science

Categories under science

Government plans to disincentivise purchase of gas guzzlers

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, July 9th, 2019 - 134 comments

Julie Anne Genter has released a policy document proposing rebates for the purchase of electric and fuel efficient vehicles funded by a surcharge on gas guzzlers to start the transition of our vehicle fleet to carbon neutrality.

With enough trees …

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, July 6th, 2019 - 65 comments

Recent scientific analysis has suggested the planting of a trillion trees is feasible and may go a long way to addressing the effects of climate change.

Southland and Thames think they don’t have climate crises

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, July 4th, 2019 - 163 comments

Regular Standard contributor Robert Guyton put up a great fight but has failed to persuade the dinosaurs on Environment Southland to declare a climate emergency.

100% carbon free power generation?

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, June 26th, 2019 - 77 comments

The Interim Climate Change Commission has come out saying that making our electricity generation 100% renewable would be really expensive and that that expense would land on the poor of New Zealand. But the Government has already indicated it could be flexible on the target. ICCC should be helping us plan, not throwing road blocks in the way.

The strange case of the missing Oregon Republican State senators

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 24th, 2019 - 67 comments

Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.

Greenland is melting – faster

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, June 19th, 2019 - 82 comments

Greenland holds a large store of fresh water. If fully melted, it will raise sea levels by roughly 7 metres. It is melting – fast. Last week, temperatures across Greenland about 22 degrees Celsius warmer than the normal for that time of year. It produced an extraordinary visual effect of dogs walking on water through surface melt over sea ice.

Three disturbingly different views on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, June 10th, 2019 - 63 comments

In the same week that Donald Trump said that the American climate was the cleanest climate, Ian Dunlop, former chairman of the Australian Coal Association, has warned of massive social consequences ranging from increased religious fervour to outright chaos. And UK Chancellor Philip Hammond is questioning if remedial action is affordable.

A Confession.

Written By: - Date published: 5:10 am, June 7th, 2019 - 174 comments

I confess that I wear underpants and that my body is exactly like Dan Carter’s – except maybe for some details around shape and size.

Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments

Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true.  And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.

The hard change of forestry

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, May 18th, 2019 - 98 comments

Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.

Bill Nye loses his s&(t about climate change

Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, May 14th, 2019 - 17 comments

Bill Nye has decided that anger is the only adequate response to the climate change crisis.

Is there a middle ground on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, May 11th, 2019 - 271 comments

It has been reported that US Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is hoping to craft a middle ground position between the extraordinarily strong scientific consensus suggesting we have a climate crisis and the industry supported anti scientific knee jerk opposition to doing anything.

Zero carbon bill – let the battle commence

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, May 9th, 2019 - 102 comments

The Zero Carbon bill is already being attacked by farming groups who are clearly concerned at the implications for their industry.  And National is already showing signs that it will play politics with the issue.

Zero Carbon bill announced

Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, May 8th, 2019 - 40 comments

The Government has announced that the Zero Carbon Bill will have as a goal carbon neutrality by 2050 and the halving of methane emissions by that time.

It’s the end of the world as we know it *

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 7th, 2019 - 104 comments

* and I don’t feel fine.

Is Tony Abbott finished?

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, May 5th, 2019 - 9 comments

Tony Abbott is facing electoral defeat from Zali Steggall, an independent candidate who has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign.

Climate change is this Government’s nuclear free issue

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 1st, 2019 - 50 comments

The results of the Zero Carbon Bill negotiations are due to be announced shortly.  This Government has a political imperative to make sure that the final proposal is resolute.

Everything Should Be Made As Uncomfortable As Possible, But No Less Comfortable

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 24th, 2019 - 26 comments

When providing a voluntary carbon-offset scheme, make it as simple as possible, but not simpler, and tell people about it.

Kiwi Cultural Cringe is Alive and Well

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 22nd, 2019 - 75 comments

New Zealand is too small for high-achievers and star-performers and does not offer enough challenges and rewards.

Xi-ing Jacinda

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, March 29th, 2019 - 73 comments

Jacinda Ardern will get a very warm welcome in Beijing based on immense respect for her and for New Zealand.  Xi Jin-Ping has just returned from a very successful visit to Europe, joining Italy to the Belt and Road initiative and buying 300 jets from Airbus. Pepe Escobar outlines the implications for Eurasia. Much food for thought.

Ardern backs students striking for climate change

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, March 15th, 2019 - 70 comments

Jacinda Ardern has publicly supported the School students strike about climate change and urged them not to underestimate the power of their voices.

The School climate strikes

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, March 11th, 2019 - 20 comments

Details concerning the School strike day of action against Climate change scheduled for this week.

No More Investing In Oil Exploration

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, March 10th, 2019 - 21 comments

Norway’s government has announced it is selling out of oil exploration although it will continue to invest in energy companies that have refineries and are engaged in distribution and retail sales of oil and gas products.

Simon Bridges is rooting for the Greens*

Written By: - Date published: 4:12 pm, March 9th, 2019 - 28 comments

Simon Bridges makes a passionate plea for the environment and for a mate.

Young people and climate change

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, March 6th, 2019 - 50 comments

School students are planning national protests against climate change on March 15, 2019. The response of some politicians to this news is less than optimal.

National’s Tax review strategy

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, March 5th, 2019 - 107 comments

The Government is not due to announce its response to the Tax Working Group’s recommendations for a few more weeks. It appears that National using outrageous assumptions will take the opportunity to raise horror stories in the media on how bad the tax could be.

23 dinosaur councils refuse to sign Climate Change commitment

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, February 20th, 2019 - 78 comments

Thames-Coromandel mayor and former National Party MP Sandra Goudie has called a request to sign up to LGNZ’s Climate Change declaration irresponsible at the same time as the Council has entered a coastal inundation notation on the titles for a Retirement Village development it issued consent for.

Climate change – the ongoing disaster

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 12th, 2019 - 32 comments

In my youth back in the late 1970s and early 80s, I did a BSc in Earth Sciences. I learned that our human framework of decades and centuries was but a blink of an eye to nature. Our period, that blink in time, is fast fading.

Right wing environmental sock puppet party launched

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, February 11th, 2019 - 195 comments

No friends National’s sock puppet party has now been announced.

Trump restarts Nuclear Arms race

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, February 8th, 2019 - 58 comments

Donald Trump has announced that the US will be withdrawing from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Russia has also given notice. Stand by as the nuclear arms race restarts.

The Meathead tax

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, February 2nd, 2019 - 85 comments

National’s claim that the Government wants to impose a meat tax suffers from the reality that the Government has done no such thing and the proposal comes from an International collective of academics.