Climate change and trees – a palliative and not a solution

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, July 20th, 2016 - 108 comments
Categories: climate change, global warming, science, sustainability - Tags:

One alleviation that is often suggested for reducing or even reversing the effects of climate change is to plant trees, or some other form of vegetation. This is to suck up surplus carbon dioxide and to put it into a solid and relatively inert form. And it does. However to anyone who  has been trained in earth sciences or geology and who has acquired the timescales that says a thousand years is a mere blink of an eye, the idea seems ludicrous.

While in bed with some kind of bug, I caught up on my backlog of online version of The Economist. It included an article “Ravaged woodlands” talking about the effects of the warming in  the USA. It is worth reading to get an idea of the problems involved with using growing plants as a carbon store, especially during active climate shifts.

Politicised, documented and culturally sensitive, the ravaging of America’s forests is an important gauge of man’s ability to mitigate and adapt to the warming he has caused.

The scale of the tree loss is staggering. Last year over 10m of America’s 766m acres of forest were consumed by wildfires, sparked by lawn mowers, campers or lightning (see chart). This was the biggest area burned since 1960, when records began, despite a firefighting effort that involved over 30,000 people and cost the federal government over $2 billion.

This year’s fire season was expected to be less severe, winter rain and snow having taken the edge off a four-year drought in California and Oregon that had turned their woods to tinder. Yet it is running at par with the average of the past ten years, which include the five worst years on record. In the year to July 1st, 2.1m acres of America were razed by nearly 26,000 fires; 19 large ones are currently blazing, mainly in the West (see map).

The growth of wildfires is a worldwide problem, with even bigger burns elsewhere.

Of course as well as the shifts in water precipitation and temperatures, there are also have ecological shifts that accompany them. These are just as lethal for woodlands, jungles, and most organic stockpiles of carbon.

The devastation wreaked in American forests by insects is less headline-grabbing, but ecologically as dramatic. Last month the United States Forest Service (USFS), another of the federal agencies that together manage nearly half the land in western states, said that, since October, it had recorded 26m trees killed by the mutually-reinforcing effects of bugs and drought in the southern part of California’s Sierra Nevada range alone. That suggested 66m trees had died there since 2010.

Such destruction, caused partly by warming, will itself cause more warming. Many American forests are growing denser, in part owing to a reduction in logging, which makes them a significant carbon sink. They suck in greenhouse gases equivalent to around 13% of what America emits by burning fossil fuels. Yet the USFS predicts that within a couple of decades, because of slowing growth and climate-related blights, the forests will become an emissions source.

So a bare 150 years after the start of the excess fossil carbon being blown into the atmosphere, organic carbon sinks are starting to fail. The same effects are likely to happen across most Continental areas with their harsh extremes of weather and climate. Typically in the geological history, any major shift in climate will cause significiant shifts in ecological balances and especially with large plants.

From a geological timescale, the only longer term sequestration mechanisms for carbon have been some peat bogs, areas with rapid deposition of sediments over and with organic materials, and the accretion of carbonate shells. Typically these are all formed with large bodies of water and are quite geologically slow in their storage cycles.

While there are a number of man made artificial geological sequestration techniques, they look more like aspirations than being feasible on any widespread scale.

Shorter term sequestration methods using living plants simply don’t look possible to act as anything more than a wasteful palliative. The approach is unlikely to be able to to be effective over the thousands of years that the major existing released greenhouse gases will have an effect. Climate changes themselves and the downstream economic and societal effects are highly likely to disrupt any widespread program of carbon sequestration in plants within decades rather than the centuries they’d need to operate in.

And even if we stopped excreting excess carbon into the atmosphere and oceans today, my personal assessment is that we are likely to look forward to average worldwide temperatures at the end of the century well above 4 degrees Celsius. The International Panel on Climate Change tends towards conservatism because they only look at the known or highly likely effects. Since we simply don’t know a lot about the effects of rapid climate change in human timescales, there are likely to be a more feedback effects that enhance rather than diminish the effects of climate change. Look forward to ever more rapid climate changes and extreme weather.

What we do know is that plants and soils tend not to store large amounts of carbon when they are experiencing rapid climate shifts. They usually wind up burning or dying. So for the tree huggers amongst us (like me), perhaps this would be a good time to start encouraging a nice peat bog and the trees that grow with very wet roots.

108 comments on “Climate change and trees – a palliative and not a solution ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Siobhan 1
    20 July 2016 at 12:33 pm

    When I look at satellite pictures of NZ the brown blob that is the Kopuatai Peat Dome always makes me sad..there should be so many more.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1
      20 July 2016 at 3:11 pm

      When I look at satellite pictures of NZ I see the huge amount of damage that has been done by humans on our ecology. Before the arrival of humans here NZ had about 80% to 90% forest coverage. That had been seriously decreased by Māori and European arrival has made it even worse.

    • Macro 1.2
      20 July 2016 at 3:39 pm

      Kopuatai Peat Dome – If you ever get the chance to visit – grab it.

      For those unfamiliar with the Peat dome – try hunting Fred the thread… who only lives in the cane rush Sporadanthus ferrugineus which only grows in the Kopuatai Peat Dome. A Ramsar Site. Access only through DOC permit etc.
      The thing about the peat dome is that it will only support the cane rush and other similar species because compounds such as phosphates are not present. The peat is built up (around 9 m deep) in what was once the Waikato river bed – diverted after the last major eruption from Lake Taupo.

    • Chooky 1.3
      20 July 2016 at 8:38 pm

      thanks for that Siobhan and Macro on the Kopuatai Peat Dome…didnt know it existed

      one of my favourite books is Geoff Park’s ‘Nga Uruora – the Groves of Life: Ecology and History in a New Zealand Landscape’ ( Victoria University Press, 1995) …which is a history and exploration of some of the special swampy lowlands and the Maori kaitiaki or environmental caretakers (i wish they would reprint this special beloved book taonga..but I think it can still be got on Amazon)

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nga_uruora

      http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/nga-uruora-the-groves-of-life-ecology-history-in-a-new-zealand-landscape/

      (Kaitiaki is a New Zealand term used for the Māori concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga.)

  2. Draco T Bastard 2
    20 July 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Clean energy won’t save us – only a new economic system can

    When it comes to climate change, the problem is not just the type of energy we are using, it’s what we’re doing with it. What would we do with 100% clean energy? Exactly what we are doing with fossil fuels: raze more forests, build more meat farms, expand industrial agriculture, produce more cement, and fill more landfill sites, all of which will pump deadly amounts of greenhouse gas into the air. We will do these things because our economic system demands endless compound growth, and for some reason we have not thought to question this.

    The simple fact of the matter is that to stop climate change then we need to change our economic system to one that doesn’t require the continued destruction of the environment.

    We need better ways to feed ourselves that allows us to bring food production fully into the city that it’s feeding. This will get rid of the hugely damaging farms and reduce GHG emissions from farming.

    We need to recycle everything so that we can cut down mining and other extractive industries to the bare minimum.

    Once we’ve pulled all the people into the cities then we can let nature take care of herself. Stop trying to keep the forests as they are because it simply won’t work. Yes, some species will go extinct but new species will also evolve. The land will flourish and green things will grow helping to reduce CO2 and other GHG gasses in the atmosphere in the short term and, as they die and return to the soil, become store for the long term as well.

    It’s what’s been happening ever since life arose.

    It’s us who are the problem and it’s us that need to change.

    • marty mars 2.1
      20 July 2016 at 4:03 pm

      I tend to disagree with pulling people into the cities and let nature sort herself out. I prefer that we embrace nature and work as a part of nature by going back to the land, back to nature. It is and will be possible to live fruitful, rewarding and fulfilling lives simplier in the land. It is more likely because people have done it before whereas your proposal seems not like that. It wll still take hard work and plenty of tears but it is doable imo.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1
        20 July 2016 at 4:15 pm

        I consider that it is unlikely that we’ll be going back to being ignorant peasants.

        • weston 2.1.1.1
          20 July 2016 at 6:45 pm

          you can stay in town if u wanna draco an eat artificial gmo bean curd or whateva as for me id rather be a so called ignorant peasant and live a full simple life growing what i can and providing the rest of my sustenance by hunting and fishing kinda how i do now .You can keep your city .

        • marty mars 2.1.1.2
          20 July 2016 at 7:38 pm

          Ignorant peasants wow they were your ancestors too lucjy bastard

          • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.2.1
            20 July 2016 at 7:47 pm

            Yes and they spent centuries getting rid of the ignorance.

            • marty mars 2.1.1.2.1.1
              20 July 2016 at 8:00 pm

              They knew more than you’ve forgotten. But please mock your ancestors all you want after all you descend from them.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                20 July 2016 at 8:42 pm

                Dude, our ancestors are the ones that started to systematically destroy the environment. That tells me that knew SFA.

                And I’m not mocking my ancestors at all. Just accepting that they were ignorant and that they worked to overcome that ignorance.

                You who want to return to nature seem to want to embrace that ignorance.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  20 July 2016 at 8:46 pm

                  Pfffft. Save your modern man superiority complex Draco. The people who have truly fucked this world have done so in the last 50 years. So if you are talking about world destroying “ignorance” you just have to look at your parents generation and your own.

                  I’ll even better you one. Since the early 1990s everyone has known that disastrous climate change is on the cards. Yet we’ve done sweet FA about it.

                  So while our generation is not ignorant of the dangers, we are just grasping, greedy and ineffective.

                  • marty mars …
                    20 July 2016 at 9:17 pm

                    Yep the damage has been exponential, we don’t have to look far to find the real ignorane it’s usually the smiley face on the other side of the mirror. We are going to have to go back to go forward and luckily that is doable.

                • Robert Guyton …
                  20 July 2016 at 8:57 pm

                  I agree with Draco. The damage was not done recently, “in the last 50 years”. The thinking that brought us here has been festering for 10’s of thousands of years and to see how we should be acting requires that we recognise what went wrong. Humans didn’t always act this way and some humans still don’t. Those that decided to take this path way back then, gained an advantage and used it ruthlessly. Their decedents (us) must look back before the moment when our people chose this totalitarian way, to see what humans did and thought before we stepped up onto our pedestal, and look sideways to see what the cultures that suffered at our hands still believe. That’s where we will find the path humans now need to follow. Whether we have time to do that is the question being debated here, I reckon. In summation, this is not a recent development.

            • b waghorn 2.1.1.2.1.2
              20 July 2016 at 8:05 pm

              And yet you’ve managed to distil and hold onto 100% 0f your ancestors ignorance.
              Would you really trust big old corporates to deliver you your daily food as a lab grown goo.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                20 July 2016 at 8:38 pm

                When have I ever said that I trust corporates?
                What has corporates got to do with what I actually said?

                • b waghorn …
                  20 July 2016 at 9:31 pm

                  oh comon you want us all to live in cities and give up farming. The only way that can be done is large scale goop farming in petree dishes .
                  Only big buiseness could feed 7 + bill humans in a closed loop.
                  Of course there are some of use who can’t digest even simple things like gluten or soy milk so the transition to goop will kill em.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    20 July 2016 at 9:50 pm

                    The only way that can be done is large scale goop farming in petree dishes .

                    Not necessarily. Vertical farming looks promising.

                    Only big buiseness could feed 7 + bill humans in a closed loop.

                    Actually, big business couldn’t do it at all. Neither could small business. The reason being that a closed loop doesn’t allow for profit. Closed loop cities will force us to accept real economics and drop the delusional socio-economic system that we have now.

                    Of course there are some of use who can’t digest even simple things like gluten or soy milk so the transition to goop will kill em.

                    If that were true then they’d already be dead.

        • Robert Guyton 2.1.1.3
          20 July 2016 at 7:58 pm

          Ignorant? Why do you say that? Enlightened soil-managers, more like. Your world view is … cynically-tinted, Draco.

      • Psycho Milt 2.1.2
        20 July 2016 at 5:06 pm

        Yes, the interest level in a return to peasant life isn’t likely to be high. Also, subsistence agriculture for a population of 7 billion+ is a non-starter.

        Mind you, the way things are going the survivors in a couple of centuries might not have much of a choice about being ignorant peasants…

        • mauī 2.1.2.1
          20 July 2016 at 6:24 pm

          The interest level doesn’t have to be high, you don’t have any choice if you can’t afford oil and there’s no trucks running in the streets. You’ll be heading straight to your garden.

          • Psycho Milt 2.1.2.1.1
            20 July 2016 at 6:43 pm

            Should a day come on which governments react with consternation to there being no more oil and start wondering how people are going to transport things now, we’ll certainly all deserve to starve to death.

            • mauī 2.1.2.1.1.1
              20 July 2016 at 8:27 pm

              It’s not a case of no oil, but oil that regular people can afford. That’s why some argue that the oil price got to $30 a barrel recently because much of the world economy is in the toilet and people can’t afford it. Anyway I don’t remember our government preparing us for $2 dollar a litre petrol and they won’t be preparing us for the eventuality of an oil shock either. Considering the region where we get our oil from is a major war zone I think we’ll be better off working out our own transport solutions, not looking for top down answers.

        • b waghorn 2.1.2.2
          20 July 2016 at 6:46 pm

          I wouldn’t mind betting the survivors will be the very elite shit bags that are refusing to act on cc. I know if i was a 1% er i’d be fitting out a bolt hole with all sorts of bits n bobs to make surviving a shit storm more likely.

        • marty mars 2.1.2.3
          20 July 2016 at 7:39 pm

          They won’t be survivors any more than you are.

          • Robert Guyton 2.1.2.3.1
            20 July 2016 at 8:40 pm

            I reckon B Waghorn is right, but it doesn’t matter and getting snarky about them is only going to hamper our own efforts. Hating on others is self-defeating. Those who clawed their way to the top generally stay there, no matter what. Envy’s a poison. Let’s not sup from that chalice. We’ve got things to do.

            • marty mars 2.1.2.3.1.1
              20 July 2016 at 9:28 pm

              Yes good point. I meant they will be people living, doing their best, with what they have, just like us.

            • b waghorn 2.1.2.3.1.2
              20 July 2016 at 9:43 pm

              snarky who me? believe it or not i’m a cheerful bugger on the inside, i just use the standard to get it off my chest.

              • Robert Guyton …
                20 July 2016 at 9:52 pm

                I didn’t mean that you were snarky, b. To be successful, we have to look to our own work, not the machinations of those who aren’t on board.

        • Robert Guyton 2.1.2.4
          20 July 2016 at 8:01 pm

          Because you frame it as “peasant life”.
          Language is powerful. Use it for the betterment, Psycho.

  3. adam 3
    20 July 2016 at 12:47 pm

    Thanks for that, even if it was a tad depressing.

    Silly question, would then draining swamps at this point be a very bad idea?

    I was thinking the mad rush for swamp Kauri.

  4. Stuart Munro 4
    20 July 2016 at 1:22 pm

    I’m not sure I buy that planting is a wasteful palliative – non biological sequestration approaches thus far don’t seem to be very realistic.

    The problem with peat bogs is their relative inactivity – they lay down their carbon over millenia. But they’re a low activity system – they’d take millenia to absorb excess carbon.

    Planting on this scale can change climates. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/india-plants-50-million-trees-uttar-pradesh-reforestation/

    Jared Diamond found two states that successfully used reforestation to completely change their environment.

    NZ is fortunate in that we have among the fastest tree growth rates in the world. A government, as opposed to a failing neo-liberal kleptocracy, might harness that environmental advantage for good.

    No hope for the Key failed state of course – but fortunately humans don’t live forever.

    • Molly 4.1
      20 July 2016 at 1:30 pm

      “I’m not sure I buy that planting is a wasteful palliative”

      Planting can have a number of other benefits to a transitioning world – apart from the negligible contribution to reducing climate change: reintroducing biodiversity, cleaning toxic land and water, sequestering water, helping to change the wider society’s view of values, giving workers a non-destructive method of earning their wages etc.

      Climate change is a multi-pronged and evolving problem, and a shift of many current ways of production and economy need to change to have a chance of addressing it. Even if planting is not the answer, it does have benefits that are part of it.

      • marty mars 4.1.1
        20 July 2016 at 4:05 pm

        Yes and fruit and nut trees and so on for free food.

      • gsays 4.1.2
        20 July 2016 at 5:02 pm

        yes to planting trees, however not the hectares of pinus radiata we have done in the past.

        as well as the reasons above, also for building purposes. macrocarpa, some gum species, totara etc.

        i forget where i heard this: rain falls where trees grow.

        not that this will save us from the effects of CC, palliative actions are appropriate now.

        • mauī 4.1.2.1
          20 July 2016 at 6:10 pm

          Dense totara forests could be planted and gradually thinned out, unfortunately they don’t grow quite as fast as pine but still reasonably quick. Such a useful timber with it’s natural preservative. No idea why farmers haven’t used totara for shelter belts – building material, wind protection, natural restoration.

          • weston 4.1.2.1.1
            20 July 2016 at 7:35 pm

            thanks for the cool story about the forest man maui i really enjoyed that an yeah lots of trees dont grow as quick as pine but then again pine is only good for firewood really and only soaking it in poisonous chemicals renders it ok to make buildings etc Farmers i.m.o.are quite often dumber than the animals they farm so not supprizing that they havnt in general taken full advantage of natives for shelter etc Dracos cliche of the “ignorant peasant ” could fully include most of the population including himself if being blind to alternatives was what was being pointed out .

        • Robert Guyton 4.1.2.2
          20 July 2016 at 8:02 pm

          “palliative actions are appropriate now”

          plus, plus, plus. Let’s get busy!

        • Molly 4.1.2.3
          20 July 2016 at 9:18 pm

          “i forget where i heard this: rain falls where trees grow.”
          Wangari Maathai is worth researching on this topic.

          Came across a documentary on her a few years ago, and she referred to the traditional respect given to “sacred trees” in her home village. When she returned after many years away, the trees had been cut down in many of the traditional communities, and with the loss of the trees came a reduction in traditional water sources. The trees acted as repositories, and water channels and natural pumps. When they were cut down, those sources dried up.

          The Green Belt movement was a grassroots movement that caused political and state outrage.

      • mauī 4.1.3
        20 July 2016 at 6:20 pm

        Planting can have a number of other benefits to a transitioning world – apart from the negligible contribution to reducing climate change: reintroducing biodiversity, cleaning toxic land and water, sequestering water, helping to change the wider society’s view of values, giving workers a non-destructive method of earning their wages etc.

        Nice! Can also add stopping erosion, cooling water, providing shade on a hot summers day and providing shelter from the wind and rain, relating humans back with their environment. Here’s an inspiring video about an indian guy who planted his own forest.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkZDSqyE1do

    • Siobhan 4.2
      20 July 2016 at 2:02 pm

      Re your “Planting on this scale can change climates.” I was wondering if you can provide a link that confirms this, as the article you linked to was about new plantings with a depressing 40% death rate.

      Jared Diamond cites Japans high level of forestation, and Iceland, but both seem to be cases of ‘changing the environment’, largely cutting erosion, rather than having any effect on emissions and therefore climate.

      I’m all for planting trees, and even more importantly stopping deforestation, and for a variety of environmental reasons, but finding any evidence of Planting in relation to Carbon Emissions is rather sketchy, in fact the whole thing, that is, thanks to the Emissions Trading Scheme, seems to be some sort of ponzi scheme.
      Tree planting is starting to get the same ‘token’ aspect as people buying not-quite-free-range-eggs and getting their shopping in brown paper eggs. Even our local furniture store has a big sign claiming “Everyday we plant a tree”, though I notice they recently painted that out so maybe the locals saw through that!

      • Stuart Munro 4.2.1
        20 July 2016 at 2:43 pm

        Diamond of course wasn’t focusing on emissions per se, but on the environment from a human perspective of providing resources to alleviate poverty, especially food poverty. Japan was very successful at this, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic provided an interesting comparison of forested and non-forested ecologies on the same island – albiet with differing microclimates.

        http://www.theglobalist.com/haiti-and-the-dominican-republic-one-island-two-worlds/

        I’m afraid you must ask someone else to endorse emissions trading – folk who routinely evade taxes were never going to run carbon credits as anything but a scam.

        Given that nothing else within the spectrum of emissions mitigation actually consumes CO2, planting is certainly one of the elements of reducing the harm. But a major lifestyle upgrade is overdue – though those invested in the status quo are likely to resist it. Such changes tend to be generational because ultimately there is no persuading stupid backward and corrupt munters like our current government. They will only respond when the harm affects them directly.

        Using forests for climatic purposes is here https://escholarship.org/uc/item/55d483sg#page-1 though as they point out forestry mitigates numerous local climatic effects, not just carbon.

        • Robert Guyton 4.2.1.1
          20 July 2016 at 2:57 pm

          The returned forests will play a significant role in sequestering carbon, but nowhere near as important as farmed soil. A new culture of soil management will pull gazzillions of tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere and clutch it to its humic bosom.

            • Robert Guyton 4.2.1.1.1.1
              20 July 2016 at 3:15 pm

              He was surely on the path but recent work by some in the biological farming industry have unveiled a process involving crop combinations that sequester carbon at an unprecedented rate. According to their spokesperson, farmers could save the day, if it’s at all save-able, by cropping us out of trouble. It would have to happen globally and it would have to have happened yesterday. Coupled with tree-planting and some other initiatives (keep that coal in those holes etc.) these proposals give me hope and that’s why I continue to plant and sow, cheerfully. In any case, the model for managing the environment and all that sail in her, is better learned from the plants than from scientists, in my view. I listen intently to what the scientists say, and I pay close attention to what I see and hear in my garden 🙂

          • Chuck 4.2.1.1.2
            20 July 2016 at 3:11 pm

            “The returned forests will play a significant role in sequestering carbon, but nowhere near as important as farmed soil.”

            Biochar is a nutrient rich carbon based fertiliser, as a carbon sequestration solution it allows the soil to act as a carbon storehouse.

            I have seen reports that the worlds cultivated soils have lost 50 – 70% of their original carbon stock.

            2,500 billion tons of carbon in the worlds soil, compared to 800 billion tons of CO2 in the atmosphere and 560 billion tons in plant and animal life.

            Biochar is a viable option to aid carbon sequestration.

            • Robert Guyton 4.2.1.1.2.1
              20 July 2016 at 3:18 pm

              Hi Chuck. I don’t reckon so. Charcoal is ‘dead’, though it can host life. A dynamic, living process will be the solution to our stuff-up, imho. Biochar seems a ‘silver-bullet’ sort of solution and doesn’t ring true to my ear. Happy to be corrected though.

              • Chuck …
                20 July 2016 at 3:54 pm

                Hi Robert, research is on going re- Biochar benefits to improve soils. To-date its been positive.

                For a local example http://biochar.co.nz/

                • Robert Guyton …
                  20 July 2016 at 4:01 pm

                  Thanks, Chuck. I wonder if the terra preta soils were constructed using charcoal and humanure? Those societies had to have been disposing of their dung somehow. Nutrient out, nutrient in, that’s the way! Jungle soils are thin, with all the nutrients held in the vegetation. Burning that seems retrograde. Fungi can deconstruct lignin without all the heat and smoke, and add value as they do it.

                  • Chuck …
                    21 July 2016 at 3:20 pm

                    If you have time this is a good read Robert.

                    http://pureadvantage.org/news/2016/06/28/biochar/

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      21 July 2016 at 7:00 pm

                      Thanks, Chuck. I did read it. I found this:
                      “If I told you that there was a soil amendment capable of: sequestering carbon; improving water holding capacity; increasing pH and CEC; capturing, holding and preventing nutrient leaching; reducing the need for mineral fertilisers; enhancing soil biology; increasing plant growth, productivity and health; remediating damaged and polluted soils; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, you might reasonably be skeptical.

                      But with over 4000 peer-reviewed scientific publications on the topic, the evidence is mounting to back up this long list of claims. The material is biochar.”

                      My response is: yes, but the material is … humus.

        • Siobhan 4.2.1.2
          20 July 2016 at 4:43 pm

          Thank you Stuart, I shall read this and try to make sense of it.. To me ‘it makes sense’ to plant trees, but then it seemed logical to protect American wilderness forests from fire…and look how that turned out.

    • save nz 4.3
      20 July 2016 at 9:37 pm

      +100 “I’m not sure I buy that planting is a wasteful palliative”

    • Lloyd 4.4
      20 July 2016 at 11:13 pm

      Tell the Zimbabweans about this. They have Robert Mugabe. Seems to live forever.

  5. Bill 5
    20 July 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Just throwing this in ‘because’. Was watching a rather depressing doco on bio-fuel for power stations and how the southern wetland forests of the US are being clear-felled to provide the Drax power plant in the UK with wood-chips…delivered by fossil fueled shipping etc….

    Anyway. There was a biologist who pointed out that trees essentially grow from the air and not the ground. I think he reckoned that the total mass in a mature tree that comes from the earth (I guess he was talking dry weight or some such) was just a few kilos. Make sense when you think about it. Damn Disney and Warner Bros for planting false images!

  6. Robert Atack 6
    20 July 2016 at 2:05 pm

    We’ve put the carbon equivalent of every tree grown since Christ through our exhaust pipes just in just the last 5 years. Which is about 15 cubic kilometers of crap. That isn’t including coal or natural gas.

    • weka 6.1
      20 July 2016 at 3:20 pm

      Well if we’re going to throw around wild figures, some of the regenag people claim that soil farming can sequester all the carbon emitted since the industrial revolution.

      • Robert Atack 6.1.1
        20 July 2016 at 9:41 pm

        http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-10/uou-bm9102603.php
        Oct. 27, 2003 – A staggering 98 tons of prehistoric, buried plant material – that’s 196,000 pounds – is required to produce each gallon of gasoline we burn in our cars, SUVs, trucks and other vehicles, according to a study conducted at the University of Utah.
        “Can you imagine loading 40 acres worth of wheat – stalks, roots and all – into the tank of your car or SUV every 20 miles?” asks ecologist Jeff Dukes, whose study will be published in the November issue of the journal Climatic Change.

        But that’s how much ancient plant matter had to be buried millions of years ago and converted by pressure, heat and time into oil to produce one gallon of gas, Dukes concluded.
        Dukes also calculated that the amount of fossil fuel burned in a single year – 1997 was used in the study – totals 97 million billion pounds of carbon, which is equivalent to more than 400 times “all the plant matter that grows in the world in a year,” including vast amounts of microscopic plant life in the oceans.

  7. Robert Guyton 7
    20 July 2016 at 2:27 pm

    This morning I planted 9 trees. Just sayin’. I plan to plant a further 20 tomorrow, despite the thunderstorm that’s brewing as I type. Many trees grow easily from cuttings. This weekend, I’m working with a team of 12 people to fill a 10m x 3m cuttings bed with willow, native fuchsia and other tree cuttings. If there was something beyond the science that you are batting about on this post, it/they would, in my view, be rooting for us. While Robert and co tell me how futile my efforts are, I’ll be planting more trees and will keep planting trees until I’m too frail to stand.

  9. weka 9
    20 July 2016 at 3:34 pm

    I’ll have a read of the Economist article later when I have time, but a few initial points,

    “What we do know is that plants and soils tend not to store large amounts of carbon when they are experiencing rapid climate shifts. They usually wind up burning or dying.”

    Soil farming uses nature mimicking closed loop cycles to sequester carbon. I’m not sure what happens to that when you get say a prairie fire, but I’m guessing it’s a different effect than a forest fire. The main way to release carbon from land that is sequestering in the soil is to plough it. So there is a double thing here. The cessation of the human made emissions from land misuse, and then the sequestration and other significant benefits from regenag. Soil farming isn’t a silver bullet, but if we were doing the right things (reducing human generated emissions), we could then find that the natural cycles we can engage with are more helpful. We need multiple strategies (and they all require an end to fossil fuel burning).

    There’s something going round twitter about the forest fires in Russia too. Scarey stuff. However, ecologies that have fire cycles presumably have also have historically had an equilibrium i.e the carbon emitted in the the fire part of the cycle is sequestered in the regrowth cycle, so stabilising the overall balance for the planet. I’d want to know in the longer history when we have had the numbers of fires we have now, and how those ecologies functioned. Needless to say, protecting forests is of paramount importance, and we should be using human systems to enforce that as much as possible, including restricting human access to vulnerable places.

    I’m not really a big fan of the maths, and prefer to apply the principles of deep green thinking which suggest that everything we do should be mimicking natural closed loop cycles and then to do additional activities to sequester additional carbon on top of that (plus stop emitting). All of that is doable, urgent and imperative no matter what the prognosis. Having said that I would be interested to see the audit on forests globally, land cleared, and where the balance lies in terms of additional forest fires vs what would happen if we were replanting (and not ploughing etc).

    I don’t really get the geographical time frame bit. Carbon has short and long cycles, shouldn’t we be trying to restore all of them?

    • lprent 9.1
      20 July 2016 at 11:46 pm

      Basically I think that maths is worth pursuing. While we might lose the odd top of the pyramid over geological time, the trend in biological complexity is still towards more.

      But basically soils are pretty damn fragile. Ask Icelanders.

      • Pat 9.1.1
        20 July 2016 at 11:54 pm

        I think your overstating the risk of forrest fires and die off in any case….even in a fire storm aftermath it is common to see standing trees (stored carbon) and regrowth is rapid….it is not a 100% loss.

        There is also the fact that while some areas will become more susceptible to fire and poor growth success other areas will improve with the changing weather patterns..nothing ventured nothing gained.

        There is one fact that cannot be disputed…it cannot be detrimental

      • weka 9.1.2
        21 July 2016 at 10:04 pm

        “But basically soils are pretty damn fragile. Ask Icelanders.”

        I’m going to make an educated guess that Icelandic soil problems are due to habitat destruction by humans. Soil in intact ecosystems is pretty stable as far as I can tell. That’s from following the regenag work, which is in part based on biomimicry of the big plains systems in the US and Africa. The cycle of herd animals periodically grazing and fertilising over long periods of time builds carbon deep in the soil and there is stays unless something disturbs the soil or the cycle.

        Even where you have forest fires, I think the soil disturbance is from the heat but that recovers, and those fire cycle ecosystems are pretty fertile because the soil is relatively intact.

        Fire plays an important role in the forest carbon cycle. When a fire occurs, a portion of the trees, plants, grasses and other biomass are consumed and converted to CO2 and other gases, and another portion is converted to charcoal, an essentially permanent form of storage. Only 10 to 30 percent of the biomass in a forest is actually consumed by a fire; the majority remains on-site. Live trees will continue their role in the carbon cycle. Dead trees will slowly decompose and release carbon to the atmosphere or make new soil carbon. Regrowth after a fire will recapture carbon from the atmosphere, reversing the fire’s emissions. About one to 10 percent of biomass killed in a fire is converted to charcoal, a uniquely stable form of carbon that will persist for thousands of years.

        wilderness.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Primer-Carbon-Cycling.pdf

        The question there is how much of the carbon cycling is released via decomposition and how much is captured in soil.

  10. Macro 10
    20 July 2016 at 3:55 pm

    And just to “cheer” you all up – Conditions are Ripe for an Intense Fire season in Amazonia.
    🙁
    By the way June was the 14th consecutive month of record Monthly Global Temperatures . The warmest June since records began in 1880.

  11. Robert Guyton 11
    20 July 2016 at 4:03 pm

    Throughout history, people have always enjoyed a cheery fire.

  12. b waghorn 12
    20 July 2016 at 5:58 pm

    The main thing i get from the linked article is that yet again man has messed with the natural cycle ie putting out fires by 10 am the next day causing mega fires .
    Saying that planting trees is pointless plays into the nat line of we can’t do anything so why try.
    Planting will not be a silver bullet but it will help.

    • Robert Guyton 12.1
      20 July 2016 at 8:06 pm

      There are many fire-proof/retardant trees and shrubs that will serve as living fire-breaks. Tree technology is the field to be investing in 🙂

      • b waghorn 12.1.1
        20 July 2016 at 8:27 pm

        people at my level don’t invest, but i did plant 20 trees in the last couple of days.

        • Robert Guyton 12.1.1.1
          20 July 2016 at 8:36 pm

          20 is 20 steps forward, good for you and us. People at every level can “invest” in trees. Staying your chainsaw-hand is an investment. Cheering on a tree-planter is another 🙂

  13. Colonial Viper 13
    20 July 2016 at 6:35 pm

    And even if we stopped excreting excess carbon into the atmosphere and oceans today, my personal assessment is that we are likely to look forward to average worldwide temperatures at the end of the century well above 4 degrees Celsius.

    This. I think we will see average global temps increase at about 0.5 deg C each decade now, with that rate of increase itself growing, decade by decade.

    2 deg C increase by ~2030 is now utterly unavoidable IMO.

  14. Colonial Viper 14
    20 July 2016 at 6:41 pm

    Shorter term sequestration methods using living plants simply don’t look possible to act as anything more than a wasteful palliative.

    Correct. We need a broader approach. That of increasing the biomass of the entire planet, permanently.

    It’s not just trees, we need to increase the biomass of the planet, the same biomass we have been demolishing at a massive rate, by hundreds of gigatonnes, and sustain it. Forests, animals, jungles, fish stocks, plankton and more.

    • Robert Guyton 14.1
      20 July 2016 at 8:24 pm

      “wasteful palliative” – what are you talking about! What’s “wasteful” about a palliative? Don’t you understand the purpose of a palliative at all? You know, the “relieving pain” bit?
      ” relieving pain without dealing with the cause of the condition.”
      The “cause” of climate change is, by popular vote here, impossible to deal with. That leaves you with … palliative care and one other thing, hope. We are, collectively, not so clever that we can be certain that there is no way at all to solve the crisis. There is, therefore, hope. I’m for taking those measures that relieve pain, and at the same time, keeping a hopeful eye out for improvements to the patient’s condition. All else is self-defeating. Personally, I don’t yearn for defeat.

  15. Draco T Bastard 15
    20 July 2016 at 6:58 pm

    2016 Climate Trends Continue to Break Records

    Two key climate change indicators — global surface temperatures and Arctic sea ice extent — have broken numerous records through the first half of 2016, according to NASA analyses of ground-based observations and satellite data.

    Each of the first six months of 2016 set a record as the warmest respective month globally in the modern temperature record, which dates to 1880, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The six-month period from January to June was also the planet’s warmest half-year on record, with an average temperature 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the late nineteenth century.

    • Colonial Viper 15.1
      20 July 2016 at 8:17 pm

      THanks for the link Draco.

      1.3 deg C, and during a time that El Nino has receeded as well.

      We are so fucked. We’ll hit 2 deg C warming before 2030 easily.

      Remember circa 2006 we were at 0.6 deg C to 0.8 deg C warming. Ten years later we are up 0.6 deg C.

      Another ten years and we will be sitting just under 2 deg C warming. Then chuck in the 1.0 to 1.5 deg C forced cooling due to global dimming. And we are clear over 3 deg C warming with approx 1/3 of it hidden by global dimming.

  16. Kriss X 16
    20 July 2016 at 7:34 pm

    When a tree dies and decomposes all the CO2 is released back into the atmosphere.

    CO2 is not man made. It is simply liberated back to where it came from.

    It helps if you stick to the science and do not use it as a platform to advance political and social ideology.

    • Robert Atack 16.1
      20 July 2016 at 7:56 pm

      Yes and if it wasn’t for all that CO2 being ‘sequested’ into the soil etc, humans would never have evolved, but we have sure fixed that, just a waiting game now for the environment to catch up to the 800 ppm+ CO2/ CO2e
      Planting seeds in the ground is a hell of a lot better than planting them in wombs )

    • Robert Guyton 16.2
      20 July 2016 at 8:09 pm

      What a load of nonsense, Kriss X. You have no understanding at all of how lignin from trees is transmogrified into humus and stored in the soil? Why then do you bother commenting here?

    • lprent 16.3
      20 July 2016 at 11:54 pm

      You have to gain a geological timeframe. The vast limestone beds and the other carbon storage phases of our geological history allowed humans to be created.

      Of course as thinking beings we have to reverse that low temperature thinking by reversing that greenhouse cooling….

      /sarc

    • Stuart Munro 16.4
      20 July 2016 at 11:57 pm

      Trees decompose slowly. In the time it takes for one to decompose a new one can grow. CO2 from burning fossil fuels is man made.

      • Pat 16.4.1
        21 July 2016 at 12:07 am

        +1

      • mauī 16.4.2
        21 July 2016 at 8:40 am

        If you go for a walk in one of our beech forests, the old tree that has come down often has hundreds, maybe thousands of young beech saplings growing in the light well it’s opened up. That’s only a year or two after the tree has come down too, so its barely started breaking down. To me anyway this seems like a carbon negative event.

  17. Pat 17
    20 July 2016 at 7:47 pm

    Trees may not be the solution, indeed human extinction is likely the only solution however reforestation (on a massive scale) should be attempted unless we have decided the situation is hopeless….which I suspect will be the conclusion in the very near future.

    so as we say goodbye we can at least enjoy the shade of a tree.

  19. Lloyd 19
    20 July 2016 at 11:43 pm

    Ok LPrent, you think planting trees is a waste of time because they burn, even though most of NZ has a wonderful tree growing climate (at least now – and probably into the future – we are surrounded by oceans which provide rain).

    How about shells made of calcium carbonate? New Zealand has one of the fastest growing shell-fish – the green-lipped mussel. This bivalve grows so fast that the Maui platform sitting off the coast of Taranaki has to be water-blasted by divers regularly to stop the accumulation physically overloading the drilling platform.

    Mussels filter out zoo-plankton from sea water – leaving more phyto-plankton, which will absorb more carbon dioxide from the sea – a positive feedback loop in favour of sequestration.

    If we filled the south Taranaki bight with mussel farms we could sequester more carbon dioxide than we produce, making New Zealand much more like 100% pure.

    Main problems I see are:

    – consenting.

    -providing a growing surface without strangling passing cetaceans.

    – servicing the farms with as low a carbon dioxide production as possible (electric boats?).

    -storing the shells in a permanent manner.

  20. Murray Simmonds 20
    21 July 2016 at 6:52 am

    And the elephant in the room:

    Green plants (trees included) not only strip the carbon out of CO2 and sequester it in one form or another (mostly the lignin in wood in the case of woody plants), They also happen to produce oxygen as a by-product of the process.

    Oxygen just happens to be quite handy stuff to have around in the atmosphere. The internal combustion engine for example comes to a grinding halt without it.

    As does breathing.

    I’m off to plant some more trees . . .

  21. Murray Simmonds 21
    21 July 2016 at 7:06 am

    In other words:

    There are very few natural processes on this planet that are capable of reversing the inexorable process of oxidation.

    Photosynthesis, by reversing the process of carbon-oxidation, just happens to be one of them.

    I unashamedly vote for photosynthesis!

  22. One Anonymous Bloke 22
    21 July 2016 at 7:19 am

    Lprent, what’s your opinion of the Carbfix project?

    Basaltic rocks are abundant on the Earth’s surface; ~10% of the continents and much of the ocean floor is composed of basalt…

    The theoretical mineral CO2 storage capacity of the ocean ridges, using the Icelandic analogue, is orders of magnitude larger than the anticipated release of CO2 caused by burning of all fossil fuel on Earth. The storage capacity of basaltic rocks worldwide is therefore huge.

    Feasible?

  23. Jenny 23
    21 July 2016 at 7:20 am

    Good to see a post like this that hi lights the intractable nature of the problem. And from someone who has studied earth sciences, who can confidently state that on current projections we are heading for a 4 degree C rise in global average temperatures. When we see what difference 1 degree C rise has made, it is not hard to imagine that 4 degrees C would be catastrophic, entailing massive death and destruction on a truely global scale.

    Climate change is the greatest human and environmental crisis/challenge of all time. (bar none, but a still possible, all out, global wide, thermo-nuclear exchange. In my opinion, [you might agree], all out thermonuclear war would be less damaging to the biosphere than climate change).

    So what do we do if planting trees will not be enough to sequester all the excess CO2 we are producing, and have produced in the past?

    We need to cut back.

    ”Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it”
    Oscar Wilde

    What humanity can do about “the weather” is cut back fossil fuel production.

    The minimum we need to do here in New Zealand is end new extreme fossil fuel extraction methods like deep sea oil drilling.*

    Deep sea oil drilling is New Zealand’s version of the XL Pipeline**, a symbolic red line on climate change that should not be crossed under any circumstances.

    The key here is that New Zealand is responsible for only 0.2 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. This means that our greatest contribution as a nation to fighting climate change must be by setting an example.

    As well as canceling all deep sea oil drilling and exploration.

    A permanent moratorium needs to be placed on opening up any new coal mines. At present there are 3 proposed new coal mining projects in the pipeline and about to be started in this country.

    At one time Lynn I remember you did a post, going into the last election, where you asked us what should The Standard become?

    I remember commentating on that thread, that The Standard become a campaigning and advocacy website pushing political demands to shape events rather than just being a commentator..

    An on-line Thunderer if you will.***

    Why for instance should Groups like Greenpeace, Forest and Bird, Oxfam and others, have to run petitions and collect over 63 thousand names to get the politicians to debate climate change when this is the issue of our age?

    http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/

    Every party needs to be challenged over their support for climate destroying operations such as deep sea drilling and new coal mines. The Standard editorials could champion this.

    *[In a talk given by Gareth Hughes of the Green Party about deep sea oil drilling, Hughes spoke of being on an MP tour of an off shore oil drilling platform. He was impressed, and said you couldn’t fault their safety and environmental procedures, and realistically the chance of a spill is very slight. But, he said we must oppose deep oil drilling firstly on climate change grounds.
    (of course there is always some risk of a spill which can never be completely negated, which even National admits).]

    **[It’s argued by some that by developing the oil sands, fossil fuels will be readily available and the trend toward warming of the atmosphere won’t be curbed.
    Mr Obama’s decision to approve or refuse the pipeline is therefore held up as symbolic of America’s energy future…
    …”But Keystone, a piece of steel, something you can picture farmers having to deal with it, it’s much more evocative and emotional for environmentalists, and they’ve done a lot of work to elevate it as a symbol.”
    On the Republican side, Senate Majority Leader McConnell has said Keystone XL is just common sense.
    “It’s a shovel-ready jobs project that would help thousands of Americans find work,” he said. “It would increase our supply of North American energy. And it would do all that with minimal net climate impact.]

    ***[WHY IS The Times called The Thunderer?” asks a reader from Bedfordshire. “Is it because of its fierce editorials berating the governments of the day? They don’t seem to be as fierce today as, say, in the 1960s, although some of your columnists can be very fierce!”]
    http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/

  24. Jenny 24
    21 July 2016 at 8:18 am

    “While there are a number of man made artificial geological sequestration techniques, they look more like aspirations than being feasible on any widespread scale.”
    lprent

    This above statement seems to hint at a condemnation of the Emissions Trading Scheme which relies heavily on carbon credits from so called “sequestration”.

    Currently every political party from the Right to the Left in parliament, except National and Labour, have called for the scrapping of the ETS.

    This could be one of the things that the The Standard could campaign for. If the Labour Party could be shifted from their support for the ETS there is a very real chance that the opposition parties could win a members bill and defeat and embarrass the government over this issue.

    Without the ETS the government, (or some future government), to meet our signed up for international obligations, would probably have to take some more meaningful action against climate change.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – The difference between weather and climate
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    11 hours ago

  • More criminal miners
    What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    12 hours ago

  • Photos from the road
    Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    12 hours ago

  • RMA reforms aim to ease stock-grazing rules and reduce farmers’ costs – but Taxpayers’ Union w...
    Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough.  Greenpeace says ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    14 hours ago

  • Luxon Strikes Out.
    I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    17 hours ago

  • In many ways the media that the experts wanted, turned out to be the media they have got
    Chris Trotter writes –  Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    17 hours ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal Summons; or the more things stay the same
    Graeme Edgeler writes –  This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago

  • Both Parliamentary watchdogs hammer Fast-track bill
    Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General, John Ryan, has joined the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago

  • India makes a big bet on electric buses
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Spengeman People wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
    Skeptical Science
    20 hours ago

  • Bernard’s pick ‘n’ mix of the news links at 6:36am on Tuesday, April 23
    TL;DR: These six news links stood out in the last 24 hours to 6:36am on Tuesday, April 22:Scoop & Deep Dive: How Sir Peter Jackson got to have his billion-dollar exit cake and eat Hollywood too NZ Herald-$$$ Matt NippertFast Track Approval Bill: Watchdogs seek substantial curbs on ministers' powers ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • What is really holding up infrastructure
    The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    24 hours ago

  • “Pure Unadulterated Charge”
    Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks for Monday, April 22
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: writes via his substack that’s he’s sceptical about the IPSOS poll last week suggesting a slide into authoritarianism here, writing: Kiwis seem to want their cake and eat it too Tal Aster writes for about How Israel turned homeowners into YIMBYs. writes via his ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • The media were given a little list and hastened to pick out Fast Track prospects – but the Treaty ...
     Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Just trying to stay upright
    It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • “Unprecedented”
    Today, former Port of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson went on trial on health and safety charges for the death of one of his workers. The Herald calls the trial "unprecedented". Firstly, it's only "unprecedented" because WorkSafe struck a corrupt and unlawful deal to drop charges against Peter Whittall over Pike ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Time for “Fast-Track Watch”
    Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on fast track powers, media woes and the Tiktok ban
    Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • The Government’s new fast-track invitation to corruption
    Bryce Edwards writes-  The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    2 days ago

  • Maori push for parallel government structures
    Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • An announcement about an announcement
    Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • All the Green Tech in China.
    Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Western Express Success
    In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick ‘n’ mix of the news links at 7:16am on Monday, April 22
    TL;DR: These six news links stood out in the last 24 hours to 7:16am on Monday, April 22:Labour says Kiwis at greater risk from loan sharks as Govt plans to remove borrowing regulations NZ Herald Jenee TibshraenyHow did the cost of moving two schools blow out to more than $400m?A ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to April 29 and beyond
    TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #16
    A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Government’s new fast-track invitation to corruption
    The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Thank you
    This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Determining the Engine Type in Your Car
    Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • How to Become a Race Car Driver: A Comprehensive Guide
    Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • How Many Cars Are There in the World in 2023? An Exploration of Global Automotive Statistics
    Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • How Long Does It Take for Car Inspection?
    Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • Who Makes Mazda Cars?
    Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • How Often to Replace Your Car Battery A Comprehensive Guide
    Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • Can You Register a Car Without a License?
    In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the Rule If you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • Mazda: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Reliability, Value, and Performance
    Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • What Are Struts on a Car?
    Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • What Does Car Registration Look Like: A Comprehensive Guide
    Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    3 days ago

  • How to Share Computer Audio on Zoom
    Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How Long Does It Take to Build a Computer?
    Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Put Your Computer to Sleep
    Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • What is Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT)?
    Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • iPad vs. Tablet Computers A Comprehensive Guide to Differences
    In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How Are Computers Made?
    A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Add Voice Memos from iPhone to Computer
    Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Why My Laptop Screen Has Lines on It: A Comprehensive Guide
    Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Right-Click on a Laptop
    Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Where is the Power Button on an ASUS Laptop?
    Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Start a Dell Laptop: A Comprehensive Guide
    Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Serious populist discontent is bubbling up in New Zealand
    Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • How to Take a Screenshot on an Asus Laptop A Comprehensive Guide with Detailed Instructions and Illu...
    In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Factory Reset Gateway Laptop A Comprehensive Guide
    A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • The Folly Of Impermanence.
    “You talking about me?”  The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago

  • A crisis of ambition
    Roger Partridge  writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Have 308 people in the Education Ministry’s Curriculum Development Team spent over $100m on a 60-p...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • 'This bill is dangerous for the environment and our democracy'
    Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • The Bank of our Tamariki and Mokopuna.
    Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The worth of it all
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • What is the Hardest Sport in the World?
    Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • What is the Most Expensive Sport?
    The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Pickleball On the Cusp of Olympic Glory
    Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • The Origin and Evolution of Soccer Unveiling the Genius Behind the World’s Most Popular Sport
    Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How Much to Tint Car Windows A Comprehensive Guide
    Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Why Does My Car Smell Like Gas? A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosing and Fixing the Issue
    The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How to Remove Tree Sap from Car A Comprehensive Guide
    Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • How Much Paint Do You Need to Paint a Car?
    The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Can You Jump a Car in the Rain? Safety Precautions and Essential Steps
    Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Can taxpayers be confident PIJF cash was spent wisely?
    Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    4 days ago

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    4 days ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Trade relationship with China remains strong
    “China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.   Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-23T16:57:32+00:00