Environment
Categories under Environment
- Conservation (317)
- disaster (487)
- farming (205)
- food (132)
- Mining (239)
- nature (9)
- science (1,527)
- climate change (1,371)
- COP26 (1)
- ETS (119)
- polycrisis (1)
- global warming (395)
- climate change (1,371)
- sustainability (573)
- transport (403)
- public transport (154)
- water (200)
The real coalition of chaos
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 23rd, 2023 - 22 comments
National has hatched on its attack line which we will hear about a lot over the next few months. But it may have a problem. Because the phrase “coalition of chaos” clearly applies to its leadership team.
Government announces project that will significantly reduce coal consumption
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, May 22nd, 2023 - 102 comments
The Government has done a deal with the owners of New Zealand Steel that will see the company replace its coal fired furnace with a renewable energy supplied electric arc furnace and will significantly reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Our heat battery in the oceans
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, May 19th, 2023 - 28 comments
Almost all of the extra heat that humans have captured by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere over the last few centuries has wound up warming the deep oceans. We’re now starting to feel the effects of that excess heat.
What Do The Maori Party Want Anyway?
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, May 12th, 2023 - 174 comments
Since they’re touted as 2023’s electoral ‘Kingmakers’, it’s time to understand what the Maori Party really want.
Fuel efficient cars and National’s tacky little culture war
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, May 3rd, 2023 - 36 comments
Recent days have provided a further example of why Aotearoa’s response to climate change has been compromised by politics.
Debate of the Day: should farms be regulated to centre climate action and nature?
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, April 24th, 2023 - 44 comments
In election year, National’s farming regulations bonfire flies in the face of climate action and ecological restoration.
Extinction Rebellion: The Big One
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, April 17th, 2023 - 6 comments
XR are back. New strategy, same smart and bold action.
Three Waters becomes Affordable Water
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, April 14th, 2023 - 72 comments
Three Waters mark two has been announced. And Kieran McAnulty has given a text book example of clarity in political speak when making the announcement.
Greens: Three waters rebrand insufficient
Written By: - Date published: 6:14 am, April 14th, 2023 - 24 comments
Today the Government adopted a long held Green Party position to increase the number of water entities to ensure a closer connection with communities they serve. However, despite the rebrand, significant concerns remain.
Labour’s new water infrastructure policy
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, April 13th, 2023 - 42 comments
We’ve listened to the feedback from Local Government and today we’re announcing our new regionally-led plan to guarantee New Zealanders affordable water, for generations to come. – Labour
Go well Jacinda
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, April 5th, 2023 - 91 comments
Today is Jacinda’s official last day on the job as a member of Parliament.
RMA reform will not solve the climate crisis
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, April 4th, 2023 - 25 comments
National has proposed RMA reform as the basis for accelerating the roll out of renewable energy generation. It appears that it has never met a problem for which the solution is either a tax cut or RMA reform.
Climate change – the final final warning
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, March 22nd, 2023 - 78 comments
The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change has synthesised reports on the climate crisis from hundreds of scientists over the past eight years and has boiled it down to one message: act now, or it will be too late.
The great policy bonfire
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, March 14th, 2023 - 45 comments
Chris Hipkins continues with his shock and awe campaign and has torched a number of policies that National and Act were using to foment unrest.
Did bacteria exist before we had microscopes?
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, March 13th, 2023 - 162 comments
So much of the ongoing debate about Mātauranga Māori is based on belief, and often unevidenced belief about what Mātauranga Māori is and how it is being used.
The government needs to understand that climate mitigation and adaptation are twins
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, March 8th, 2023 - 39 comments
James Shaw and Greenpeace on why mitigation and adaptation need to be paired.
Triangulating climate change
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, March 7th, 2023 - 78 comments
Yesterday morning there were suggestions that the Government would properly address climate change by placing greater emphasis on public transport and walking and cycling. But by the afternoon the proposition had been watered down.
But How Do You Pay For It?
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 5th, 2023 - 27 comments
To pay for recent flood damage Grant Robertson has to decide on what proportion of this will be paid by new debt, what proportion by reallocation of expenditure, and what proportion by special tax levies. Is an Australian style levy under consideration?
How Activism Dies
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 4th, 2023 - 40 comments
If anything progressive is to come out of this current government other than disaster recovery, really focused protest must prevail. It isn’t.
School Strike 4 Climate nationwide this Friday
Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, March 1st, 2023 - 32 comments
This climate crisis is a structural issue…. What it requires is a mass movement of citizens protesting for policy change and a dramatic redesign of our economy.
– Climate striker Aurora Garner-Randolph
The New Climate Denial: adaptation over mitigation
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, February 28th, 2023 - 45 comments
What if unmitigated climate change is more than we can adapt to?
National’s three waters policy
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, February 26th, 2023 - 44 comments
National has announced its alternative to the Three Waters Policy with the standout feature being greater central control of asset management and investment plans than offered by Three Waters and even greater loss of local control.
What To Do About Climate Change
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, February 25th, 2023 - Comments Off on What To Do About Climate Change
West Auckland’s activism, through such examples as the Arc in the Park sanctuary to the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area through to the protection of the environment provided by the South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network, provides examples of the sort of activism that may be needed if Aotearoa New Zealand is to deal properly with climate change mitigation.
Climate change – do we mitigate or do we adapt?
Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, February 25th, 2023 - 21 comments
The political debate about climate change is coming to an end as the North Island is battered by the third huge climate change induced storm in a month. The focus will not be on what to do? Do we still mitigate the effects by reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Or do we dig in and adapt?
This is really awkward
Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, February 21st, 2023 - 63 comments
National MP Maureen Pugh has questioned the existence of human induced climate change.
Windfall tax on bank super-profits needed to help fund repair
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, February 20th, 2023 - 69 comments
The repair bill for the recent cyclones will be similar to the direct cost to government of the Canterbury earthquakes, in the $13 billion region. Banks are currently making obscene profits. The time is right to impose a one-off banking windfall tax. If a conservative Margaret Thatcher can do it, it is pretty hard to argue why a Labour government can’t.
Towards National Recovery
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 20th, 2023 - 42 comments
Just over seven months from the election the Labour government has been granted as great a political momentum as that leading into the 2020 election.
Why right wing media is bad for democracy and the planet
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, February 19th, 2023 - 37 comments
Newstalk ZB hosts have rightfully been criticised for minimising the danger posed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Which funnily is that they have been doing about climate change for the past few decades.
Natural disasters test new leaders in New Zealand – some did better than others.
Written By: - Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 - 1 comment
After the Auckland flood, Wayne Brown’s election will now be viewed as a cautionary tale. What can happen when someone who is inexperienced and unsuited to political office is elected to important political leadership roles. The blowback of this on the New Zealand right should not be understated, it is bad news for them.
Prime Ministerial
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, February 17th, 2023 - 31 comments
Chris Hipkins has so far not put a foot wrong. Since he became PM he has quickly and competently reformed the Cabinet and jettisoned policies that were for one reason or another causing problems. And he has quickly asserted control over two massive storms, the first which pummeled the country’s major city and the second which has caused massive floods to much of the East Coast of the North Island.
Climate Minister James Shaw: If we do not act, it will get worse
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, February 15th, 2023 - 155 comments
“There will be a certain crowd who say … let’s give up on stopping climate change and its focus entirely on responding to the effects of climate change and I cannot state enough what a catastrophic mistake that would be, because every tenth of a degree of warming increases the frequency and the severity of these events.”
- What it takes to be an Olympian, and why you don’t have it
Summer reissue: This year Tori Peeters competed at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way – and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...6 days ago - Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan, what can two Sierra Leone development...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago - ‘Suspend Israel ties’ plea to global medical professionals – Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on “medical professionals worldwide” to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than “1000 colleagues of yours” killed in Gaza over the past 14 months. Countless ...6 days ago
- A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...6 days ago
- Honouring Kahurangi Tariana Turia:
...6 days ago - ‘She believed in people’ – Tributes from across political parties for Dame Tariana...
A stern but loving auntie, a woman of unshakeable principle, the very definition of a wāhine toa - those are just a few of the tributes flooding in for Dame Tariana Turia. ...6 days ago - A year in The House: Law and order, deregulation and repeal
In its first year this Parliament has passed 46 new laws, with another 37 underway. We outline some of the government's major changes. ...6 days ago
- ‘Crime against journalism’: Gaza journalists slam PA’s Al Jazeera ban
By Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Journalists gathered at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital expressed outrage and confusion about the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in the occupied West Bank. “Shutting down a major outlet like Al Jazeera is a crime against journalism,” said freelance ...6 days ago
- Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab: The Palestine tragedy – why it should matter to you and our world
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab As 2024 came to a close and we have stepped into a new year overshadowed by ongoing atrocities, have you stopped to consider how these events are reshaping your world? Did you notice how your future ...7 days ago
- Cook Islands ‘not qualified’ for UN membership, says prime minister
By Talaia Mika of the Cook Islands News The Cook Islands will not pursue membership in the United Nations and the Commonwealth due to its inability to meet the criteria for UN membership and existing relationship with New Zealand, which fulfils Commonwealth membership requirements. Prime Minister Mark Brown has clarified ...7 days ago
- Obit: Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former Labour Party MP and Te Pāti Māori co-founder was recognised for her commitment to Māori. ...7 days ago
- Division, abuse and rates pain: Local politics year in review
A rising tide of abuse, escalating costs and the clash between central and local government - Marika Hill looks back at local politics in 2024. ...7 days ago
- Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former politician suffered a stroke earlier this week. ...7 days ago
- ‘One of the most important species for science’: how the humble fruit fly transformed 4 fields o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ary Hoffmann, Professor, School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne Drosophila melanogaster. Deep Scope/Shutterstock The common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), more correctly called the vinegar fly, is a frequent visitor to ripe fruit in households around the world, where ...7 days ago
- Genius or charlatan? The strange tale of a 19th-century polymath who left a trail of controversy acr...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Ludewig, Professor and Head of the School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia The Burra Burra Mine, 1847. Samuel Thomas Gill / State Library of NSW About 20 minutes’ drive north of Geraldton, on Australia’s west coast, lies a hill ...7 days ago
- Summer holidays haven’t changed much since ancient Greece and Rome (except maybe the sand wrestlin...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, The University of Melbourne Imagine a summer holiday at a seaside resort, with days spent sunbathing, reading books, exploring nature and chatting with friends. Sounds like it could be anywhere in Australia or ...7 days ago
- The elimination of cervical cancer in NZ is within reach in our lifetime – but not without funding...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Storey, Deputy Director Te Tātai Hauora o Hine – National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington After committing to a global plan to eliminate cervical cancer, New Zealand is lagging behind Australia and ...7 days ago
- Why do some people’s hair and nails grow quicker than mine?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Moscova, Adjunct Associate Professor, Anatomy, UNSW Sydney Jari Lobo/Pexels Throughout recorded history, our hair and nails played an important role in signifying who we are and our social status. You could say, they separate the caveman from businessman. It ...7 days ago
- Monarch butterflies are in decline in NZ and Australia – they need your help to track where they g...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myron Zalucki, Professor in Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Kathy Reid, CC BY-SA Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) appear to be declining not just in North America but also in Australiasia. Could this be a consequence of global change, including ...7 days ago
- Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batte...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, Professor Emeritus, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later. We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric ...7 days ago
- Unlocking the past: how NZ’s first jail tells a complex story of colonial identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington View of Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands, 1845, by George Thomas Clayton. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY New Zealand’s first jail was a simple affair, just ...7 days ago
- Is it important to read the explanatory labels next to artworks? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Noor Gillani, Digital Culture Editor Shutterstock You’re standing at the centre of an expansive art gallery, overwhelmed by what’s in front of you: panel after panel of stupendous works – densely-written labels affixed next to each piece. These labels may offer ...7 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori suffered a stroke earlier this week and was said not to have long left.A press release from Te Ranga Tupua said she had died in the early hours of Friday morning. “A mother ...7 days ago
- DoC’s big donation drive gets mixed reviews
An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...7 days ago
- Rust Belt vs the beltway: Vance’s memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...7 days ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...7 days ago
- Page-turning rural gothic: Ash by Louise Wallace, reviewed
Summer reissue: Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. A famous poet once said to ...7 days ago
- A brief history of New Zealand’s weirdest mystery food dumps
Summer reissue: Alex Casey talks a stroll through headlines detailing hundreds of beached kiwifruit, dozens of mailbox sausages and one giant mystery ham. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...7 days ago
- My Greatest Trip: My awkward high-school exchange to Germany
Summer reissue: Hera Lindsay Bird on her Bildungsroman. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. I would never have gone to Germany if it wasn’t ...7 days ago
- Following the Swiss wolf, who walked 2,000 kilometres for love
Summer reissue: When we insert ourselves into the lives of animals, we become complicit in their fates. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. Before ...7 days ago
- Prison or nothing: The ‘self-perpetuating downward spiral’ in New Zealand’s mental health syst...
Summer reissue: With specialist mental health services in ‘chaos’, people who need help end up in destructive cycles and prison. Experts say there are solutions, but is political will and leadership lacking? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of ...7 days ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 3 January
The post Daily crossword, Friday 3 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...7 days ago
- Pryde ‘may have to wait’ over tribunal report, says Fiji President’s office
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Fiji’s Office of the President has confirmed that the Tribunal’s report on allegations of misconduct against suspended Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde does not need to be made public at this stage. The tribunal, chaired by Justice Anare Tuilevuka with Justices Chaitanya Lakshman and ...1 week ago
- Virgin Australia confirms ‘serious security incident’ with crew in Fiji
By Anish Chand in Suva Virgin Australia has confirmed a “serious security incident” with its flight crew members who were in Fiji on New Year’s Day. Virgin Australia’s chief operating officer Stuart Aggs said the incident took place on Tuesday night – New Year’s Eve The crew members were in ...1 week ago
- CPJ condemns ban on Al Jazeera – network decries bid to ‘hide the truth’
Pacific Media Watch The New York-based global media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned a decision by the Palestinian Authority to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations in the West Bank and called for it to be reversed “immediately”. “Governments resort to censoring news outlets when they have something to hide,” ...1 week ago
- New Caledonia political crisis costs one third of multi-million French package
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk An emergency 231 million euro (NZ$428 million) French aid package for New Caledonia has been reduced by one third because of the French Pacific territory’s current political crisis. The initial French package was endorsed in early December 2024, in an 11th-hour ...1 week ago
Recent Comments