science

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climate change (1,366)
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- ETS (119)
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global warming (395)

Send Nats to Scandinavia

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:40 am, October 26th, 2009 - 13 comments

Want to send some Nats to Scandinavia? Me too! The one above should be self explanatory. Support Sign On and send John on his way. But while we’re at it let’s send Steven Joyce to Finland! He’s making such a mess of National’s broadband plans. He clearly needs to learn a thing or two about […]

350 Day of Action – Saturday

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:52 am, October 23rd, 2009 - 8 comments

Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. We’re above that limit and we’re climbing fast. 350 Aotearoa is the New Zealand arm of 350.org, an international campaign dedicated to creating an equitable global climate treaty that lowers carbon dioxide below 350 parts per million. Tomorrow, Saturday, […]

Smith out-does Tolley as most incompetent minister

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:22 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 16 comments

While we’re all aghast over Nick Smith’s shambolic handling of ACC and his ‘people are killing themselves for cash’ comments, let’s not forget he’s also making a total botch up of climate change policy too. As Marty discovered, National’s ETS will cost us $73 billion in added debt by 2050 and it’s being rushed through […]

March for action on climate change

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:31 pm, October 14th, 2009 - 12 comments

Let’s have a good turn out. Incidentally, with 1,700 workers at Justice joining 140 of their Parliamentary Service comrades in industrial action as they try to win a meager cost of living pay adjustment, and more departments soon to join them, Parliament’s front lawn could be a busy place in the weeks to come. Strange […]

National’s subsidies for polluters to cost $73 billion

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:36 am, October 14th, 2009 - 6 comments

A newly released government paper shows that by 2050 government debt will be $54-$73 billion higher than it otherwise would be due to National’s subsidies for carbon polluters. According to the paper: Treasury has modelled these costs [the free allocations to polluters] and, while the model has limitations, they estimate that, if a 1.3% phase […]

Sausages with Darby

Written By: Demeter - Date published: 10:15 am, October 14th, 2009 - 6 comments

Rewinding Fast Forward

Written By: r0b - Date published: 3:32 pm, October 13th, 2009 - 2 comments

One of the snippets announced while John Key was over performing for Letterman recently was a call for action on research into emissions: NZ pushes for Global Alliance on agricultural emissions Prime Minister John Key says the New Zealand Government is pushing for a Global Alliance to research how to cut world-wide greenhouse gas emissions […]

Too late 3

Written By: r0b - Date published: 12:38 pm, October 9th, 2009 - 7 comments

I know I’m banging on about it this week, but it’s rather an important topic! This clip from Wake Up Freak Out is an accessible introduction to the science of the tipping points that are going to accelerate climate change. As the title of my posts in this series suggests, I think we’re too late. […]

Too late 2

Written By: r0b - Date published: 6:19 am, October 8th, 2009 - 4 comments

From Inter Press: Climate Change: Food Supply Hangs in the Balance Uxbridge, Canada – Rocketing food prices and hundreds of millions more starving people will be part of humanity’s grim future without concerted action on climate change and new investments in agriculture, experts reported this week. The current devastating drought in East Africa, where millions […]

Climatic catastrophe lolz

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:05 pm, October 7th, 2009 - Comments Off on Climatic catastrophe lolz

hat-tip Sam Vilain in comments

Too late

Written By: r0b - Date published: 9:25 am, October 7th, 2009 - 18 comments

From The Guardian: Arctic seas turn to acid, putting vital food chain at risk With the world’s oceans absorbing six million tonnes of carbon a day, a leading oceanographer warns of eco disaster Carbon-dioxide emissions are turning the waters of the Arctic Ocean into acid at an unprecedented rate, scientists have discovered. Research carried out […]

Up in smoke

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 6:01 am, October 6th, 2009 - 19 comments

When the Tui oil-field was opened last year, the operators (AWE New Zealand, 87.5% foreign-owned, ironically) were given permission to burn off 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas retrieved incidentally to the oil over the life of the oil-field. That’s actually a hell of a lot of gas, about 6% of what New Zealand […]

McGovernment

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 5:06 am, September 30th, 2009 - 12 comments

This increasingly ramshackle government continues to astound. They’ve basically done nothing in a year when the country has been dealing with the worst economic crisis in decades. When they have tried to tackle big issues, the result has been incompetent policy produced entirely for political reasons – framed as moderate while paying off big business. Take Treasury’s view of […]

Image-ination: postcards to the planet

Written By: Dancr - Date published: 5:59 pm, September 28th, 2009 - Comments Off on Image-ination: postcards to the planet

Have you heard of the 10:10 campaign in the UK? It aims to inspire individuals, businesses and organisations to commit to cutting their own emissions by 10% in 2010. A range of artists are donating work to be auctioned in support of the campaign, with some really great images. View climate change from a different […]

Dispatches from the parallel universe, John Key 1940

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:07 pm, September 28th, 2009 - 21 comments

The Standard, 12 June 1940 WELLINGTON Prime Ministerial candidate for the Nationalists, Mr John Key, today laid out his party’s policy regarding New Zealand’s participation in the current War. “Let me state clearly and unequivocally that, despite our past position, my Party now believes wholeheartedly that the War must be fought. It is undeniably a […]

Chauvel on the ETS

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 4:54 pm, September 24th, 2009 - 35 comments

In his speech as Labour climate change spokesperson, Charles Chauvel confirmed the new information on the ETS that Jeanette Fitzsimons revealed today. It was a pretty good speech, especially the conclusion: “Labour will have no option but to repeal these changes when next in power. We could have had a broad-based, bipartisan, sustainable ETS but National […]

Nats to subsidise big polluters by $2 billion a year

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 3:29 pm, September 24th, 2009 - 19 comments

Last night, non-government parties finally got a peak at the new emissions trading bill. Nick Smith still didn’t have it finished, it was in draft form, and by all accounts it’s a mess. As Jeanette Fitzsimons reports, however, the draft ETS did reveal something important. See, on Tuesday Smith tabled in Parliament a bizarre table […]

Yes, we’re screwed

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 23rd, 2009 - 10 comments

On Monday, New Yorkers discovered their free rightwing rag, the New York Post, had suddenly come over all green. The front-page was typical NYP: a headline screaming “we’re screwed”. The difference was that, in a reversal of the norm, the paper was fake but the facts were real. The Yes-Men had produced a 32-page newspaper on […]

Understanding political behaviour

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 11:30 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 34 comments

It seems political scientists could learn a thing or two from anthropologists after all. “Neanderthals were not the gentle, almost-human creatures portrayed in the media over the last 50 years…“ No surprises there mate.

Wake up

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:19 am, September 21st, 2009 - Comments Off on Wake up

The Global Climate Wake-up Call is happening today. It’s a grassroots way for people to say we want our leaders to do more about climate change before it’s too late. There are flashmob gatherings all over the country this lunch time. The list is here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/tcktcktck_map/

Nats’ ETS a polluters’ charter

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:26 am, September 21st, 2009 - 6 comments

Rod Oram, as usual, has set the standard in commentary with his piece on the National-Maori Party ETS. The full article is here but I’ll lift the core points: Oram argues a climate change policy package needs three things: Put a price on emissions to incentivise change. We chose an ETS as the most effective […]

Politics more than politicking

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:32 am, September 20th, 2009 - 8 comments

I get sick of hearing our illustrious fourth estate refer to some piece of politicking as ‘good politics’. Who decides what’s ‘good politics’? The commentators, of course. And they define good politics as maneuvering to ones advantage, rather than getting good policies in place. Take the ETS issue. If they wanted, the commentators could say ‘National has […]

CCD Myth: The planets are warming

Written By: lprent - Date published: 8:45 am, September 20th, 2009 - 8 comments

We haven’t seen much of this myth in NZ. However it shows some good examples of selective reading of news articles and papers by CCD’s in support of the “Martians drive hummers” line. Thanks to Andrei for reminding me why videos like this have to be made. You have to read the whole article or […]

Sniffing the breeze on climate change

Written By: Dancr - Date published: 9:49 pm, September 19th, 2009 - 4 comments

Climate change and the Emissions Trading Scheme are front and centre of political comment at the moment it seems. I thought this item from Patrick Smellie was a cut above the rest: No matter whether you’re up or downwind of it, this week’s political bargain on the Emissions Trading Scheme looks, sounds and smells like […]

CCD Myth: 1998 and all that

Written By: lprent - Date published: 11:53 am, September 19th, 2009 - 24 comments

If you are in love with the concept that 1998 was the warmest year on record (wrong by the way), don’t watch this. This runs through exactly why you don’t know what you’re talking about. Check out this

A solar future?

Written By: all_your_base - Date published: 1:30 pm, September 18th, 2009 - 34 comments

You can read more about it here.

Corporate welfare

Written By: all_your_base - Date published: 10:43 am, September 18th, 2009 - 15 comments

I’ve got no problem with the government helping out those who are genuinely in need but forcing the taxpayer fork out $400 million (or is it 1.6b?) to subsidise corporate polluters is a disgrace. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2864572/Public-to-pay-tab-for-polluters This is corporate welfare at it’s worst. These businesses are simply bludging off the taxpayer. While you’re doing your bit […]

Nick Smith’s dirty dealing

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:33 am, September 18th, 2009 - 8 comments

Labour’s Charles Chauvel has released the paper records of Labour’s attempts to agree a bi-partisan ETS with National. In total, Labour presented three draft MOUs detailing possible agreements, each moving towards what they believed to be National’s position. Additionally, there was a letter from Phil Goff to John Key a month ago that clearly laid […]

Foreshore nomoreshore

Written By: John A - Date published: 8:51 am, September 17th, 2009 - 15 comments

Two chilling articles from last week’s Guardian Weekly just finished, both about the consequences of the world’s water getting warmer faster than expected. The Greenland ice sheet is melting, “far faster than the climate models predicted and far more decisively than any political actions to combat our changing climate.” It’s worth a read – we […]

No deal

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:16 am, September 15th, 2009 - 22 comments

Hot Topic has obtained a copy of a draft memorandum of understanding for a meeting on the ETS that was meant to take place today. It shows that Labour was prepared to do more to help compensate polluters for the costs they would have faced while still paying a price for polluting, thereby still incentivising reductions […]

Kaupapa for sale

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:08 am, September 15th, 2009 - 6 comments

A few important passages from the special select committee report on the Emissions Trading Scheme: In the long term, price caps stand in the way of market development and shield business from the real price of carbon to the economy…[National and United Future] recommend to the Government that if a short-term price cap is introduced, […]