science

Categories under science

The disconnected: the future of the left?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 42 comments

The current direction of Key’s government, and the challenging circumstances of the 21st century create a need for urgent attention to the form of a new left politics; one that embraces the working class, trade union solidarity, gender, diversity & the emerging “precariat”.

The Greens, electricity & sustainability

Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, April 16th, 2013 - 48 comments

The Greens and Labour are planning a joint announcement on their policies on power prices. Both parties want to bring down costs of electricity.  The policies of the two parties will also have some differences.   How will it mesh with Green Party policies on sustainability?

PM’s Science Advisor worried PM doesn’t understand science

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, April 5th, 2013 - 74 comments

Why else would he say “that he is particularly concerned by the trend for the complex nature of science to be ignored or misunderstood in societal debates, leading to the argument that you can find a scientist to support any given position. This, he says, totally misinterprets the way that scientific consensus is achieved and can engender serious mistrust in the scientific enterprise.”

Mining & the sly dismantling of conservation protections

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, March 28th, 2013 - 32 comments

Cuts to DOC, the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill [3rd reading today], permits allowing the exploration for minerals on Schedule 4 land: here is the stealthy NAct MO in action, to undermine the strong public protests against Schedule 4 mining. [Update: the Bill is #6 on today’s Final Order Paper]

Pacific Renewables

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 25th, 2013 - 21 comments

There is a summit on renewable energy in the Pacific happening in Auckland.  McCully acknowledges climate change, the PM focuses on investment opportunities, the EU hopes for clean energy to aid poverty reduction. What’s best for Pacific island communities?

English in denial on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 18th, 2013 - 172 comments

Corin Dann interviewed Bill English very well on climate change and the drought yesterday on Q+A. It was clear that English has his head in the dust. Despite claiming that the government is leading on climate change, English would barely let the ‘cc’ words pass his lips and referred ‘dry cycles’, as if climate change is just temporary, so not really worth worrying about.

Akl Unitary Plan: the good, the bad & the debatable

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, March 17th, 2013 - 39 comments

The Draft Auckland Unitary Plan has much to commend it.  It focuses on resource management, responds to the reality of climate change & aims for a more dense but ‘liveable’ city.  It has weaknesses, embraces destructive “growth” and raises questions: e.g. about affordable housing & environmental management.

Two Things

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, March 13th, 2013 - 124 comments

David Shearer won’t rule-out asset buy back (at cost), and a great blog post on “Climate Change: The New Normal”

The big dry

Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, March 13th, 2013 - 77 comments

We’re now experiencing the worst drought in the North Island in recorded history. It comes just five years after the previous severe drought and there was a lesser one in between. Let’s not beat around the bush, it’s climate change. Bill English came very close on Monday to admitting that climate change induced-droughts will make bailouts unsustainable.

Thinking too small

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, March 13th, 2013 - 24 comments

John Armstrong thinks poor Bill English has got it tough with the current drought and its impact on the budget. You’re thinking too small John. Way too small.

It’s real when an All Black does it

Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, March 10th, 2013 - 118 comments

100 prominent New Zealanders warning about the most serious threat we have ever faced – meh. It’s only newsworthy when someone associated with the All Blacks does it…

Wise response

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, March 8th, 2013 - 81 comments

“Wise Response” is an Otago based group set up to advocate for a serious and considered response to climate change, to the “symptoms too serious to ignore”. They are holding their launch today.

Auckland housing: Brown vs Smith

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, March 7th, 2013 - 53 comments

Nick Smith, of the forked tongue, is challenging Auckland council’s plan for affordable compact housing. It will do nothing for housing affordability, transport, the environment. It is undemocratic, over-rides the council, and will enrich developers.

The Stealth Dismantling of Environmental Protection

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, March 6th, 2013 - 27 comments

To a first approximation the protection of the environment in this country is managed by two distinct entities; inside the Conservation estate it falls to DoC and outside of that it falls onto the Regional Councils. Under this government both are being slowly dismantled. Over the last month I’ve had the opportunity to talk extensively with DoC […]

How bad does it have to get?

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, March 5th, 2013 - 63 comments

Record breaking droughts in Australia and America, drought in NZ. Food prices rising. Worse to come. How bad does it have to get before we take action?

NRT: Climate change – Locked out

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, February 23rd, 2013 - 15 comments

I/S from No Right Turn describes another brick in National’s wall of stupid. “New Zealand will be locked out of the international carbon market in retaliation for our refusal to sign up for Kyoto’s Second Commitment period.”

Think tanks & global-local networks

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, February 20th, 2013 - 25 comments

George Monbiot exposes how well-funded right wing ‘think tanks’ and individuals operate through networks including the AEI, IEA &  Koch.  These have links to the NZ Initiative (BRT & NZ Institute). The coming DailyBlog may help challenge such influential networks and their destructive ‘neoliberal’ politics.

Obama talks the talk on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, February 14th, 2013 - 38 comments

The first State of the Union of Obama’s second term was widely anticipated. As many hoped, Obama made a strong statement on climate change. Good start – now let’s see words become actions – please…

The green economy

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, February 11th, 2013 - 90 comments

There’s a lot of talk about the benefits of moving to a green, sustainable economy but details on what that looks like in practice in New Zealand are often frustratingly thin. Greenpeace is releasing a report – The Future is Here – that puts meat on the bones. The main thing is getting us off expensive, polluting, imported oil and on to clean, local energy.

Community Service

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, February 9th, 2013 - 70 comments

Greenpeace activists were fined and ordered to do Community Service – for serving the global community by protesting about Climate Change & the oil industry.  Others get honours like knighthoods for services that are damaging for the majority in the community.  Misplaced values? [update] RNZ interview with Lucy Lawless.

More Queensland floods

Written By: - Date published: 4:23 pm, January 28th, 2013 - 58 comments

Over the next few decades more and more countries are going to be facing a difficult question. At what point do repeated extreme weather events make previously settled regions untenable?

Green Party “I’m in – for the future”

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, January 27th, 2013 - 109 comments

For once lately, I agree with Matt McCarten on the Green Party being Centre Stage this week: a housing policy for renters and buyers on low incomes, including state housing.  Memorable speech at Ratana by Turei.  Today: Picnic for the Planet, State of the Planet speech & the launch of a new “I’m in – for the future” initiative.

Welcome to the Burdigalian

Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, January 14th, 2013 - 200 comments

Last year, in the Arctic, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were measured at 400ppm. If you search on line for historical CO2 levels, you’ll find a lot of comments that are of the opinion that 400ppm CO2 last occurred about 800 000 years ago…or maybe just a bit longer. The implication is that since that’s well within the span of human existence it doesn’t really matter too much. It’s fine; we’ve been here before.

Climate Change & Poverty

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, January 9th, 2013 - 54 comments

The wildfires in Australia are an immediate cause for concern.  Such events will be more common as average temperatures rise.  Joseph Stigliz warns of an urgent need for structural change to respond to economic decline, climate change, poverty and inequality.

Climate: last year and this year

Written By: - Date published: 5:06 pm, January 3rd, 2013 - 142 comments

A group of people interested in climate have put out a list of the most interesting climate events of 2012, which was a year that weather made more of the headlines than usual. It is likely that it will have been just a precursor to 2013 as the northern fridge disappears and the sun flares. The one certainty is that the IPCC AR4 report got it wrong – they were far too conservative about how fast climate change was happening.

The unreported & off the cliff

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, January 2nd, 2013 - 12 comments

Over the last year some issues have been under-reported, some ignored: the climate/environment, subversive FBI activities, bankster rorts, decline of democracy, the need for new left & green politics. Some news has been overdramatised, some masks the real needs.  And the “fiscal cliff”?

Fear factors

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, December 27th, 2012 - 74 comments

Another in an on going non-chronological series on options in the face of global warming.

2012: “celebrity” PM – collective action

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 23rd, 2012 - 47 comments

Individualism & “celebrity” PM, John Key were still strong in 2012.  But, there was opposition from some (often local) groups working collaboratively:  Occupy, Glen Innes protesters, MUNZ, Asset Sales referendum, AAAP advocacy activism, manufacturing inquiry, NZLP democratisation, TS nest of vipers. And 2013?

Apocalypse Now

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, December 21st, 2012 - 56 comments

Humans have a paranoid fascination with our own demise, as seen in doomsday movies.  They portray our fears, hopes, politics and delusions.  Children of Men: the demise of capitalism; Day after Tomorrow: climate collapse.  Is today a Mayan prediction of the end or a new beginning?

If

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, December 20th, 2012 - 221 comments

If you and I were told that (variously) our sons and daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were going to be killed tomorrow, would I be right to suspect that we might sit up and take notice?

Well done

Written By: - Date published: 5:16 pm, December 18th, 2012 - 83 comments

This is one of a series of posts I hope to write over the summer based to some extent or other on a recent presentation by Kevin Anderson: Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University of Manchester, Tyndall Centre.

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