sustainability

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The innovation that we need

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 1:50 pm, September 19th, 2011 - 49 comments

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.

Down the gurgler

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:57 am, September 17th, 2011 - 64 comments

The warnings on the economy are coming thick and fast now, both globally and nationally.

Remember

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:00 am, September 16th, 2011 - 59 comments

When the Nats say they must cut early childhood education funding – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to cut women’s refuge money – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.
When the Nats say they have to sell our assets to pay their debt – remember their new $500m subsidy to polluters.

Ecocide

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:26 am, September 9th, 2011 - 64 comments

If a corporation can have the legal rights of a person, why can’t the environment can’t have the legal protections of a person too?

NRT: Some “strategy”

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:31 am, August 31st, 2011 - 39 comments

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.

Ocean Acidification

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:00 pm, August 29th, 2011 - 32 comments

We know that our carbon pollution is damaging the climate – making the atmosphere warmer and less stable – but it also makes the sea more acidic. Ocean Acidification means the aquaculture industry could be in big trouble by the middle of the century, not to mention the rest of the fishing industry. But the government blithely ignores the problem.

The Greens’ awesome water policy

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:42 am, August 22nd, 2011 - 75 comments

The Greens want to charge 10 cents per tonne of water used by farmers. Use the revenue to restore our rivers and lakes. Even Actoid types can support this: internalise externalities, use price mechanisms to encourage efficient use of resources. Naturally, the farmers don’t want to pay. Funny how ‘wealth creators’ never want to pay their fair share.

Seeds of hope

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:35 am, August 21st, 2011 - 20 comments

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

End slavery in NZ, create 2,500 Kiwi jobs

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 7th, 2011 - 25 comments

Next week, a report will reveal the abuse of 2,500 foreign workers used as virtual slaves on ships employed by kiwi fishing quota holders in our waters. By rights, we should have a world renowned fishing fleet. Instead, we let our potential go to waste and employ foreign slaveowners and human traffickers to do the work instead.

No to foreign boats harvesting our fish

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:11 pm, August 5th, 2011 - 49 comments

Fisheries workers bearing a 12,000 signature told a select committee yesterday the horror stories of abuse of foreign workers on fishing vessels, whose low wages displace Kiwi workers, how the focus on low-cost, low-quality that is wasting our fish stocks, and how this is caused by Kiwi corporates putting a quick buck ahead of their people and their environment.

Generation Zero

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:44 pm, August 1st, 2011 - 40 comments

It is one of the failures of our society that far too many young people are politically disengaged or apathetic. Many – but not all! Meet Generation Zero. Please go visit their website, join up, or spread the word…

On a road to nowhere

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:58 pm, July 28th, 2011 - 16 comments

The government has put out a new policy statement on transport. Total funding is unchanged. But cost of the RoNS is rising before they’re even built. So, it’s more money into white elephant highways. Less money for road safety, local roads, road policing, and public transport. Stupid myopic policy.

Govt hits peak denial

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:05 pm, July 21st, 2011 - 89 comments

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.

A real plan to save the world does exist

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 10:17 am, July 12th, 2011 - 112 comments

A feasible plan to power 100 percent of the planet with complete renewables exists. This plan excludes Nuclear and Biofuels, which the Scientific American authors of this plan also considered to be ultimately unsustainable technologies as well. Instead this plan revolves around Wind, Water and Solar – WWS

Peak oil enters mainstream: Labour listening, Nats not

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:00 am, May 27th, 2011 - 81 comments

The Greens and environmentalists have been talking about peak oil forever. Now, the IEA and IMF have joined them in warning that governments need to act immediately. Labour has pledged to cancel one of National’s white elephant motorways but that must only be the beginning. Meanwhile, the Nats are planning more ‘Roads of National Significance’.

Genuine progress

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:13 am, May 27th, 2011 - 14 comments

This story didn’t get any big headlines. This story slipped by almost completely under the radar. But it’s a very important story. Much more important for New Zealand’s development than the smoke and mirrors of the do-nothing budget.

National vs Auckland

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 1:42 am, May 23rd, 2011 - 23 comments

National are not acting in accordance with Auckland’s wishes. Aucklanders want public transport, and its Council wants a quality compact sustainable eco-city – National seem to be aiming to frustrate that. Aucklanders should submit their views to strengthen our voice against the government.

Green budget ideas

Written By: r0b - Date published: 6:21 am, May 18th, 2011 - 15 comments

It has been great to see Labour’s statements on how they would approach Budget 2011. But, as is often the case at this stage of the electoral cycle, it is the Greens who are laying out their alternative budget ideas in the most detail.

Eaarth

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:03 am, April 26th, 2011 - 46 comments

I recently finished “Eaarth” by Bill McKibben (of 350.org), a book about the effect of climate change on the planet and how we should be preparing for the future. Comprehensively researched and brutally honest, Eaarth is a smack in the emotional solar plexus. Everyone should read it.

Even the IMF is starting to get peak oil

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:58 am, April 10th, 2011 - 40 comments

Peak oil. We’ve long had warnings from scientists and greens. Right wing governments never listen to those. But recently we’ve also had warnings from organisations that you might think that any government would pay attention to. The IMF is the latest to sound the alarm.

A goal is not a strategy

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:36 pm, April 4th, 2011 - 26 comments

Last year, the New Zealand Institute lambasted the Nats’ ‘aspiration’ to catch Australia by 2025 with a report entitled ‘A goal is not a strategy‘. Did the Nats change? Of course not. Yesterday, their energy strategy was released. It offers some goals but is mute on how to get there. It’s not really a strategy at all, but it serves the Nats’ purpose nonetheless.

Kiwis want buses, not holiday highways

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:34 pm, April 4th, 2011 - 32 comments

Kiwis are voting with their feet, or rather their arses. Patronage of public transport is skyrocketing to the point of overcrowding while state highway use is falling among except for freight. You have to wonder why the government keeps building expensive highways that will be underused when public transport is full to the brim.

Germany abandons nuclear power

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:22 am, March 25th, 2011 - 31 comments

The world will gradually be forced to abandon fossil fuels. Fukushima (and Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island) show us that we can’t trust nuclear power. It has to be green, renewable energy sources. Can’t be done? Germany thinks it can.

Nuclear Free

Written By: r0b - Date published: 10:11 am, March 14th, 2011 - 72 comments

As the nuclear disaster continues to unfold in Japan there is a risk of a Chernobyl style event and a huge release of radiation. Coming as it does on the heels of the Christchurch earthquake, it is all too easy to imagine the same scenario playing out here. New Zealand must remain nuclear free forever. We need a plan for a nuclear free and oil constrained future, and we need it now.

Cometh the Hour

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:19 pm, March 7th, 2011 - 53 comments

ChrisH submitted this incredibly knowledgeable and well-researched post on the rebuilding of Christchurch a few days ago. The announcement that large parts now lower-lying eastern suburbs will be abandoned lends more strength to his call for a visionary urban plan for the new, more resilient Christchurch. And Phil Goff has the history to present it.

An argument for hope?

Written By: r0b - Date published: 6:03 am, January 31st, 2011 - 24 comments

It’s crunch time for humanity and for our current way of life. Ever since the failure of the Copenhagen summit on climate change I have been less than optimistic about the outcome. So the Christmas break was a good time to read Here on Earth: An Argument for Hope by Tim Flannery. An argument for hope was exactly what I was looking for…

Aging car fleet & peak oil

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:11 am, January 17th, 2011 - 70 comments

The few neoliberals who can bring themselves to acknowledge that peak oil is inevitable and upon us argue it’s not really a problem: ‘when prices rise, people will buy alternatives instead, like electric cars’. But peak oil causes recessions and recessions kill car sales. Even if enough electric cars could be made, could we afford to buy them?

Dunedin Council peak oil report

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:00 am, January 5th, 2011 - 11 comments

In December, Dunedin City Council released its Peak Oil Vulnerability Analysis. We’re going to weather the peak oil age largely reliant on the built environment we already have in place – we can’t tear it all down and start again in time – but, the report shows there’s a lot we can do with the infrastructure we have to make it less oil-dependent.

Discrete solar technology

Written By: lprent - Date published: 4:29 pm, December 26th, 2010 - 20 comments

Chinese manufacturing and state support is transforming the cost structure of solar technology. This in turn is helping to put in power support for the emerging use of wireless technologies in the developing world. This helps to ensure that less dirty carbon emitting technologies are not used in the developing world.It is hard to see a downside to this state initiative because it makes solar tech cheaper and more available earlier rather than later.

2011: year of the next mega-shock

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 8:40 am, December 20th, 2010 - 47 comments

Liam Dann had a very good piece in the Herald the other day about rising commodity prices. Despite insipid growth, prices of food and oil, the fuels of our civilisation are through the roof. The underlying meaning of those high prices is we’re having to devote more of our resources to feeding and fueling ourselves, leaving less for anything else.

The new economy: Govt as an economic actor

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:00 am, December 17th, 2010 - 42 comments

Three government investment decisions in the last couple of weeks have shown the deficiencies in the neoliberal way of doing things. SOE Solid Energy’s lignite-to-liquids obsession, Kiwirail buying trains in China rather than making them itself and Steven Joyce decision to re-create Telecom’s monopoly by giving it 70-84% of the broadband contracts.