The Standard » energy

MoT reveals massive budget shortfall from peak oil

James Henderson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:33:01 +0000

Almost missed among all the blacked out paragraphs of the Transport Briefing to the Incoming Minister are 2 interesting graphs. While not explicitly mentioning peak oil, the graph of the National Land Transport Fund shows a massive shortfall in revenue in a 'high oil price, low growth' scenario. The other shows how low-quality National's highway spending is.

NRT: Climate change: Cross-purposes

The Standard — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:15:31 +0000

No Right Turn has a look at two of the incoming minister briefings impacting on climate change. They are incoherent and it is clear that neither ministry talks to the other. If it wasn't affecting a important long term issue, it'd be as funny as a Yes Minister episode. But since it does, it just highlights the growing incoherence of this incompetent government and their increasing politicization of the civil service.

Oz & NZ govts suppress official peak oil warnings

The Standard — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:40:32 +0000

Dennis Tegg has a good piece on the release of a secret Australian government report that warns peak oil is upon us: The Daily Telegraph has revealed how the Australian government has attempted to suppress its own report on peak oil. The response from the New Zealand government had been equally secretive and obfuscating.

Adapting to peak oil

James Henderson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:45:19 +0000

As peak oil slowly grinds down our economy - meeting any hint of growth with sky-high petrol prices and making $2 a litre the 'new normal', we are actually, gradually,starting to react. Not at a governmental level, where action is most urgently needed, but in the decisions made by ordinary Kiwis every day.

Texas of the South Seas?

James Henderson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:57:59 +0000

Every few years, since the 70s, they've promised the great New Zealand oil boom is coming. It ain't going to happen. If there is lots of oil, it's deepsea and expensive. And they haven't found it in 40 years of looking. We have a worse production-consumption ratio now then the 80s. Even if we somehow become a massive oil exporter, it's not the economic panacea you might think.

In praise of David Cunliffe

James Henderson — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:25:44 +0000

I enjoyed Jenny's piece the other day on David Shearer's leadership abilities. His skill at taking the ball and running with it, and doing what he thinks is right. I want to similarly praise David Cunliffe for his leadership in economic thinking. God knows we need someone who gets the problems and the solutions. Cunliffe brings that understanding in droves.

Buying back the assets

Eddie — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 20:26:51 +0000

David Cunliffe has said that, if he is Labour leader, he will look to buy back any assets National sells once he is PM. Under the existing Takeovers Code, that wouldn't be too hard. But why not go a step further and make it clear to any potential investor that our energy sector won't be their cash cow? A bit of regulatory reform would sink the assets' share value.

NoRightTurn: National on energy

The Standard — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:14:25 +0000

NoRightTurn reviews the joke that is National's energy policy: "National has released its energy policy. The short version? "Drill it, mine it, sell it". Yes, seriously. A bright, shiny future, funded by magic money put in the ground by Leprechauns. Which we haven't discovered yet. Its like basing your household budget on winning the lottery."

The innovation that we need

Anthony R0bins — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:50:03 +0000

We're going to need a lot of innovation to survive the coming decades. Today's innovation is a simple modification that at least doubles the energy output of a wind turbine. Brilliant.

Nats clueless on privatisation consequences

Eddie — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:01:36 +0000

If electricity assets were part privatised, future governments couldn't make the kind of reforms that National made earlier this year because of the need to consider private investors' rights. Pretty simple, eh? Tell that to Hekia Parata. Bill English has his head in the sand on the effect of falling markets and can't guarantee Kiwi ownership.

Denis Tegg: Officials muzzled on peak oil

The Standard — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:41:46 +0000

Denis Tegg on National's head in the sand Energy Strategy. All the official international warnings have been dismissed and the government has forced official to remove any reference to peak oil. The minister flatly refused to answer questions about the impact of peak oil on her fossil-fuel centred plan at the strategy launch.

Lest we forget

Guest post — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:15:44 +0000

NRT: Some “strategy”

The Standard — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:31:45 +0000

National's Energy Strategy has been roundly criticised. The promises of more renewables and energy efficiency are more 'aspirational' fluff with no plan to actually get there. And, worse, the heart of the strategy works against sustainability and environmental responsibility - it's all about drilling up and burning more oil. I/S at NoRightTurn explains.

Seeds of hope

Anthony R0bins — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:35:38 +0000

This is the kind of innovation and intelligence that we are going to need in abundance to survive the medium to long term future...

Govt hits peak denial

Zetetic — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:05:54 +0000

Should we be more angry or scared? Just read the first official government presentation on peak oil. The IEA says conventional oil peaked in 2006 but our government offers only crude denialism and, paradoxically, blithe assurances that they're ready. This is the kind of crap we used to see before we had 2 oil shocks in the past 4 years.