exports around 40 percent of its annual gas production as methanol. More is used to make synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, a nasty greenhouse emission source, for our farms. We don’t need expensive LNG distribution facilities while exporting the bulk of our own gas.

English rising anti-fascism

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, August 8th, 2024 - 68 comments

This is more hope than I have felt about humans in a long time

National’s carbon budget is a crock

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 pm, July 18th, 2024 - 16 comments

It is now clear why Simon Watts rushed out a three page brochure setting out what this Government’s response to climate change will be. It knew that the latest Climate Change Emissions Reduction Plan was coming out for consultation. And that it could not come up with a credible plan.

Remember that time we had a global pandemic?

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, July 16th, 2024 - 5 comments

how’s it going five years on?

Government is paying lip service to climate change

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, July 14th, 2024 - 6 comments

This week Change Minister Simon Watts showed the depth of the Government’s thinking by releasing a three page brochure outlining its collective thoughts. If the Government is at that level of thinking the country is well and truly stuffed. And meanwhile ACT’s Mark Cameron wants to prevent local government from considering climate change when formulating regional plans.

The best carbon capture device is a tree

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, July 10th, 2024 - 18 comments

The Government is hoping that Carbon Capture and Sequestration will reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emission levels. But it is refusing to protect forests and trees, which are the best Carbon Capture and Sequestration devices going.

Mountain Tui: New Zealand deserves better than marketing

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, July 7th, 2024 - 6 comments

Last week the Coalition Govt said they were doing away with the name “fast-track.” This is a Govt of professional lobbyists so I am not surprised by their attunement to marketing. “Fast-track” became bad for business. The name had to go. They have also weakened regarding fast-track because of opposition.

The implications of UK Labour’s success for NZ Labour

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, July 7th, 2024 - 79 comments

What should New Zealand Labour learn from UK Labour’s success in the recent election?

Ferry sweary

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, June 27th, 2024 - 45 comments

The Government is in a rather precarious position relating to the contract to replace the ageing Cook Straight ferries, which clearly need replacing.

National announced more subsidies in farming for capital gains

Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, June 13th, 2024 - 19 comments

National and their minion parties just announced another massive $400 million R&D subsidy for agricultural greenhouse gases by taxpayers for the low profit industry of pastoral farming. This joins the other large and hidden subsidies levied on tax and rate payers to support rural and state roads capable of sustained heavy agricultural and forestry trucks.

Haere ra He Wake Eke Noa

Written By: - Date published: 1:42 pm, June 13th, 2024 - 21 comments

It was always going to happen but it still rankles that an attempt to get farming to at least confront the damage it causes to the climate is being put on hold.

Respect existence or expect resistance

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, June 9th, 2024 - 16 comments

Yesterday’s Greenpeace’s War on Nature protest in Tamaki Makaurau suggests growing unity on the left and an increasing determination to stop the Fast Track Projects Bill from being passed.

Is our investment in defence value for money?

Written By: - Date published: 4:31 am, May 29th, 2024 - 30 comments

Defence cost us more than $6.7 billion in 2023/24. Why does our small, remote country have such a costly defence force? Is it fit for purpose – and in 2024, what is that purpose?

The Luxon Government’s War on Nature

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, May 25th, 2024 - 10 comments

“But the truth is that real gains only ever come out of a mobilised civil society and achieving a mobilised civil society is exactly what we have to do.”

– Russel Norman

Speech time

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, May 21st, 2024 - 6 comments

In the past week Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins have both delivered future vision themed speeches. With some dramatic contrasts.

Power cuts or Powerdown?

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, May 10th, 2024 - 60 comments

Powercuts in a wealthy country like New Zealand don’t make us third world. It’s bog standard neoliberalism which has both impeded upkeep of our infrastructure and blocked meaningful climate transition. Third world is when you can’t afford to fix, maintain and futureproof society. Neoliberalism is when you do that by choice.

2.5C and our choices: the bad news and the good news

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, May 9th, 2024 - 10 comments

The Guardian published a major report yesterday on what top climate scientists are saying about the climate crisis.

In defence of Julie Anne Genter

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 pm, May 2nd, 2024 - 203 comments

Yesterday in Parliament Julie Anne Genter lost her cool when Matt Doocey misrepresented what the last Government’s NLTP priorities were. Should she be sanctioned? Or should she get a medal for pointing out that Doocey was totally wrong?

The best of climate communication

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, April 30th, 2024 - 6 comments

Environmentalist and journalist Bill McKibben nails it in two minutes.

What does this Government have against the environment

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, April 24th, 2024 - 5 comments

It is almost as if the environment was really cruel to senior members of the Government when they were kids. But whatever the reason this Government appears to be intent on wrecking the local environment with a degree of vengeance and stupidity not seen before.

Towards Banana Republic Status

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, April 17th, 2024 - 27 comments

There is a bill before Parliament right now that has the potential of blowing a rather big hole in our reputation as an open and transparent democracy.

A sustainable environment should be a human right

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, April 10th, 2024 - 47 comments

James Shaw’s attempt to create a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is expected to be voted down soon by Parliament. But the New Zealand Supreme Court as well as the European Court of Human Rights have shown a willingness to recognise a right to a sustainable environment that some politicians refuse to.

What if climate collapse comes much sooner than we expected?

Written By: - Date published: 6:07 am, April 8th, 2024 - 91 comments

“It is simply mind-boggling,” said Prof Michael Meredith, science leader at the British Antarctic Survey. “In sub-zero temperatures such a massive leap is tolerable but if we had a 40C rise in the UK now that would take temperatures for a spring day to over 50C – and that would be deadly for the population.”

Why the Climate Strike matters (in case we are still thinking the crisis isn’t urgent)

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, April 5th, 2024 - 7 comments

All those climate scientists talking about temperature recently? This is what it means for us, right here, right now, and for the rest of our lives

Strike!

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, April 5th, 2024 - 30 comments

Please choose life today and support the strike in any way you can: attend in person, share information on social media, talk to people you know today about why it matters.

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