sustainability
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At least Labour wants to save the planet
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, October 8th, 2018 - 46 comments
The Government is consulting on changes to the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill to prevent further offshore drilling permits being issued. Locally the right are saying it will make things worse. And in the US of A the Trump administration has conceded that out of control climate change is inevitable.
Tilting at Windmills
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, September 10th, 2018 - 42 comments
The Donald found a real one!
Norway’s plastic bottle recycling
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 28th, 2018 - 16 comments
Norway’s recycling policies are that good that it is in serious need of more rubbish.
Australia, New Zealand, and Climate Change Politics
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 25th, 2018 - 37 comments
What are the implications for New Zealand’s climate change policies of Australia’s change of Prime Minister?
Strewth Dutton could be Aussie PM
Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, August 20th, 2018 - 87 comments
Malcolm Turnbull’s days as Australian Prime Minister may be numbered with suggestions that Peter Dutton has the numbers to win a leadership contest.
Climate change: what happens now?
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, August 14th, 2018 - 138 comments
How does humanity prepare for the realisation that humans only have perhaps fifty years left?
Who protects us from water companies?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 10th, 2018 - 78 comments
New Zealand seriously needs a water regulator. Something that will show that each catchment can withstand having that much taken out of it, and that it is being sold for a fair price, and ensures everyone has access to beautiful-quality water.
Should we defend global institutions?
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, August 8th, 2018 - 37 comments
With the world facing environmental, economic and social crises now more than ever before is a time for strong international institutions.
A bit of a hit
Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, July 26th, 2018 - 12 comments
Not everything can be attributed to climate change. But we’re in for a bit of a hit.
In Short…
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, July 14th, 2018 - 49 comments
A post puzzling over our collective state of mind in the face of incredible danger and suggesting the only course of action we can take. Covering our eyes and blocking our ears isn’t it.
Progress.
Written By: - Date published: 5:21 pm, July 8th, 2018 - 10 comments
I don’t pay much attention to news channels these days, and realise this will have been all over the place in the shape of headlines and lead stories. So I’m sorry for simply echoing that which is already being amplified, but hey…
Petrol is going up, and up
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 30th, 2018 - 57 comments
Not all the current government’s fault, but the arrival of the fuel tax this weekend heralds a number of very sharp rises in what we have to pay in order to run a car.
The zero carbon bill
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, June 25th, 2018 - 88 comments
The Ministry for the Environment has released a discussion paper on a Zero Carbon Bill. But one proposal is to exempt methane which would mean that effectively half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gasses would not be subject to limitation.
The War on Carbon
Written By: - Date published: 6:02 am, June 22nd, 2018 - 50 comments
Or a conscientious objection to any War on Climate Change, or War on Global Warming.
Hosking poll shows overwhelming support for cycle lanes
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, June 19th, 2018 - 54 comments
Mike Hosking created an online poll which he must have thought would show opposition to cycleways but which has indicated that cycleways are very popular with Aucklanders.
A Question from a Room.
Written By: - Date published: 6:02 am, June 19th, 2018 - 113 comments
Take a look around the room you’re in. Or if you’re out and about and reading this on some mobile device, then take a look around the next room you enter. Closely.
Does National really want climate change to be a bipartisan issue?
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, June 17th, 2018 - 94 comments
National has cautiously pledged to support the Government’s proposed Climate Change Commission. But is it looking for opportunities to delay or weaken urgent action that New Zealand needs to be taking now rather than signing up for urgent action being started now?
Let’s Build a Hospital!
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, June 14th, 2018 - 19 comments
…on reclaimed land. (Dunedin) – because water features are nice things to have.
Who gives a hooton about climate change?
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, June 10th, 2018 - 125 comments
Matthew Hooton and Fran O’Sullivan have claimed that the Government’s decision to ban off shore petroleum exploration is “Orwellian”, part of an attempt to divert attention from other issues, bad for the environment and bad for jobs. Are they right?
The Carbon Zero Legislation
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, June 8th, 2018 - 43 comments
If you have useful thoughts on how we should deal with climate change, now is the time not to have defeatist or pessimistic thoughts. Now is the time to put pen to paper and get your thoughts straight to James Shaw and help shape this legislation before the first draft hits Parliament.
Steaming cow poo.
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, June 2nd, 2018 - 54 comments
Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth according to a Guardian headline.
Yeah. No it’s not.
Deep Trawling.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, May 24th, 2018 - 21 comments
Is NZ’s fishing industry just a domestic version of the tobacco companies? And how much would that really matter?
Wipeout
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, May 21st, 2018 - 31 comments
How many wake up calls does it take?
Would you step into a driverless car?
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, May 11th, 2018 - 51 comments
And would you send your child off to a party in a driverless car?
Dunedin Hospital
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, May 8th, 2018 - 22 comments
Yes, Dunedin needs a new hospital, but…
A Great Business Opportunity
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, May 6th, 2018 - 55 comments
410 ppm. And rising.
National is yeah nah on climate change
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, April 30th, 2018 - 34 comments
National’s Blue Green conference on the weekend suggests that the party has moved on from outright denial that cliamte change exists to grudging acceptance that it is a phenomenon but “balance” requires that it is tolerated.
National’s fiscal ineptitude over Auckland transport
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, April 29th, 2018 - 32 comments
National has responded to Labour’s ATAP proposal by refusing to accept there is a problem, drumming up anti Auckland resentment in the rest of the country and claiming they would have done the same thing.
Why Can’t We Hold Vector Accountable?
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, April 19th, 2018 - 85 comments
For those of us who were without electricity to their houses in Auckland for several days, it’s worth turning our thoughts to Vector.
Global finance and climate change
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 14th, 2018 - 18 comments
The two greatest powers at work in the world right now are the roles of global finance, and climate change. In New Zealand we don’t yet see how these intersecting worlds of finance and climate change are interacting, or the government’s role in forming that interaction. But this is close.
Dear Judith burning Oil and Gas is the worst thing for the climate
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2018 - 73 comments
National now seems to adopt the position that climate change is real and has to be addressed. But it is refusing to accept that to address the problem New Zealand is going to have to give up its reliance on oil and gas.
- The case for reading books about animals wearing clothes
In light of Gloriavale’s reluctant acceptance of Winnie-the-Pooh, Claire Mabey argues in favour of the wider canon of anthropomorphic animal literature. There is nothing more bleak than the banning of books and the curtailment of reading. Control what people read and you control what they think, and how they behave. ...4 days ago - Hīkoi day four: Setting off from Huntly on way to Wellington – bill reading
RNZ News Thousands of people are continuing their North Island hīkoi as the legislation they are protesting against, the Treaty Principles Bill, gets its first reading in Parliament today. The hīkoi enters day four and headed off from Huntly, destined for Rotorua today, after it advanced through Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau ...4 days ago - Coldplay and 57,000 babies at Eden Park
Review: Everything happens all at once at Coldplay’s sold-out show. About 15 minutes into Music of the Spheres, I realised that we were all just big babies. When Coldplay emerged for their first song, our compostable plastic wristbands lit up around Eden Park, delighting us all. Minutes later, Chris Martin ...4 days ago
- Health NZ Commissioner steps in to stop staff losing Milo
The man in charge of the country's public health system has stepped in to ensure all staff can still have a drink of Milo at work. ...4 days ago - Inland Revenue calls in debt collectors over overseas student debt
Around 1000 Kiwis working in Australia have begun repaying some of their student loan debt in the last three months, an IRD manager says. ...4 days ago
- Incorrect patient data found during system upgrades at Auckland’s hospitals
A team is working to correct and update this, Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says. ...4 days ago
- Dear Donald, here’s why you should cut NZ a break in the tariff torrent
Ten irrefutable reasons for the incoming president to exempt plucky little New Zealand from import tax hikes. The former and future president, Donald J Trump, has been re-elected on a platform pledging new and universal import tariffs of 10%-20%. The challenge for New Zealand politicians and officials is to somehow ...4 days ago
- Donald Trump picks Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general
The congressman, who remains under investigation for sexual misconduct, said it would "be an honour to serve" in the role. ...4 days ago
- A 41-million-digit prime number is the biggest ever found – but mathematicians’ search for perfe...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Voight, Professor of Mathematics , University of Sydney Imagine a number made up of a vast string of ones: 1111111…111. Specifically, 136,279,841 ones in a row. If we stacked up that many sheets of paper, the resulting tower would stretch into ...4 days ago
- Elon Musk has turned X into a globally influential media platform – and there’s more to come
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lewis Mitchell, Professor of Data Science; Director, Adelaide Data Science Centre, University of Adelaide kovop/Shutterstock During the recent United States presidential election campaign, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saw record high usage. The platform – ...4 days ago
- The NZ government’s plan to withhold COVID inquiry findings until 2026 leaves the country ill-prep...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Hendy, Professor of Physics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images The first report from a Royal Commission of Inquiry to review New Zealand’s response to the COVID pandemic was due to be released this month. ...4 days ago
- 6 things to do if your child’s weight is beyond the ideal range – and 1 thing to avoid
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney JPC-PROD/Shutterstock One of the more significant challenges we face as parents is making sure our kids are growing at a healthy rate. To manage this, we take them ...4 days ago
- ‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after f...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University The megafires that tore through Australia’s forests in 2019–20 burnt more than ten million hectares. The tragedy prompted a massive research effort to understand how plants and animals were affected. So what did ...4 days ago
- First off, have a plan – 5 ways young people can stay safe at schoolies
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Hutton, Professor of Nursing, Western Sydney University Year 12 exams are finishing around Australia and celebrations are beginning. Thousands of students will mark the end of high school in coming weeks with “schoolies”. This is an important rite of passage ...4 days ago
- Australia has backed away from plans to introduce local quotas on streaming platforms – again
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexa Scarlata, Research Fellow, Media & Communication, RMIT University The federal government has quietly shelved plans to introduce local requirements for Australian screen content on streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+. In October, Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke flagged quotas were being ...4 days ago
- Help Me Hera: Why do I only befriend people nobody else can stand?
How do I end this cycle of misery, once and for all? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera How do I break a lifelong pattern of forming close friendships with people that nobody else can stand? Ever since I was about 12, I have had a succession of very ...4 days ago
- One NZ learns the hard way, don’t rely on Elon Musk
The Commerce Commission files criminal charges against the telco for over-promising, after SpaceX failed to deliver its much-vaunted direct-to-cell satellite service on schedule The post One NZ learns the hard way, don’t rely on Elon Musk appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago - First the Ferraris, then the mansion – tech leader takes record property hit
Multi-million dollar houses in exclusive private estates have been the biggest winners, and the biggest losers, in the three-year property downturn The post First the Ferraris, then the mansion – tech leader takes record property hit appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Live: Hīkoi heads to Rotorua as Treaty Principles Bill gets first reading
The hīkoi will leave from Huntly this morning and hold a gathering in Hamilton. ...4 days ago
- On the frontlines of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti
Thousands converged on Auckland, the day before the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...4 days ago
- Retracing the footsteps of past Māori protest movements
As the nationwide hīkoi for Te Tiriti made its way through Auckland it stopped at two sites synonymous with Māori resistance - Bastion Point and Ihumātao. ...4 days ago
- Treaty Principles Bill: Bill of Rights Act advice ‘quite damning’ – academic
The government's lawyers have advised the Treaty Principles Bill is consistent with the Bill of Rights Act - but only because they expect courts would not allow it to override that law or the Treaty itself. ...4 days ago
- Number of speed safety cameras slashed but cost per camera doubles
The government told RNZ the 800-camera network had been unfunded. ...4 days ago
- Health officials warned government more money needed to meet targets
Released documents show health officials made clear their belief the targets couldn't be reached without more funding. ...4 days ago
- D-Day for government’s Treaty Principles Bill
The legislation is up for its first reading after Question Time this afternoon. ...4 days ago
- You’re gonna miss the post office when it’s gone
Despite it dwindling locations and reduced service, NZ Post remains a pillar in every community, writes Hera Lindsay Bird. Every Saturday morning I arrive at 7.30am, and enter the post office box lobby. Behind the narrow corridor of identical red letterboxes, there is a locked room, full of ancient Christmas ...4 days ago
- ‘Whaka round, find out’: When the hīkoi came to Auckland
The Toitū te Tiriti hīkoi reached Auckland on Wednesday, seeing thousands cross the Harbour Bridge and walk around the coast to Bastion Point. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith joined them. Atop Bastion Point, a crowd of red, black and white gathered at the end of what we’ve been told is a history-making moment. ...4 days ago
- When women hit the grass ceiling of coaching
There’s a subject Alice Soper wants to stop writing about.It’s the sidelining of women when it comes to rugby coaching.But she can’t, as long as the problem still exists.“So often we get caught up in the good news,” she says.“There’s like a toxic positivity that’s attached to a lot of ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 14 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,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, Thursday 14 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Labour needs to learn the art of the deal
Opinion: Unless the Democrats and Labour trim their policy sails accordingly, they will lose elections that matter The post Labour needs to learn the art of the deal appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Trump II and the coming ‘golden age’ of tyranny in the Middle East
In his rambling victory speech on November 5, Donald Trump, having stoked the fears of Americans throughout his campaign, and sporting extra fake tan for the occasion, spoke of a new ‘golden age’.In terms of Middle East foreign policy, with whom will Trump look to build this ‘golden age’?In May ...4 days ago
- Book of the Week: Day of the lizard
When I first spotted the new illustrated book Geckos & Skinks: The remarkable lizards of Aotearoa in the window of a Wellington bookstore in October (I was visiting with my wife Fi who was going to WOW with her cousins and niece. I wasn’t. I went once in 2002 and ...4 days ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 14 November
The post Daily crossword, Thursday 14 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Survivors say torture widespread, Govt says that’s unlikely
Survivors and lawyers are calling on the Govt to release legal advice that says other abuse at psychiatric institutions doesn’t meet the definition of torture The post Survivors say torture widespread, Govt says that’s unlikely appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- An often-toxic artificial lake receives a collective shrug
A man-made lake north of Christchurch is a ‘filthy drain’ but few seem interested in fixing it The post An often-toxic artificial lake receives a collective shrug appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Trump appealed to left-behind people in left-behind places
Opinion: Many commentators are trying to make sense of the re-election of Donald Trump and as a geography teacher, I always think geography is a valuable discipline to make sense of momentous and world-changing events.Let’s start with some simple stories, ones that I have heard in the last few days. ...4 days ago
- Global carbon budget will be used up in six years
The annual carbon budget report from the Global Carbon Project dropped on Wednesday morning, reminding diplomats at the COP29 climate summit in Baku exactly what they were there for.Contrary to some hopes that carbon dioxide emissions have now peaked, the report estimates 2024 will set a new record for fossil ...4 days ago
- West Papuan leader makes ‘raise our banned flag’ plea over new threat
Asia Pacific Report An exiled West Papuan leader has called on supporters globally to show their support by raising the Morning Star flag — banned by Indonesia — on December 1. “Whether in your house, your workplace, the beach, the mountains or anywhere else, please raise our flag and send ...4 days ago
- Government to impose ‘duty of care’ on digital platforms: Communiations Minister Rowland
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will develop and legislate a “Digital Duty of Care” to place the onus on platforms to keep people safe and better prevent online harms, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has announced. In a ...4 days ago
- Senior NZ lawyers call for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
By Lillian Hanly, RNZ political reporter Members of the King’s Counsel, some of New Zealand’s most senior legal minds, say the controversial Treaty Principles Bill “seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself” and are calling on the prime minister and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” it. More ...4 days ago
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