The Climate Crisis Is Worse Than You Can Imagine. Here’s What Happens If You Try.
Peter Kalmus, out of his mind, stumbled back toward the car. It was all happening. All the stuff he’d been trying to get others to see, and failing to get others to see — it was all here. The day before, when his family started their Labor Day backpacking trip along the oak-lined dry creek bed in Romero Canyon, in the mountains east of Santa Barbara, the temperature had been 105 degrees. Now it was 110 degrees, and under his backpack, his “large mammalian self,” as Peter called his body, was more than just overheating. He was melting down. Everything felt wrong. His brain felt wrong and the planet felt wrong, and everything that lived on the planet felt wrong, off-kilter, in the wrong place.
Nearing the trailhead, Peter’s mind death-spiralled: What’s next summer going to bring? How hot will it be in 10 years?…..
……To cool down, Peter, a climate scientist who studied coral reefs, had stood in a stream for an hour, like a man might stand at a morgue waiting to identify a loved one’s body, irritated by his powerlessness, massively depressed. He found no thrill in the fact that he’d been right…..
At least she recognises the cliff we are all running towards full speed.
we patently still need people ringing the alarm bell even if they don’t know how to stop the stampede. Others know but the bell still needs to be rung.
We have lots of good people here who know all that Jennyhtgt says – no need to fill the posts repeating it. And often with that mocking, all-knowing jibe at the pollies. It is really irritating. It's better to have one rant every now and then than trailing disappointment and discontent with whoever in the government in each comment.
What we need is keeping on with the next steps being talked about at length, discussed etc as has been done with the electricity thing below. Otherwise we end up with a lot of whining, and whys, and appearing like wimps who don't know their A from their E. Citizens need to be thinking up policy, stuff that will work, and not be too expensive. And show how we can get it going, and keep on about that. And notice when someone goes OTT with plans, and notice when something good does get done. And what we think about it, is it the best thing to be done at present, or is there another way.
How we can get out of the hole we are in is paramount. And arguing for sensible things, rather than just rushing out to protest all the time. If we can;t get good stuff going and show that we are not goofs that pollies can ignore or throw nice-sounding policies that meet some kindness criteria but are not practical, we are in deep doo-doo next election.
We don't want Labour going off on a n'uclear' path and leavng their rear undefended so that our pockets get pinched by fast-fingered-financial-finaglers like the nerds in Treasury and the right-wing think tanks as before. Now we have the sharpies using their tech education to build armaments and space weapons and trying to sell us robotics because employers can't get the trained people they want to employ. Great government – look what a f..k up you made, stepping back and leaving it to business to do the thinking and organise the educated people they would want for future employees/
And look what has happened to us by leaving others to run the country while we thought we could just skive off and were relaxing thinking we had it made. That's 20th century stuff, now Labour needs people who can think about social welfare, and business at the same time.
This has turned out a rant. So I will add something else I think we need. That is all pollies will have to go through an educational program, which includes humanities and social anthropology as well as business direction, and the environment looking at dairying destruction for one and desertification and desecration of the fertile areas of the earth for minerals etc. And rehashing the idea that progress is good, and physical work and the simple life are for losers and peasants. And perhaps the government terms will be four years, and the pollies must step down and out into private life after three terms – 12 years. And we will learn how to live simply and save up for things, and how to get a house when you have saved a certain amount, just a small one but your own to get started with. Lovely first aims, of what young adults want, achievable and not never-never land. With some happiness in just being and living in a country with people who are interested in each other doing good things, and all enjoy life and work together to cope with climate change and some sort of hostilities, two inevitabilities.
How to look into the abyss, fall in, and not have an idea of how to get out? Jenny How to Get There will show us the way.
I don't know if we fall into this abyss that there is a way to get out.
But what I do know, is that BAU cannot continue in the present.
Building a bridge for bicycles costing hudreds aof millions of dollars so as not to impinge on cars having untrammelled use of an eight lane motorway in the heart of our biggest city, is BAU folly of the highest order.
Does the design for this modern folly incorporate a storm cellar, or escape tunnel inside its structure?
Hopefully by the time the agrarian sector is driving around in electric utes and tractors, Huntly will be de-commissioned. Currently Huntly provides the backup when there's no wind and / or low lake levels.
Current best looking replacement is pumped hydro storage at Lake Onslow in Otago. I say hopefully because it's a project with a few tricky aspects, top of the list being how the hell we integrate it within the current current market of four publicly listed gentailers. It's logical owner would be Contact since it would draw most of it's power from Roxburgh and Clyde at high flows, Clyde has provision for two extra turbines intended for this, but it's so big that Contact would then dominate the electricity market. It's also at the wrong end of the country, but if the bulk of generation to power the fleet comes from Manapouri (see Andre below) the transmission issues will be dealt with.
Cockies often have lots of roof space to put PV panels on. They also tend to get seriously bent over by local lines companies. They often have a large supply of what is currently a problematic waste to dispose of, that could get digested into a gas supply for powering a generator for backup.
I think there might solutions that lower costs and increase independence for cockies …
Kinda missing the point ,about nz importing coal from Indonesia!!
Typical rich.country behaviour, shut you own dirty mines/factories/ behaviours down and offshore what you can and sneak around in the shadows do dirty shit while acting high and mighty,.
This is my issue we are off shoring our emissions and patting ourselves on the back, in reality we are are likely increasing global emissions.
Its a global problem that needs global solutions, best ROI to rapidly drop emissions globally would be to focus on the devloping world stop the deforestation, build renewables etc. Lots of currently available tech would make huge difference if we deploy it globally.
On average 80% of electricity is generated from renewables. Some perspective in the arguments would be helpful. These sort of antics don’t help either.
Overheard a very irate ute owner jabbering on about Indonesian coal getting trucked to huntly at 20 loads a day yesterday, and I thought to much fb for that butter sounds like they are telling the truth.
with tiwai point smelter shutting down, there will be plenty of electricity generation up for use. and as most ev's should be charged at night(off peak) there shouldnt be much for ute owners to jabber about. hopefully petrol and diesel prices will go through the roof and the last few ute jabberers can have that to whinge about. OR, the ute owners could be pro-active(for a change) and convert there petrol utes to lpg (gee, that sounds familiar) and have clean burning energy..nah, much easier to play the victim….
A quick calculation sez Tiwai Point uses something like 5.4 billion kWhr per year. A light vehicle can go around 7 km on a kWhr. So Tiwai Point's electricity use could drive a light vehicle 38 billion km. There's around 3.6 million light vehicles in NZ, averaging around 12000 km/year, or around 43 billion vehicle kilometres annually.
So shutting Tiwai Point would almost cover swapping all light vehicles in New Zealand over to electric.
Yeah, to cover the buses, trucks, trains etc as well we'd need to get a move on with building some of the already consented wind and geothermal projects that have been shelved because of flat demand and the ever-present threat of Tiwai Point shutting and dumping all that excess power into the market.
Probably also need some hefty pumped storage,like the Onslow-Manorburn basin and/or around Lake Moawhango and the headwaters of the Ngaruroro.
Most geothermal power technologies really don't like being ramped up and down. So they're great for continuous baseload power.
Yes, wind has its intermittency problem. Hence the merit in adding substantial pumped hydro storage. Overall, wind in NZ seems to operate at around 35% capacity factor on an annual basis. That should increase as installed turbines get larger, maybe getting up to around 40% fleet average.
So to add another Manapouri's worth of generation to supply electric buses, trucks etc would require installing maybe 1800MW of wind plus pumped hydro storage, or 700ish MW of geothermal. Or do both to have enough generation capacity to completely electrify NZ land transport plus shut down Huntly and Stratford. I only got a short way down the list of consented projects and there was well over 2000 MW of wind consented, together with around 300MW of geothermal.
It's all solvable, with changes in behaviour, living within our means, utilising local and owner generation as well as national grid, electricitysector regulation. But we're not having that conversation nationally atm. Instead we're having the green tech BAU, reductionist paradigm one, where we continue to think that the world is an unlimited resource.
(and that's not even getting to the issues of how much GHGs we're emitting to go down this cul de sac).
If EVs become more prevalent, Savonius rotors make a pretty readily managed home charge option. Crunches are likely in things like battery supply and disposal however.
Biggest constraint will be transmission, most of the bulk generation is in the south, especially wind. There's also distributed generation, solar roofs with batteries. All this will need / result in a rather different electricity generation and distribution market to what we have now.
I built a semi passive house in early 90's (suspended wooden floor so not quite the full thing) and am surprised at the quiet uptake of passive principles in building design. Often not that overt but you can see designers taking opportunities that present themselves.
Lol, no way will NZ go down that path (quakes, tsunamis, economics, waste disposal, indigenous sovereignty, and a very strong anti-nuke culture in the general population).
But it would go some way to explaining why so many people aren’t talking about EVs and power generation, the hope that we will have some inexhaustable source of power in the future.
If you do a search for an electric version of whatever kind of land vehicle you're interested in, your chances of getting hits are now pretty good. Scandinavian companies seem to be leading the way, at least in wealthy western countries.
There's a variety of options for 'refueling', from quick-swap batteries, to running electricity in to longer-term job sites.
Truck ,tractors, earth movers and forestry machines will have to be hydrogen surely
Not necessarily
All the biggest earth movers on the planet are electrically powered and connected to the grid with high tension trailing power cables, which are moved every day.
Ironic really, because they are used to dig for low grade lignite. Which is used for burning in electric power stations, to power, wait for it, electric excavators, connected to the grid by high voltage trailing cables.
yeah, I didn't get what you meant by increased use. I thought you were saying that if Tiwai closed today the freed up power wouldn't be enough to replace all the gas and coal currently burned. Is that right?
Have you seen any my many comments about the numerous consented and shelved renewable energy projects? Shelved at least partly because of the ever-present threat of Tiwai Point closing and that power flooding the current market?
That’s a regulatory issue right? The market can’t do the thing that society needs right now. Although I assume you and I disagree on what projects should happen.
Your quick calculation misses transmission & distribution losses (~7%), and losses in charging the ev battery (12-15%). That's about 20% of the energy wasted.
Then there's the consideration of whether allowing business as usual mobility is the best use of Manapouri's generation, because we also have to shut down our coal & gas generation. A lot of our mobility energy consumption can be significantly reduced by providing comprehensive public transport.
Another issue not often discussed is whether there will be a good supply of reasonably priced EVs. Most other countries are not in the position of having low emission generation. If they are to reduce their fossil generation they won't have electricity for vehicle charging, so there will not be a large demand for EVs and so efficiencies of mass production will not be achieved. NZ will never have enough sales to influence that.
EVs are unfortunately not quite there yet in terms of battery technology. The reason is the charging system and the hardware that demands high waste, high environmental damage and exploitation of people. But hey, who cares, right? I mean its colonization in a different way all over again. Maybe we can sell the rubbish battery waste back to those who were exploited and give them "work" to diassemble the stuff that rich countries so eagerly buy. So lets celebrate this and encourage more of the exploitation, degradation of a continent and pat ourselves on the shoulder how good we are doing the "right" thing.
Ah yes, no thinking required, just a cocktail in hand musing over a 100K car.
Waste is still an issue. NZ has no means of dismantling, separating metals etc.
Lithium batteries are hazardous materials and regulated except in NZ. The lifetime of a battery is about 2 years and they will most likely go to landfills.
Perhaps before we sponsor those rather expensive cars for the few who can afford it, we should start "sponsoring" a disposal plant first. Because you cannot just ship the batteries like pebbles around the globe.
When it comes to a fast-moving technical topic, it's probably best to scan the first couple of pages of google results for credible up-to-date articles, rather than just clicking the first hit which might be two years out of date from a mass-market msm publisher that doesn't really understand the topic.
Here's just one of the many efforts starting up now that there are starting to be significant quantities of used ev batteries to be recycled:
When it comes to disposal, what do you think would stop the shipment of end-of-life ev batteries? They would be much higher value than recyclable plastic or paper, and those are routinely shipped all around the world. Sure, the batteries would need to be fully discharged first for safety, but that's a very easy operation.
And once more, it seems exporting a problem and not dealing with the full cycle of a product is the preferred solution. As I have mentioned, NZ has no means of recycling lithium batteries. To ship them, special permits are needed. Not from NZ but the country of destination. Never mind, its not worth getting all upset about it.
with tiwai point smelter shutting down, there will be plenty of electricity generation up for use……
Hi Woodie, Did you know that aluminium can be used as a fuel?
It has heaps of embedded electrical energy in it, and has been used for generations in fireworks and explosives.
Powered and fed into a furnace it burns hotter than coal
Better yet, when aluminium powder is burnt as a fuel it releases zero green house gas emissiions.
And it's infinitely recyclable, no need to import any more bauxite from Aussie.
We could use the existing Tiwai Smelter to re-refine it, and ship it all over the country, and then return it when it is spent, in a closed cycle.
(The energy embedded in aluminium comes from the electricity in the refining process).
Could metal particles be the clean fuel of the future?
…. hydrogen requires big, heavy fuel tanks and is explosive, and batteries are too bulky and don’t store enough energy for many applications,” says Bergthorson, a mechanical engineering professor and Associate Director of the Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design at McGill. “Using metal powders as recyclable fuels that store clean primary energy for later use is a very promising alternative solution.”
Novel concept
The Applied Energy paper, co-authored by Bergthorson with five other McGill researchers and a European Space Agency scientist in the Netherlands, lays out a novel concept for using tiny metal particles – similar in size to fine flour or icing sugar – to power external-combustion engines.
Could we see the rebirth of the external combustion engine, (commonly and collectively known as steam engines), being used to power ships and trains and industrual boilers?
Could steam engine locomotives powered by aluminium powder one day be seen again on the Main Trumk Line?
Let's bring back the Kingston Flyer from retirement as a test bed. (See if it still flies.)
Refining aluminium is a pretty carbon heavy process – it relies on sacrificial carbon anodes that are cured at high temperatures for up to a month. The electricity only shifts the direction of the reaction so that the carbon reduces the alumina – the carbon still burns.
The aluminium industry produces 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
(this figure is inclusive of non-renewable electricity generation from coal and gas).
When carbon (or consumable) anodes are used, the reaction frees up the oxygen present in the alumina, but it immediately reacts with the carbon from the anode to form CO2….
Conventional carbon anodes have a limited life-span as they as ‘consumed’ during the smelting process. The oxidation (or consumption) of the carbon anode creates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions…..
The anode is used to carry the electrical energy to the cathode, which in this case is the molten aluminium bath. The anode which is connected to the electricity supply is driven into the molten aluminium which creates a high temperature arc which melts the aluminium, while eroding the anode, which has to be continually replaced.
Research is being carried out into non-eroding, or inert annodes, and/or low erosion anodes that don't bond with oxygen to form CO2. (or don't do so as much).
…..According to the IEA, 2008, “the ultimate technical feasibility of inert anodes is not yet proven, despite 25 years of research.” Additional fundamental R&D on materials is needed
However, all is not lost. coal produces 38% of green house gas emissions.
If all the coal burnt in the world was replaced with aluminium powder, and all that aluminium was reduced with renewable electricity. Even if aluminium production increased by a multiple of ten, we should still be better off.
So it’s a bit like the fabled electric utes. Introduce a car tax now, burn double to coal and the infrastructure will follow in 5 or so years time, maybe.
Wouldn't it be cheaper and quicker to convert the smelter into making aluminium fuel powder instead of ingots? All that needs to be done to create aluminium fuel power is to spray it when it is still molten.
The aluminium fuel could then be shipped around the country to replace coal in all our industrial processes, including the Huntly Power Station.
This was originally produced by mechanical means using a stamp mill to create flakes. Subsequently, a process of spraying molten aluminium to create a powder of droplets was developed by E. J. Hall in the 1920s.
Coal is a solid fuel – The combustion of coal in power plants and industrial processes is the number one source of the green house emissions responsible for global warming and climate change.
Aluminium powder like coal is a solid fuel – Aluminium powder burns hotter than coal, but unlike coal produces none of the emissions responsible for global warming and climate change.
What Are the Different Uses of Aluminum Powder?…
Rocket fuel is often made with aluminum, and many solid rocket fuels are based on chemical reactions involving this metal. In fact, this type of fuel was used to power the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle.
We do it in small as well as big parcels. My 13 solar panels will produce some 5000 kw/h annually. My Leaf will use 1600 kw/h to travel 12000 km in a year.
Note: 1 in 4 Australian homes has solar panels. NZ has 32000 homes (there are 1.9 million households in NZ) with solar power at the end of March- that's 1:60! Australia has 10.2 million households and therefore 2.5 million houses with solar panels. In 2018 it had 1.96 million so equipped.
That kind of commitment to solar energy would power a lot of EVs.
Spoke to a fellow takeaways customer last night who enquired after my Leaf. He works in a vineyard where he could see possible expansive use of electric vehicles and machinery. No interest at all from management when he raised the topic.
Yet, as he said, we have driven electric forklifts for years.
Your solar panels and 5000 kw\h annually , The low user household number is 8000kWhr – when they no longer qualify for low user daily charges
You will cetainly be taking a grid feed – during peak hours, the 'worst time'- to keep your lights on
Australia is quite unique in its solar power uptake because it has a lot of sun, well ahead of most of NZ- dont forget the shorter daylight hours in winter , and the low level of the sun in the sky
Yes Huntly has been running for some months as there is a shortage of gas capacity due to a Taranaki NG processing site having long scheduled maintenance.
The Huntly site which has a gas turbine alongside the last 2 thermal coal boilers operating has been very high output, 600MW plus – as it was originally designed for as a baseload station, not feeding in for morning and night as many other stations do. Any fossil fuel used has to pay carbon taxes on that. As well the power consumption at Auckland which is fed by medium distance lines needs a generator not far away to cover the voltage drop from long distance lines, theres a small GT at Otara plus one at Huntly ( quick start ups)
By then the biggest emitters of most of the GHGs, China, Russia, India etc will probably not even have started cutting back on emissions and coal fired power stations will be springing up everywhere. Global emissions will be accelerating and little ole NZ will be chock full of EVs and will have made absolutely no difference.
Driving a country into the ground because our leaders want to virtue signal when it will have absolutely no effect is criminal.. So when our economy and society is completely destroyed, China, India, and Russia will decide to follow our example?
Can you provide any actual evidence that our economy is being driven into the ground,? Or are you just a staunch blue team member who thinks bring their moron memes here is going get you somewhere?
If you think topping up their EVs will be front and centre of people's minds. You have just not been paying attention.
There are people alive now who will experience the biggest biosphere collapse since the Chixilube extinction event.
Scrambling for higher ground, trying to reserve a space in a storm cellar. Trying to survive frequent extreme weather events, crop failures, might be the sort of things exercising people's minds more than topping up their EV.
Vulva owners*, what say ye? I say fuck the neoliberal capture of social justice and the planet burning machine it rode in on. Also Fuck the parts of the left sanctioning this.
It is a powerful image and well done to Robert Kitchin for capturing it, particularly as Sio appears to have finished his address is leaving the stage. He's taken his glasses off, picked up his notes, it's done. This is a dangerous time for photographers because you tend to down tools as something finishes.
His assignment that day would have been quite dry, shooting people talking in press conferences. He would have done this hundreds of times and constantly wondered how to make interesting, meaningful images from such familiar and structured circumstances.
Then just as it's all over, Alan Wendt produces such a simple, human gesture which we all immediately and emotionally connect with. Very, very easy to miss, and it requires a lot of skill and experience to keep alert in those crucial moments.
High praise from me for that, but the rest of the article is utter rubbish. It's anonymous, sniffy, hurt, self-indulgent, lazy, and hypocritical. The last is what makes me quietly rage. The anonymous Stuff gallery reporters claim the Facebook pages of Ardern and Robertson "ripped off" the image and failed to attribute it properly.
Well, cry me a fucking river.
At least Ardern and Roberston's social media handlers made an attempt to credit the photographer, despite committing the terrible crime of misspelling his name. Stuff and New Zealand media have an appalling culture of not crediting photographers. They almost never attribute or caption work properly outside of their own navel-gazing organisations. I see it every single day. It happens to me more weeks than not and I don’t shit the bed over it. Stuff and others are lazy in the extreme, and for them to act all huffy in this instance is hypocrisy in the extreme.
The idea of being captured by the government gives us an allergic reaction. Holding the powerful to account is now, and will remain, a core job of journalists.
A robust statement of and for the impartiality and objectivity of NZ journalism in general and Stuff’s journalism in particular.
Powerful to account ? media babble is always about (ordinary) peoples stories, as that gets readers eyeballs which is the most important part of their business
'news' is a bad word these days , as they want to talk 'stories, engagement, perspectives, conversations' and other buzz words.
Hard news is dead! The most 'read stories' on NT Times is the recipes, which anyone can see well positioned on their digital front page.
Hint: there’s a hint in the headline as to what the article is about and it is not about recipes.
This is at the top of the piece with the complete documentary of over 38 min.
Seven children are among 17 civilians killed or injured in incidents connected to unexploded ordnance left behind on New Zealand’s firing ranges, Stuff Circuit's documentary Life + Limb reveals.
If journalism was in the pockets of government, this would never have been aired.
I assume you don’t read TS for its recipes either, but it is a good idea for improving its readership statistics
the line quoted -'Holding the powerful to account is now, and will remain, a core job of journalists'
It just isnt true , the readers of a major 'new's site like NY Times show that the recipes come first. NZ news sites are even fuller of flim flam lifestyle stories and shilling for the property industry
The newer online only places like Newsroom and Spinoff are even more directly as 'copywriters' for their business supporters. Like this sponsored piece written by the very capable Russell Brown- wheres the investigative pieces from him – no sponsors ?
I disagree with you. Stuff is not the NY Times, Newsroom, nor Spinoff although it does cross-post regularly from Newsroom.
On top of Stuff Circuit’s investigations, we’ve had NZ on Air funding for podcasts such as Once a Panther and Collapse, and for video projects including Munted and Night Shift. Production companies can also seek funding for projects that will air on Stuff, such as Kea Kids News, made by Luke Nola & Friends.
None of these are “flim flam lifestyle stories and shilling for the property industry” or recipes. Sure, those are present as well, they have to make a living too, don’t they. It is actually mentioned in the article I quoted. A news site such as Stuff will (have to) do all of the above, the good, the bad, and the ugly. They don’t cater just for intellectual snobs, Thorndon bubble, foodies, house porn addicts, or what have you.
I really don’t see how you came to this description of Newsroom as “even more directly as 'copywriters' for their business supporters”, but I guess I’ve been reading a completely different Newsroom. I can only assume that you’re referring to its partners at the bottom of the home page.
The independence of our journalism is supported by our partners in the corporate and tertiary education sectors, as well as by private donations from New Zealanders. To add your support to our independent voice, make a donation using the Press Patron platform link here.
You seem to be insinuating the exact thing that the Stuff article was countering. Just as well, I try to avoid falling in the binary trap and see things differently, so we have to agree to disagree here.
"The idea of being captured by the government gives us an allergic reaction"
Excellent – so if they can add to that an allergy to being captured by their own funders and owners, and even by the interests of the social class to which they themselves belong – then we're really getting somewhere.
Note: Stuff seems much improved since the sell-off and I'm generally OK with it. Some others, not so much.
Yes, I also like to think that Stuff has improved and that they’re not sitting on their laurels.
However, you make the same unsupported and unfounded (IMO) accusations. There seems much bias against NZ journalism and not without some reason, may I add, but some are definitely trying harder than others.
Our journalism will remain free from political or commercial influences, as our company charter enshrines. Stuff’s sources of revenue do not affect the impartiality or objectivity of our journalism, the investigations we undertake, or how we scrutinise the powerful.
“We will fiercely protect our editorial independence from commercial interests, including our own, and any political influence. Our journalists will:
[followed by 4 bullet points]
We run stories that are unfavourable to advertisers, and we freely criticise the government. It wouldn’t even enter a journalist’s head to pull their punches to protect a funder.
And here’s the most relevant bit to your accusation:
In truth, we’re not politically partisan. Media outlets overseas – notably in the UK – will endorse or align themselves with particular political parties. We don’t. New Zealand is too small for a mass-market product such as Stuff or any of our newspapers to support a political party and still attract a general audience.
On trans women’s physiological advantage when competing in women’s sports. Look at the charts in the Twitter thread. The argument is often made that tw train harder than women and that’s why they jump to top ranking when shifting to women’s categories. Does this seem likely with these figures?
Not that 'amateur' sports medicine researcher Emma Hilton again. The one that has a published research on trans women which didnt include any trans women athletes
[please provide evidence (a cut and paste with link, not just a link) to back up your claim here, so we can all know what you are talking about rather than just being left with the ad hom – weka]
It was the link you asked us to read last time , and it included the actual online paper published . I made those same comments based on actual words in the paper then, which you dismissed . Surely you read relevant parts of the paper ?
Hilton works as a research technician in another area completely from sports medicine and has had no previous research published in sports medicine so she an amateur in my opinion
Its all very well to show stuff from twitter, but as we all found out during covid self appointed experts were very common who had an academic background but no knowledge of infectious diseases and their epidemiology. A court would never allow expert witness testimony from someone who was a proven expert ON a topic
[post a cut and paste and link explaining your claim about Hilton and “published research on trans women which didnt include any trans women athletes” or you will get a short ban so you don’t derail the discussion. – weka]
I have no idea what they're referring to, I read and comment so much on TS and twitter, few people can keep all that in their head. I'm also not doing someone else's work for them.
FYI, TS is not a Court but a place for supported opinions and arguments and robust debate, and the odd joke.
Dr Emma Hilton is a developmental biologist and Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and teaches in her field. She has a particular interest in the science of biological sex and writes and speaks about this, including in the WSJ and runs the Nettie Project supported by many scientists and academics across a range of disciplines (who obviously don't have your prejudice about cross disciplinary work).
You appear to be saying that no-one can have an informed opinion about sports medicine other than sports medicine researchers. Which is obviously a stupid position to take because it would invalidate your own (I'm assuming you're not a sports medicine researcher).
If Hilton is making bad arguments, then address them and demonstrate how they are bad. That you think her being a lowly research technician (afaik she's not) is sufficient to write off her work says something about your own views on hierarchy and power. As a non-academic, I'm much more interested in whether what she says makes sense.
Sorry for the delay but had other things to attend to
Emma Hiltons amateur status regarding sports medicine. her other contributions in publications are her specialist area of infections and such https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/emma.hilton.html
Males with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy provide a second avenue to examine training effects during testosterone suppression…
Males huh ?
It is acknowledged that the findings presented here are from healthy adults with regular or even low physical activity levels [91], and not highly trained athletes. Thus, further research is required in athletic transgender populations
The research conducted so far has studied untrained transgender women. Thus, while this research is important to understand the isolated effects of testosterone suppression, it is still uncertain how transgender women athletes [rest of quote missing]
In my view its junk science, while its not new researach undertaken and its merely a publications review, it has so many caveats that dont make it viable for drawing any conclusions about ‘transwomen athletes’
[formatting edited for clarity. Italicised emphaisis added by Ghost – weka]
Re Hilton's work, this from her twitter 2 years ago when challenged about her qualifications,
In response. Alice has the right Emma Hilton. I am currently being paid a basic wage by a colleague to bridge a funding gap after the MRC chucked back my last proposal, despite it garnering two 6s (internationally exceptional) and a 5 (internationally excellent). https://twitter.com/theAliceRoberts/status/1204737787888574464
Science funding is pretty dire right now <grumble Brexit> My scientific record is easily returnable on Web of Science, where metrics such as my h-index will demonstrate the impact of my research. I have received international prizes for my work.
I am not ashamed that I am struggling to my next funding deadline. I hope normal service will be resumed early next year 🙂
I am amazingly grateful to my colleagues, who have supported me during the first funding gap I've experienced in 15 years. They are ace. They also know what sex is 😉
Sorry, I should have spelled this out. Until this current funding gap, I was employed as a senior research fellow. This is the position my current funding application will (fingers crossed) restore to me 🙂
I get annoyed with unqualified researchers putting oar in . You seem to think shes an expert on this area and thus worth quoting her 'twitter'
Shes not even a post doc in sports medicine, which the bottom rung of the research ladder. A persons qualifications and background are important in academic research – that why their publications and university position are at very top of the paper.
Hilton is a scientist with enough expertise to comment on research. I also consider her an expert commentator on gender critical social issues and how those relate to sport. As I said, I don’t believe the only people who should be read are those with direct research experience. Eg science journalists have relevant experience to bridge between researchers and the public.
And, you seem to have misrepresented Hilton’s expertise.
What's your point? The research is looking at what physiological advantage biological males have over females, that is conferred at puberty.
Key Points
Given that biological males experience a substantial performance advantage over females in most sports, there is currently a debate whether inclusion of transgender women in the female category of sports would compromise the objective of fair and safe competition.
Here, we report that current evidence shows the biological advantage, most notably in terms of muscle mass and strength, conferred by male puberty and thus enjoyed by most transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed as per current sporting guidelines for transgender athletes.
This evidence is relevant for policies regarding participation of transgender women in the female category of sport.
Seems pretty normal for researchers to suggest further research is needed. This is how science works, it builds on the work of previous research.
In my view its junk science, while its not new researach undertaken and its merely a publications review, it has so many caveats that dont make it viable for drawing any conclusions about ‘transwomen athletes’
And yet you don't explain how it is junk science or why it's not useful in the debate about whether TW should compete in all women's sports. All you've said is that it doesn't include TW, but studies on male physiology is relevant (most TW are born biologically male, most go through male puberty, and many have no or minimal medical transition), and research is still in the early stages.
Quoting results from one event at one (open entry) competition four years ago in the career of one trans athlete is called "cherry picking" and displays bias.
To show an opposite bias, one might point to the 2019 world champs where Hubbard pulled a similar weight to 2017 and came in sixth place. But that would be equally dishonest, because assuming one case to be typical of a population is stupid.
Remember this motorway that was cancelled by new government in 2018
The EWL was a $1.85 billion priority roading project of the last Government, connecting State Highway 20 at Onehunga and State Highway 1 at Mt Wellington
It was a massive vanity project , with incredible costs, of the last government, the cycling bridge – which I think is aspirational rather than practical- was about half that.
Its Open Mike isnt it , where the commenting is more free flowing
Its Open Mike isnt it , where the commenting is more free flowing
Sure it is, and when you post a flow of consciousness expect non-mind reading people to ask for clarification. I hope that’s ok with you
Essentially, what I believe you’re trying to convey here is that the walking & cycling bridge is a semi-massive vanity project or a massive semi-vanity project because, you know, it costs a lot of money.
No. I said the EW Motorway was an expensive project- twice that of the cycling bridge- that was cancelled.
Thats its relevance, is as the cost is what has 'aroused hearts and minds' over the cycling bridge.
No it didnt say 'the bridge' is a vanity project at all . Im still curious about the whole idea thus the aspirational tag.
Its easier if you leave the part about what I said to me.
The woman whom thousands of Canadians believe is their secret ruler isn’t afraid to tell her followers she’s calling for the executions of health care workers and politicians behind the vaccination rollout.
“At the firing squad, the military firing squad, you will receive not one, but two bullets on your forehead for each child that you have harmed as a result of injecting this experimental vaccine,” said Romana Didulo* to those involved in vaccination efforts in a recent video on Telegram. “So when you go home tonight, think about how many bullets.”
Tim Shadbolt facing off Deputy Mayor, in a physical challenge. Reminds me of Russia's President Putin wresting with a bear? Showing he was up to it, some years ago. Then married a young gymnast. What next for Shadbolt?
Hopefully retirement as new blood is needed for Invercargill. I am sick of hearing about the infighting that goes on in councils as it is unproductive for the region.
Tampons may need to be flushed down the toilet, and perhaps condoms too. They will both be carrying body fluids that if not disposed off quickly and correctly would be disease carriers. There isn't always a rubbish bin, and how often are they emptied?
Stop people from using wipes, ban them from supermarkets and pharmacies. People can cut up their old clothes and put them to some use instead of throwing them out when holey in one place. Use them instead of wipes, cut down waste, then thow them in a bin. Make the three-letter words fashionable language, like the four-letter ones!
Cotton tips are very useful and people will have to learn not to throw them down the toilet. Men as well as women need to learn. Many males regard all that hygiene business and carry-on about doing things right as just fussy stuff that women do.
Seems the only way to go but I think preaching about the three 'ps' and bad-mouthing for the others is the modern way. Thinking of efficiency first and foremost is the thing now. People have to be cut and moulded to fit the systems not the other way round. Makes sense – set a target, make people conform. Public service is going down the loo!
In 1979, just a couple of months into his stint with 20/20, ABC’s fledgling television news magazine, producer and documentarian Joseph Lovett was “beyond thrilled” to be assigned an interview with author James Baldwin, whose work he had discovered as a teen.
[…]
The finished piece is a superb, 60 Minutes-style profile that covers a lot of ground, and yet, 20/20 chose not to air it.
After the show ran Chase’s interview with Michael Jackson, producer Lovett inquired as to the delay and was told that no one would be interested in a “queer, Black has-been”:
I was stunned, I was absolutely stunned, because in my mind James Baldwin was no has-been. He was a classic American writer, translated into every language in the world, and would live on forever, and indeed he has. His courage and his eloquence continue to inspire us today.
Ministry of Transport spokesperson Ewan Delany said motorcycles were not considered at the start of the Clean Car Discount, because they were a small part of the emissions problem.
…
"While this vehicle segment was excluded from the initial Clean Car Standard and recently announced Clean Car Discount, it may be considered for inclusion as the scheme progresses, so that we can respond to the opportunity that new EV and low emission technologies in the motorcycle segment represent."
The scheme also excluded mopeds and motor tricycles, as well as all heavy vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.
To me, this is odd not to say short-sighted and narrow-minded.
Why not encourage all alternatives for transport that are clean(er) while discouraging fuel cars? What is so different about a motorised 2-wheeler compared to 4-wheeler (AKA car)? Government wants to encourage cycling but not motorised 2-wheelers!? I suppose one would still require a special driver’s licence and all that.
I said it before, I reckon if e-bikes are subsidised quite a few people will make the switch. I see more and more of them around already. What’s not to like?
Possibly too much/hard for Government to handle all in one go …
This sounds like a good idea. I wonder if the countries and arms agents can give up their obssession with this horrible practice/drug. Can they go cold turkey?
World's Largest Arms Exporters:
Rank Supplier Arms Exp
(in billion TIV)
1 United States 9,372
2 Russia 3,203
3 France 1,995
4 Spain 1,232
5 Germany 1,201
6 South Korea 827
7 Italy 806
8 China 760
9 Netherlands 488
10 United Kingdom429
That is a good start to this comment. This sex thing has been around for ever, especially with winning sportsmen. It used to be talked about and then not forgotten but not become the issue it is now with the small cameras that everyone has now in their cellphones. It has now morphed into dirty, deceitful, disrespectful behaviour, and as someone has said, a matter to be bullied about and harassed and shamed. From foolish and unwise to a practice that is turning sexually naive students who are immature into porn actors and perverts with this photographic porn to blackmail and hurt others with.
What is needed in the short term I don't know. If parents concerned, and the school teachers and pupils had a formal meeting and discussed the problem and just put in words what is happening and how each speaker felt about it, and the long-term results of it, perhaps an agreement could be reached about setting a code of behaviour for individuals to keep to.
In the long term I am sure that we need some social anthopologists in the Education Department instead of thinking that all we need is to teach science, maths, and communication, and team thinking – to turn out the successful conformists of the future.
We need to teach philosophy, and how cultures build up, and what zeitgeist and leitmotif mean. We need to talk about individuals having a vision of what they want to be, and how to realise their strengths and weaknesses. And we need to teach the importance of delay of immediate gratification. That would cut out this idea of sex being a sort of drug that you have on a night out. You get blotto and anything can happen, wheee. And then when it happens everyone is shocked if someone cries rape when nobody seemed to be worrying about anything?
Where does the leadership for teaching personal standards and morality come from? Is there any talk at home/school about how to cope when temptation looms, when companions suggest a good time, no holds barred – are you up for it, to each other? Or is it boys will be boys and we don't impose rules on them, same with girls? How could a bright, intelligent girl get knifed 200 times by a man in a frenzy – of jealousy? What did she know about assessing someone's character and self-control? Who is teaching how to hold back on sex until it is something worthwhile with someone you both like and respect. That cuts right across this drift into decadence that we are in.
Think Grace Mullane and Tinder? What a dangerous past-time. No need to go puritan and extra-moralistic, just talk personal respect and standards, inner confidence, not being coerced by companions, and looking for real friends not just for the fun-loving, no-worries group.
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
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, ...
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 ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
“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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 - ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
'
Is it time to look into the abyss yet?
How to look into the abyss, fall in, and not have an idea of how to get out? Jenny How to Get There will show us the way.
At least she recognises the cliff we are all running towards full speed.
we patently still need people ringing the alarm bell even if they don’t know how to stop the stampede. Others know but the bell still needs to be rung.
We have lots of good people here who know all that Jennyhtgt says – no need to fill the posts repeating it. And often with that mocking, all-knowing jibe at the pollies. It is really irritating. It's better to have one rant every now and then than trailing disappointment and discontent with whoever in the government in each comment.
What we need is keeping on with the next steps being talked about at length, discussed etc as has been done with the electricity thing below. Otherwise we end up with a lot of whining, and whys, and appearing like wimps who don't know their A from their E. Citizens need to be thinking up policy, stuff that will work, and not be too expensive. And show how we can get it going, and keep on about that. And notice when someone goes OTT with plans, and notice when something good does get done. And what we think about it, is it the best thing to be done at present, or is there another way.
How we can get out of the hole we are in is paramount. And arguing for sensible things, rather than just rushing out to protest all the time. If we can;t get good stuff going and show that we are not goofs that pollies can ignore or throw nice-sounding policies that meet some kindness criteria but are not practical, we are in deep doo-doo next election.
We don't want Labour going off on a n'uclear' path and leavng their rear undefended so that our pockets get pinched by fast-fingered-financial-finaglers like the nerds in Treasury and the right-wing think tanks as before. Now we have the sharpies using their tech education to build armaments and space weapons and trying to sell us robotics because employers can't get the trained people they want to employ. Great government – look what a f..k up you made, stepping back and leaving it to business to do the thinking and organise the educated people they would want for future employees/
And look what has happened to us by leaving others to run the country while we thought we could just skive off and were relaxing thinking we had it made. That's 20th century stuff, now Labour needs people who can think about social welfare, and business at the same time.
This has turned out a rant. So I will add something else I think we need. That is all pollies will have to go through an educational program, which includes humanities and social anthropology as well as business direction, and the environment looking at dairying destruction for one and desertification and desecration of the fertile areas of the earth for minerals etc. And rehashing the idea that progress is good, and physical work and the simple life are for losers and peasants. And perhaps the government terms will be four years, and the pollies must step down and out into private life after three terms – 12 years. And we will learn how to live simply and save up for things, and how to get a house when you have saved a certain amount, just a small one but your own to get started with. Lovely first aims, of what young adults want, achievable and not never-never land. With some happiness in just being and living in a country with people who are interested in each other doing good things, and all enjoy life and work together to cope with climate change and some sort of hostilities, two inevitabilities.
I don't know if we fall into this abyss that there is a way to get out.
But what I do know, is that BAU cannot continue in the present.
Building a bridge for bicycles costing hudreds aof millions of dollars so as not to impinge on cars having untrammelled use of an eight lane motorway in the heart of our biggest city, is BAU folly of the highest order.
Does the design for this modern folly incorporate a storm cellar, or escape tunnel inside its structure?
The answer is blowing in the wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G58XWF6B3AA
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444472/new-zealand-s-use-of-coal-for-electricity-generation-surges
It's good to know that when us cockies buy all these ev Utes well have clean green power for them 😏
See a coal mine. Shut it down.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/23/842807177/pandemic-shutdown-is-speeding-up-the-collapse-of-coal#:~:text=Since%20the%20coronavirus%20hit%20the%20U.S.%2C%20coal%20mines,a%20coal%20analyst%20at%20the%20firm%20Wood%20Mackenzie.
Hopefully by the time the agrarian sector is driving around in electric utes and tractors, Huntly will be de-commissioned. Currently Huntly provides the backup when there's no wind and / or low lake levels.
Current best looking replacement is pumped hydro storage at Lake Onslow in Otago. I say hopefully because it's a project with a few tricky aspects, top of the list being how the hell we integrate it within the current current market of four publicly listed gentailers. It's logical owner would be Contact since it would draw most of it's power from Roxburgh and Clyde at high flows, Clyde has provision for two extra turbines intended for this, but it's so big that Contact would then dominate the electricity market. It's also at the wrong end of the country, but if the bulk of generation to power the fleet comes from Manapouri (see Andre below) the transmission issues will be dealt with.
Huntly provided that backup in the first three months of this year – we burned more coal for electricity in the past ten years due to low lake levels! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/climate-change-new-zealand-burns-most-coal-for-electricity-in-nearly-a-decade/MH6J3LMMFMMHRY2TH44G2PJSRU/
Maybe we should nationalise Contact, thus taking it out of the market.
Just before Onslow appeared in the media Contact's share price took a bit of a spike. May have been related… maybe not
Cockies often have lots of roof space to put PV panels on. They also tend to get seriously bent over by local lines companies. They often have a large supply of what is currently a problematic waste to dispose of, that could get digested into a gas supply for powering a generator for backup.
I think there might solutions that lower costs and increase independence for cockies …
Kinda missing the point ,about nz importing coal from Indonesia!!
Typical rich.country behaviour, shut you own dirty mines/factories/ behaviours down and offshore what you can and sneak around in the shadows do dirty shit while acting high and mighty,.
We're starting to be like Europe.
This is my issue we are off shoring our emissions and patting ourselves on the back, in reality we are are likely increasing global emissions.
Its a global problem that needs global solutions, best ROI to rapidly drop emissions globally would be to focus on the devloping world stop the deforestation, build renewables etc. Lots of currently available tech would make huge difference if we deploy it globally.
On average 80% of electricity is generated from renewables. Some perspective in the arguments would be helpful. These sort of antics don’t help either.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/121980237/meridian-involved-in-undesirable-trading-situation-says-electricity-authority-in-preliminary-decision
Overheard a very irate ute owner jabbering on about Indonesian coal getting trucked to huntly at 20 loads a day yesterday, and I thought to much fb for that butter sounds like they are telling the truth.
How will we power 2 million evs in 10 years? .
How will we power 2 million evs in 10 years? .
Who cares?
Time to stop playing games.
As someone who will put their body in front of the diggers if they try to dam another South Island river, I care, a great deal.
"How will we power 2 million evs in 10 years? ."
I think we can safely say we wont be.
Yep
I concur with that.
Even with the rebate, most of us still won't be able to afford them.
The infrastructure for them is not there.
Even if it was there, it would struggle to cope with 2 million of them.
Only vastly expanded public transport network could be converted to electricity at a speed and a cost that will make a difference.
Four for the price of one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVXWGBgYj3M
with tiwai point smelter shutting down, there will be plenty of electricity generation up for use. and as most ev's should be charged at night(off peak) there shouldnt be much for ute owners to jabber about. hopefully petrol and diesel prices will go through the roof and the last few ute jabberers can have that to whinge about. OR, the ute owners could be pro-active(for a change) and convert there petrol utes to lpg (gee, that sounds familiar) and have clean burning energy..nah, much easier to play the victim….
Do you have the numbers on what Tiwai uses compared to EV use? Is that more of a guess or hopeful thinking?
A quick calculation sez Tiwai Point uses something like 5.4 billion kWhr per year. A light vehicle can go around 7 km on a kWhr. So Tiwai Point's electricity use could drive a light vehicle 38 billion km. There's around 3.6 million light vehicles in NZ, averaging around 12000 km/year, or around 43 billion vehicle kilometres annually.
So shutting Tiwai Point would almost cover swapping all light vehicles in New Zealand over to electric.
(repeated from this 2019 comment: https://thestandard.org.nz/100-carbon-free-power-generation/#comment-1631961)
Ta! So interim partial supply but not enough for trucks, buses, trains, industry and increasing population.
Yeah, to cover the buses, trucks, trains etc as well we'd need to get a move on with building some of the already consented wind and geothermal projects that have been shelved because of flat demand and the ever-present threat of Tiwai Point shutting and dumping all that excess power into the market.
Probably also need some hefty pumped storage,like the Onslow-Manorburn basin and/or around Lake Moawhango and the headwaters of the Ngaruroro.
Wind ?
During last week at the morning peak the wind output was around 15% of its capacity in NI ( which is 700MW)., its currently at 23% – which is typical.
geothermal is more like 80% of capacity which is typical as they have to allow for reserve generation which can be accesed quickly
Most geothermal power technologies really don't like being ramped up and down. So they're great for continuous baseload power.
Yes, wind has its intermittency problem. Hence the merit in adding substantial pumped hydro storage. Overall, wind in NZ seems to operate at around 35% capacity factor on an annual basis. That should increase as installed turbines get larger, maybe getting up to around 40% fleet average.
So to add another Manapouri's worth of generation to supply electric buses, trucks etc would require installing maybe 1800MW of wind plus pumped hydro storage, or 700ish MW of geothermal. Or do both to have enough generation capacity to completely electrify NZ land transport plus shut down Huntly and Stratford. I only got a short way down the list of consented projects and there was well over 2000 MW of wind consented, together with around 300MW of geothermal.
what happens when that's not enough?
What about solar panels on homeowners roofs?
I know quite a few EV owners who use their own solar to charge their EVs
It's all solvable, with changes in behaviour, living within our means, utilising local and owner generation as well as national grid, electricitysector regulation. But we're not having that conversation nationally atm. Instead we're having the green tech BAU, reductionist paradigm one, where we continue to think that the world is an unlimited resource.
(and that's not even getting to the issues of how much GHGs we're emitting to go down this cul de sac).
If EVs become more prevalent, Savonius rotors make a pretty readily managed home charge option. Crunches are likely in things like battery supply and disposal however.
Biggest constraint will be transmission, most of the bulk generation is in the south, especially wind. There's also distributed generation, solar roofs with batteries. All this will need / result in a rather different electricity generation and distribution market to what we have now.
As well as reducing demand via such tech as passive solar building. We're still a long way from this conversation though.
I built a semi passive house in early 90's (suspended wooden floor so not quite the full thing) and am surprised at the quiet uptake of passive principles in building design. Often not that overt but you can see designers taking opportunities that present themselves.
Nukes.
(Ad, you can roast me now for giving RedLogix an entry to burbling on about them again)
Lol, no way will NZ go down that path (quakes, tsunamis, economics, waste disposal, indigenous sovereignty, and a very strong anti-nuke culture in the general population).
But it would go some way to explaining why so many people aren’t talking about EVs and power generation, the hope that we will have some inexhaustable source of power in the future.
Truck ,tractors, earth movers and forestry machines will have to be hydrogen surely
If you do a search for an electric version of whatever kind of land vehicle you're interested in, your chances of getting hits are now pretty good. Scandinavian companies seem to be leading the way, at least in wealthy western countries.
There's a variety of options for 'refueling', from quick-swap batteries, to running electricity in to longer-term job sites.
Heh, the Google algorithms are getting smarter, not better
Where will the hydrogen come from?
When a Mummy hydrogen and a Daddy hydrogen really love each other…
Sorry weka, it's one of my favourite lines, I couldn't resist.
Lol.
Oh. 🙂
Not necessarily
All the biggest earth movers on the planet are electrically powered and connected to the grid with high tension trailing power cables, which are moved every day.
Ironic really, because they are used to dig for low grade lignite. Which is used for burning in electric power stations, to power, wait for it, electric excavators, connected to the grid by high voltage trailing cables.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjAfVSd4g8Q&t=12s
You'd power the freight and public transit first. Individual vehicles cannot be the priority in a carbon-focused future.
Here’s hoping we get smart enough to do that
Takes leadership.
That would be nice too.
If Tiwai point was not operating today,there would still be a shortfall of 300mw,without increased use from EV.
how come?
That is the amount of FF generation that needs to be replaced ie the EV will be running on FF electricity.
https://www.transpower.co.nz/power-system-live-data
yeah, I didn't get what you meant by increased use. I thought you were saying that if Tiwai closed today the freed up power wouldn't be enough to replace all the gas and coal currently burned. Is that right?
yep
did you see this? https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-06-2021/#comment-1798935
If we want off FF, Tiwai closing will almost get us there. That's before the EV fleet upgrade.
Yes.
Have you seen any my many comments about the numerous consented and shelved renewable energy projects? Shelved at least partly because of the ever-present threat of Tiwai Point closing and that power flooding the current market?
That’s a regulatory issue right? The market can’t do the thing that society needs right now. Although I assume you and I disagree on what projects should happen.
If we want off FF, Tiwai closing will almost get us there.
That was weekend daytime ,night time demand has now increased by the size of manapouri (5.8 gw vs 4.9) very difficult to ban night time.
Your quick calculation misses transmission & distribution losses (~7%), and losses in charging the ev battery (12-15%). That's about 20% of the energy wasted.
Then there's the consideration of whether allowing business as usual mobility is the best use of Manapouri's generation, because we also have to shut down our coal & gas generation. A lot of our mobility energy consumption can be significantly reduced by providing comprehensive public transport.
Another issue not often discussed is whether there will be a good supply of reasonably priced EVs. Most other countries are not in the position of having low emission generation. If they are to reduce their fossil generation they won't have electricity for vehicle charging, so there will not be a large demand for EVs and so efficiencies of mass production will not be achieved. NZ will never have enough sales to influence that.
Yep. So many holes in the half arsed plan
EVs are unfortunately not quite there yet in terms of battery technology. The reason is the charging system and the hardware that demands high waste, high environmental damage and exploitation of people. But hey, who cares, right? I mean its colonization in a different way all over again. Maybe we can sell the rubbish battery waste back to those who were exploited and give them "work" to diassemble the stuff that rich countries so eagerly buy. So lets celebrate this and encourage more of the exploitation, degradation of a continent and pat ourselves on the shoulder how good we are doing the "right" thing.
Ah yes, no thinking required, just a cocktail in hand musing over a 100K car.
colonisation without the bothersome people dying/getting disabled/being poor or child labour in our backyard, but somewhere out of sight.
Lots going on in the battery world.
Bloomberg; The next generation of batteries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPOncWZMoC0
QuantumScape says its technology is ready to move from the lab to VW’s dealerships. But this secretive startup is very familiar with failure.
https://archive.is/1MG9A (Bloomberg)
Solid state batteries are safer and use fewer raw materials. Are they the answer to technology’s power problem and a threat to Tesla’s dominance?
https://archive.is/n4H3n (FT)
Not to mention stuff like LFP (lithium ferro phosphate or LiFePO4). No cobalt or nickel. Already good enough for Tesla's lowest-spec made in China models and good enough for BYD electric trucks and electric buses.
Waste is still an issue. NZ has no means of dismantling, separating metals etc.
Lithium batteries are hazardous materials and regulated except in NZ. The lifetime of a battery is about 2 years and they will most likely go to landfills.
Perhaps before we sponsor those rather expensive cars for the few who can afford it, we should start "sponsoring" a disposal plant first. Because you cannot just ship the batteries like pebbles around the globe.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/111367821/what-happens-to-all-those-ev-batteries
When it comes to a fast-moving technical topic, it's probably best to scan the first couple of pages of google results for credible up-to-date articles, rather than just clicking the first hit which might be two years out of date from a mass-market msm publisher that doesn't really understand the topic.
Here's just one of the many efforts starting up now that there are starting to be significant quantities of used ev batteries to be recycled:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2021/06/14/redwood-materials-spending-hundreds-of-millions-to-speed-recycling-for-ev-batteries/?sh=58762e77b643
Or somewhat of a more technical overview of different recycling and materials recovery techniques:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/millions-electric-cars-are-coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries:
When it comes to disposal, what do you think would stop the shipment of end-of-life ev batteries? They would be much higher value than recyclable plastic or paper, and those are routinely shipped all around the world. Sure, the batteries would need to be fully discharged first for safety, but that's a very easy operation.
And once more, it seems exporting a problem and not dealing with the full cycle of a product is the preferred solution. As I have mentioned, NZ has no means of recycling lithium batteries. To ship them, special permits are needed. Not from NZ but the country of destination. Never mind, its not worth getting all upset about it.
[typo fixed in e-mail address]
Hi Woodie, Did you know that aluminium can be used as a fuel?
It has heaps of embedded electrical energy in it, and has been used for generations in fireworks and explosives.
Powered and fed into a furnace it burns hotter than coal
Better yet, when aluminium powder is burnt as a fuel it releases zero green house gas emissiions.
And it's infinitely recyclable, no need to import any more bauxite from Aussie.
We could use the existing Tiwai Smelter to re-refine it, and ship it all over the country, and then return it when it is spent, in a closed cycle.
(The energy embedded in aluminium comes from the electricity in the refining process).
Could we see the rebirth of the external combustion engine, (commonly and collectively known as steam engines), being used to power ships and trains and industrual boilers?
Could steam engine locomotives powered by aluminium powder one day be seen again on the Main Trumk Line?
Let's bring back the Kingston Flyer from retirement as a test bed. (See if it still flies.)
Steam Punk was begun in New Zealand.
Rather than a retro movement harking back to a long dead era, Steam Punks, might just possibly be, ahead of their time.
https://boingboing.net/2015/01/12/a-visit-to-steampunk-hq-new-z.html
Refining aluminium is a pretty carbon heavy process – it relies on sacrificial carbon anodes that are cured at high temperatures for up to a month. The electricity only shifts the direction of the reaction so that the carbon reduces the alumina – the carbon still burns.
You are right of course
The aluminium industry produces 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
(this figure is inclusive of non-renewable electricity generation from coal and gas).
The anode is used to carry the electrical energy to the cathode, which in this case is the molten aluminium bath. The anode which is connected to the electricity supply is driven into the molten aluminium which creates a high temperature arc which melts the aluminium, while eroding the anode, which has to be continually replaced.
Research is being carried out into non-eroding, or inert annodes, and/or low erosion anodes that don't bond with oxygen to form CO2. (or don't do so as much).
However, all is not lost. coal produces 38% of green house gas emissions.
If all the coal burnt in the world was replaced with aluminium powder, and all that aluminium was reduced with renewable electricity. Even if aluminium production increased by a multiple of ten, we should still be better off.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/26/climate-change-coal-still-king-global-carbon-emissions-soar/3276401002/
Of course you don’t just switch off the smelter and hey presto electricity for cars. Five to eight years of investment needed first.
https://www.google.co.nz/amp/s/amp.rnz.co.nz/article/7e5f0aae-6e75-4eb9-b627-f3690467b0ae
So it’s a bit like the fabled electric utes. Introduce a car tax now, burn double to coal and the infrastructure will follow in 5 or so years time, maybe.
Wouldn't it be cheaper and quicker to convert the smelter into making aluminium fuel powder instead of ingots? All that needs to be done to create aluminium fuel power is to spray it when it is still molten.
The aluminium fuel could then be shipped around the country to replace coal in all our industrial processes, including the Huntly Power Station.
Coal is a solid fuel – The combustion of coal in power plants and industrial processes is the number one source of the green house emissions responsible for global warming and climate change.
Aluminium powder like coal is a solid fuel – Aluminium powder burns hotter than coal, but unlike coal produces none of the emissions responsible for global warming and climate change.
We do it in small as well as big parcels. My 13 solar panels will produce some 5000 kw/h annually. My Leaf will use 1600 kw/h to travel 12000 km in a year.
Note: 1 in 4 Australian homes has solar panels. NZ has 32000 homes (there are 1.9 million households in NZ) with solar power at the end of March- that's 1:60! Australia has 10.2 million households and therefore 2.5 million houses with solar panels. In 2018 it had 1.96 million so equipped.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_New_Zealand
That kind of commitment to solar energy would power a lot of EVs.
Spoke to a fellow takeaways customer last night who enquired after my Leaf. He works in a vineyard where he could see possible expansive use of electric vehicles and machinery. No interest at all from management when he raised the topic.
Yet, as he said, we have driven electric forklifts for years.
Your solar panels and 5000 kw\h annually , The low user household number is 8000kWhr – when they no longer qualify for low user daily charges
You will cetainly be taking a grid feed – during peak hours, the 'worst time'- to keep your lights on
Australia is quite unique in its solar power uptake because it has a lot of sun, well ahead of most of NZ- dont forget the shorter daylight hours in winter , and the low level of the sun in the sky
My point really is that homes and businesses supplied by solar power can help with the greater demand imposed by EVs.
Produce 5 Mw and use 1.6 Mw in the EV.
Yes Huntly has been running for some months as there is a shortage of gas capacity due to a Taranaki NG processing site having long scheduled maintenance.
The Huntly site which has a gas turbine alongside the last 2 thermal coal boilers operating has been very high output, 600MW plus – as it was originally designed for as a baseload station, not feeding in for morning and night as many other stations do. Any fossil fuel used has to pay carbon taxes on that. As well the power consumption at Auckland which is fed by medium distance lines needs a generator not far away to cover the voltage drop from long distance lines, theres a small GT at Otara plus one at Huntly ( quick start ups)
By then the biggest emitters of most of the GHGs, China, Russia, India etc will probably not even have started cutting back on emissions and coal fired power stations will be springing up everywhere. Global emissions will be accelerating and little ole NZ will be chock full of EVs and will have made absolutely no difference.
Sorry to disappoint you you ya old curmudgeon, but just because other countries possible arnt acting is not a reason to not do the right thing,
Driving a country into the ground because our leaders want to virtue signal when it will have absolutely no effect is criminal.. So when our economy and society is completely destroyed, China, India, and Russia will decide to follow our example?
Can you provide any actual evidence that our economy is being driven into the ground,? Or are you just a staunch blue team member who thinks bring their moron memes here is going get you somewhere?
Grumpy, you sound like part of the choir, a year ago, screeching on behalf of 'the economy'.
The peril it faced with the lockdowns.
Turn the record over.
Hi Waghorn,
If you think topping up their EVs will be front and centre of people's minds. You have just not been paying attention.
There are people alive now who will experience the biggest biosphere collapse since the Chixilube extinction event.
Scrambling for higher ground, trying to reserve a space in a storm cellar. Trying to survive frequent extreme weather events, crop failures, might be the sort of things exercising people's minds more than topping up their EV.
Huh?
I thought we were trying to avoid a disaster!?
In any case, nobody can do anything about a big brick from space hitting Earth.
Bruce Willis can
I think Jenny is thinking more Mel Gibson.
lol
Well, that was an interesting and wide-ranging thread.
The "importing coal" reminds me of demands for migrant labour. Smacks of the same thing – outsourcing our unacceptable demands.
Vulva owners*, what say ye? I say fuck the neoliberal capture of social justice and the planet burning machine it rode in on. Also Fuck the parts of the left sanctioning this.
https://twitter.com/croneinamillion/status/1406024421467463685
*the class of humans formerly known as women.
A good little media roundup, which gives a glimpse of the frustrations and annoyances of the Stuff gallery reporters.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/125489106/points-of-order-there-are-wellqualified-and-incisive-political-commentators-and-there-is-peter-dunne
It is a powerful image and well done to Robert Kitchin for capturing it, particularly as Sio appears to have finished his address is leaving the stage. He's taken his glasses off, picked up his notes, it's done. This is a dangerous time for photographers because you tend to down tools as something finishes.
His assignment that day would have been quite dry, shooting people talking in press conferences. He would have done this hundreds of times and constantly wondered how to make interesting, meaningful images from such familiar and structured circumstances.
Then just as it's all over, Alan Wendt produces such a simple, human gesture which we all immediately and emotionally connect with. Very, very easy to miss, and it requires a lot of skill and experience to keep alert in those crucial moments.
High praise from me for that, but the rest of the article is utter rubbish. It's anonymous, sniffy, hurt, self-indulgent, lazy, and hypocritical. The last is what makes me quietly rage. The anonymous Stuff gallery reporters claim the Facebook pages of Ardern and Robertson "ripped off" the image and failed to attribute it properly.
Well, cry me a fucking river.
At least Ardern and Roberston's social media handlers made an attempt to credit the photographer, despite committing the terrible crime of misspelling his name. Stuff and New Zealand media have an appalling culture of not crediting photographers. They almost never attribute or caption work properly outside of their own navel-gazing organisations. I see it every single day. It happens to me more weeks than not and I don’t shit the bed over it. Stuff and others are lazy in the extreme, and for them to act all huffy in this instance is hypocrisy in the extreme.
Accuracy? Stuff are woefully off target here.
A robust statement of and for the impartiality and objectivity of NZ journalism in general and Stuff’s journalism in particular.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/about-stuff/125478666/the-backstory-why-government-money-doesnt-corrupt-our-journalism
Powerful to account ? media babble is always about (ordinary) peoples stories, as that gets readers eyeballs which is the most important part of their business
'news' is a bad word these days , as they want to talk 'stories, engagement, perspectives, conversations' and other buzz words.
Hard news is dead! The most 'read stories' on NT Times is the recipes, which anyone can see well positioned on their digital front page.
sigh
Hint: there’s a hint in the headline as to what the article is about and it is not about recipes.
This is at the top of the piece with the complete documentary of over 38 min.
If journalism was in the pockets of government, this would never have been aired.
I assume you don’t read TS for its recipes either, but it is a good idea for improving its readership statistics
the line quoted -'Holding the powerful to account is now, and will remain, a core job of journalists'
It just isnt true , the readers of a major 'new's site like NY Times show that the recipes come first. NZ news sites are even fuller of flim flam lifestyle stories and shilling for the property industry
The newer online only places like Newsroom and Spinoff are even more directly as 'copywriters' for their business supporters. Like this sponsored piece written by the very capable Russell Brown- wheres the investigative pieces from him – no sponsors ?
https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/nz-post/14-06-2021/more-faster-how-nz-post-is-learning-growing-and-evolving/
I disagree with you. Stuff is not the NY Times, Newsroom, nor Spinoff although it does cross-post regularly from Newsroom.
None of these are “flim flam lifestyle stories and shilling for the property industry” or recipes. Sure, those are present as well, they have to make a living too, don’t they. It is actually mentioned in the article I quoted. A news site such as Stuff will (have to) do all of the above, the good, the bad, and the ugly. They don’t cater just for intellectual snobs, Thorndon bubble, foodies, house porn addicts, or what have you.
I really don’t see how you came to this description of Newsroom as “even more directly as 'copywriters' for their business supporters”, but I guess I’ve been reading a completely different Newsroom. I can only assume that you’re referring to its partners at the bottom of the home page.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/about
You seem to be insinuating the exact thing that the Stuff article was countering. Just as well, I try to avoid falling in the binary trap and see things differently, so we have to agree to disagree here.
You got this wrong, sorry to say. Out of some 60 minutes news, 26 are advertisements, 24 are sport, 5 are for local stories and 5 are for flim flam.
Its only 5 minutes flim flam, LOL.
"The idea of being captured by the government gives us an allergic reaction"
Excellent – so if they can add to that an allergy to being captured by their own funders and owners, and even by the interests of the social class to which they themselves belong – then we're really getting somewhere.
Note: Stuff seems much improved since the sell-off and I'm generally OK with it. Some others, not so much.
Yes, I also like to think that Stuff has improved and that they’re not sitting on their laurels.
However, you make the same unsupported and unfounded (IMO) accusations. There seems much bias against NZ journalism and not without some reason, may I add, but some are definitely trying harder than others.
And here’s the most relevant bit to your accusation:
On trans women’s physiological advantage when competing in women’s sports. Look at the charts in the Twitter thread. The argument is often made that tw train harder than women and that’s why they jump to top ranking when shifting to women’s categories. Does this seem likely with these figures?
https://twitter.com/wackypidgeon/status/1399432743314853889
Not that 'amateur' sports medicine researcher Emma Hilton again. The one that has a published research on trans women which didnt include any trans women athletes
[please provide evidence (a cut and paste with link, not just a link) to back up your claim here, so we can all know what you are talking about rather than just being left with the ad hom – weka]
mod note for you.
It was the link you asked us to read last time , and it included the actual online paper published . I made those same comments based on actual words in the paper then, which you dismissed . Surely you read relevant parts of the paper ?
Hilton works as a research technician in another area completely from sports medicine and has had no previous research published in sports medicine so she an amateur in my opinion
Its all very well to show stuff from twitter, but as we all found out during covid self appointed experts were very common who had an academic background but no knowledge of infectious diseases and their epidemiology. A court would never allow expert witness testimony from someone who was a proven expert ON a topic
[post a cut and paste and link explaining your claim about Hilton and “published research on trans women which didnt include any trans women athletes” or you will get a short ban so you don’t derail the discussion. – weka]
2nd mod note and warning. What I am asking for is not difficult.
FYI, TS is not a Court but a place for supported opinions and arguments and robust debate, and the odd joke.
There are very few mind readers among the TS readership and there are very few who remember the previous exchange on this exact issue.
I have no idea what they're referring to, I read and comment so much on TS and twitter, few people can keep all that in their head. I'm also not doing someone else's work for them.
Wrong end of the stick stuff.
It happens.
sorry, who has the wrong end of the stick?
Not you.
It was barely two weeks ago.
Two weeks is a long time in politics.
In any case, they could have linked to that instead of turning it into a tortuous teeth-pulling post.
Dr Emma Hilton is a developmental biologist and Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and teaches in her field. She has a particular interest in the science of biological sex and writes and speaks about this, including in the WSJ and runs the Nettie Project supported by many scientists and academics across a range of disciplines (who obviously don't have your prejudice about cross disciplinary work).
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/emma-hilton-2bb86830
You appear to be saying that no-one can have an informed opinion about sports medicine other than sports medicine researchers. Which is obviously a stupid position to take because it would invalidate your own (I'm assuming you're not a sports medicine researcher).
If Hilton is making bad arguments, then address them and demonstrate how they are bad. That you think her being a lowly research technician (afaik she's not) is sufficient to write off her work says something about your own views on hierarchy and power. As a non-academic, I'm much more interested in whether what she says makes sense.
Sorry for the delay but had other things to attend to
Emma Hiltons amateur status regarding sports medicine. her other contributions in publications are her specialist area of infections and such
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/emma.hilton.html
Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine
And from the article in 'Sports Medicine' direct quotes
Males huh ?
In my view its junk science, while its not new researach undertaken and its merely a publications review, it has so many caveats that dont make it viable for drawing any conclusions about ‘transwomen athletes’
[formatting edited for clarity. Italicised emphaisis added by Ghost – weka]
Re Hilton's work, this from her twitter 2 years ago when challenged about her qualifications,
See also https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-06-2021/#comment-1798912
Edited.
that's why those of us that run online spaces based in debate culture get seriously annoyed with lazy ad homs.
I get annoyed with unqualified researchers putting oar in . You seem to think shes an expert on this area and thus worth quoting her 'twitter'
Shes not even a post doc in sports medicine, which the bottom rung of the research ladder. A persons qualifications and background are important in academic research – that why their publications and university position are at very top of the paper.
Too bad if that raised as a problem
Your annoyance is noted.
Hilton is a scientist with enough expertise to comment on research. I also consider her an expert commentator on gender critical social issues and how those relate to sport. As I said, I don’t believe the only people who should be read are those with direct research experience. Eg science journalists have relevant experience to bridge between researchers and the public.
And, you seem to have misrepresented Hilton’s expertise.
"Males huh ?"
What's your point? The research is looking at what physiological advantage biological males have over females, that is conferred at puberty.
Seems pretty normal for researchers to suggest further research is needed. This is how science works, it builds on the work of previous research.
And yet you don't explain how it is junk science or why it's not useful in the debate about whether TW should compete in all women's sports. All you've said is that it doesn't include TW, but studies on male physiology is relevant (most TW are born biologically male, most go through male puberty, and many have no or minimal medical transition), and research is still in the early stages.
Are her facts not acceptable to you?
Quoting results from one event at one (open entry) competition four years ago in the career of one trans athlete is called "cherry picking" and displays bias.
To show an opposite bias, one might point to the 2019 world champs where Hubbard pulled a similar weight to 2017 and came in sixth place. But that would be equally dishonest, because assuming one case to be typical of a population is stupid.
Interviews with Michael Wood and Julie Anne Genter on that Bridge.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/06/cycling-bridge-opponents-would-be-angry-if-lane-on-existing-bridge-was-used-instead-green-mp-julie-anne-genter.html
After reading this and Sam Stubb’s opinion piece yesterday, I’m almost inclined to write a full post on it but “who cares?”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300333655/i-should-be-a-fan-of-aucklands-proposed-cycle-and-pedestrian-bridge–but-im-not
Remember this motorway that was cancelled by new government in 2018
The EWL was a $1.85 billion priority roading project of the last Government, connecting State Highway 20 at Onehunga and State Highway 1 at Mt Wellington
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/98489560/defunct-eastwest-link-cost-taxpayers-50-million
What is your point?
What does it have to do with my comment?
What is the relevance to the latest plan to build a new walking & cycling bridge?
It was a massive vanity project , with incredible costs, of the last government, the cycling bridge – which I think is aspirational rather than practical- was about half that.
Its Open Mike isnt it , where the commenting is more free flowing
sigh
Sure it is, and when you post a flow of consciousness expect non-mind reading people to ask for clarification. I hope that’s ok with you
Essentially, what I believe you’re trying to convey here is that the walking & cycling bridge is a semi-massive vanity project or a massive semi-vanity project because, you know, it costs a lot of money.
No. I said the EW Motorway was an expensive project- twice that of the cycling bridge- that was cancelled.
Thats its relevance, is as the cost is what has 'aroused hearts and minds' over the cycling bridge.
No it didnt say 'the bridge' is a vanity project at all . Im still curious about the whole idea thus the aspirational tag.
Its easier if you leave the part about what I said to me.
Thank you for your clear and concise clarification.
I still have no idea why you brought up the cancelled EW M-way, but I can live with this for another day.
I have no idea what you mean by “aspirational” but my will to ask and find out has disappeared.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Billy's heir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65rSmnnEWEw&feature=youtu.be
The woman whom thousands of Canadians believe is their secret ruler isn’t afraid to tell her followers she’s calling for the executions of health care workers and politicians behind the vaccination rollout.
“At the firing squad, the military firing squad, you will receive not one, but two bullets on your forehead for each child that you have harmed as a result of injecting this experimental vaccine,” said Romana Didulo* to those involved in vaccination efforts in a recent video on Telegram. “So when you go home tonight, think about how many bullets.”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3aqvkw/qanons-are-harassing-people-at-the-whim-of-a-woman-they-say-is-canadas-queen-romana-didulo
I Am Our Donald*
Tim Shadbolt facing off Deputy Mayor, in a physical challenge. Reminds me of Russia's President Putin wresting with a bear? Showing he was up to it, some years ago. Then married a young gymnast. What next for Shadbolt?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125485790/sir-tim-shadbolts-deputy-accepts-challenge-to-fitness-duel-at-athletics-track
What next for Shadbolt?
Hopefully retirement as new blood is needed for Invercargill. I am sick of hearing about the infighting that goes on in councils as it is unproductive for the region.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/125486915/kiwisavers-stand-to-lose-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-in-government-contributions
Before end of June!
There is money for free to go into your Kiwisaver account if you can at least temporarily, boost your savings.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018800400/used-condoms-tampons-being-flushed-onto-wellington-beaches
Tampons may need to be flushed down the toilet, and perhaps condoms too. They will both be carrying body fluids that if not disposed off quickly and correctly would be disease carriers. There isn't always a rubbish bin, and how often are they emptied?
Stop people from using wipes, ban them from supermarkets and pharmacies. People can cut up their old clothes and put them to some use instead of throwing them out when holey in one place. Use them instead of wipes, cut down waste, then thow them in a bin. Make the three-letter words fashionable language, like the four-letter ones!
Cotton tips are very useful and people will have to learn not to throw them down the toilet. Men as well as women need to learn. Many males regard all that hygiene business and carry-on about doing things right as just fussy stuff that women do.
Could be worse it could be alligators.
Its time councils just accepted that people are going to flush more shit than just shit down the pipes, and engineered for the problem ,
Seems the only way to go but I think preaching about the three 'ps' and bad-mouthing for the others is the modern way. Thinking of efficiency first and foremost is the thing now. People have to be cut and moulded to fit the systems not the other way round. Makes sense – set a target, make people conform. Public service is going down the loo!
They're a sensitive mob.
In 1979, just a couple of months into his stint with 20/20, ABC’s fledgling television news magazine, producer and documentarian Joseph Lovett was “beyond thrilled” to be assigned an interview with author James Baldwin, whose work he had discovered as a teen.
[…]
The finished piece is a superb, 60 Minutes-style profile that covers a lot of ground, and yet, 20/20 chose not to air it.
After the show ran Chase’s interview with Michael Jackson, producer Lovett inquired as to the delay and was told that no one would be interested in a “queer, Black has-been”:
https://www.openculture.com/2021/06/watch-a-never-aired-tv-profile-of-james-baldwin-1979.html
Big:
https://twitter.com/jacktame/status/1406140675913965572
We need more leaders articulating this sort of vision to get us through the next 20 years.
https://twitter.com/SachaDylan/status/1406153082979766273
Here’s more: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300333582/rogernomics-not-on-the-watch-of-ganesh-nana-new-head-of-the-productivity-commission
(link was in tweet)
So it was. I’m not on Twitter but I do read Stuff 😉
You might enjoy the twitrs
Yes, but life is (about) making choices.
Just written a wee Post for tomorrow 🙂
From incognito link – lovely line from Mr Ganesh Nana.
But Nana concedes the painful economic reforms of the 1980s did not deliver what was promised.
On Rogernomics, “we got sold a lemon”, he says.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/06/ev-rebates-might-eventually-include-motorbikes-and-mopeds-just-not-for-now.html
To me, this is odd not to say short-sighted and narrow-minded.
Why not encourage all alternatives for transport that are clean(er) while discouraging fuel cars? What is so different about a motorised 2-wheeler compared to 4-wheeler (AKA car)? Government wants to encourage cycling but not motorised 2-wheelers!? I suppose one would still require a special driver’s licence and all that.
I said it before, I reckon if e-bikes are subsidised quite a few people will make the switch. I see more and more of them around already. What’s not to like?
Possibly too much/hard for Government to handle all in one go …
Motorcycles and mopeds have generally spectacular fuel efficiency
edit
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/445111/myanmar-coup-un-calls-for-arms-embargo-against-military Another 36 countries abstained, including Russia and China – Myanmar military's two biggest arms suppliers.
This sounds like a good idea. I wonder if the countries and arms agents can give up their obssession with this horrible practice/drug. Can they go cold turkey?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_industry
2020 (Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs) – and
SIPRI is Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)
World's Largest Arms Exporters:
Rank Supplier Arms Exp
(in billion TIV)
1 United States 9,372
2 Russia 3,203
3 France 1,995
4 Spain 1,232
5 Germany 1,201
6 South Korea 827
7 Italy 806
8 China 760
9 Netherlands 488
10 United Kingdom429
"Much better sex ed would a be a good start."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/445096/images-of-sexual-assaults-shared-among-dunedin-teens
That is a good start to this comment. This sex thing has been around for ever, especially with winning sportsmen. It used to be talked about and then not forgotten but not become the issue it is now with the small cameras that everyone has now in their cellphones. It has now morphed into dirty, deceitful, disrespectful behaviour, and as someone has said, a matter to be bullied about and harassed and shamed. From foolish and unwise to a practice that is turning sexually naive students who are immature into porn actors and perverts with this photographic porn to blackmail and hurt others with.
What is needed in the short term I don't know. If parents concerned, and the school teachers and pupils had a formal meeting and discussed the problem and just put in words what is happening and how each speaker felt about it, and the long-term results of it, perhaps an agreement could be reached about setting a code of behaviour for individuals to keep to.
In the long term I am sure that we need some social anthopologists in the Education Department instead of thinking that all we need is to teach science, maths, and communication, and team thinking – to turn out the successful conformists of the future.
We need to teach philosophy, and how cultures build up, and what zeitgeist and leitmotif mean. We need to talk about individuals having a vision of what they want to be, and how to realise their strengths and weaknesses. And we need to teach the importance of delay of immediate gratification. That would cut out this idea of sex being a sort of drug that you have on a night out. You get blotto and anything can happen, wheee. And then when it happens everyone is shocked if someone cries rape when nobody seemed to be worrying about anything?
Where does the leadership for teaching personal standards and morality come from? Is there any talk at home/school about how to cope when temptation looms, when companions suggest a good time, no holds barred – are you up for it, to each other? Or is it boys will be boys and we don't impose rules on them, same with girls? How could a bright, intelligent girl get knifed 200 times by a man in a frenzy – of jealousy? What did she know about assessing someone's character and self-control? Who is teaching how to hold back on sex until it is something worthwhile with someone you both like and respect. That cuts right across this drift into decadence that we are in.
Think Grace Mullane and Tinder? What a dangerous past-time. No need to go puritan and extra-moralistic, just talk personal respect and standards, inner confidence, not being coerced by companions, and looking for real friends not just for the fun-loving, no-worries group.