He believes we’ve entered a phase of rapid climate change, which will result in a 4 degrees C rise in temperature, and that humans have never existed beyond a 3.3 degree range above the average.
“The climate situation is much worse than I’ve led you to believe, and is accelerating far more rapidly than accounted for by models. Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges, in a press release dated 6 June 2013, potentially lethal heat waves on the near horizon.”
“An increasing number of scientists agree that warming of 4 to 6 C causes a dead planet. And, they go on to say, we’ll be there much sooner than most people realize.”
“Director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States John Brennan delivered a speech 16 November 2015 at the Opening Session of the Global Security Forum 2015, held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He addressed climate change, and I apologize for his misogyny in these lines: “Mankind’s relationship with the natural world is aggravating these problems and is potential source of crisis itself. Last year was the warmest on record, and this year is on track to be even warmer. Extreme weather, along with public policies affecting food and water supplies, can worsen or create humanitarian crises. Of the most immediate concern, sharply reduced crop yields in multiple places simultaneously could trigger a shock in food prices with devastating effect, especially in already-fragile regions such as Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Compromised access to food and water greatly increases the prospect for famine and deadly epidemics.”
So, if this is the case, what can we expect in the next 14 or so years? All that follows is speculation: there is no way of knowing how much, or how little, may come true.
a) an increasing number of extreme weather events.
So, more droughts and, paradoxically, more floods. More heat waves and, perhaps, more severe hurricanes and cyclonic storms.
‘500 year floods’ will happen with increasing frequency, destroying crops and communities.
Severe and prolonged droughts will result in widespread crop failures.
Food shortages will occur in urban areas, resulting in riots and the breakdown of civil order. These events will be particularly acute where urbanisation is highly dense, such as in Western Europe, parts of North America, China and India.
b) an epidemic of infectious and deadly diseases
So, more infectious diseases and epidemics sweeping the world and killing millions of people.
Large areas of the tropical world will become disease-prone areas, with ‘no-go’ zones.
Agencies like NZ’s MFAT will warn people against travel to such areas, with a resulting collapse of tourism travel.
c) rising sea levels (and perhaps more rapidly than we think!)
A fascinating series of maps showing NZ under various sea level scenarios. Rapid climate change and rapid sea level rises could overwhelm our efforts to keep ahead of the changes!
Billions of dollars worldwide spent on futile attempts to stop or retard coastal erosion.
The disappearance of island nations such as the Maldives and Kiribati, and of huge parts of countries like Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Internal migration in many countries world wide, including NZ, away from low-lying coastal areas.
d) an increasing number of crop failures.
“Large-scale crop failures like the one that caused the recent Russian wheat crisis are likely to become more common under climate change due to an increased frequency of extreme weather events, a new study shows.”
Increasing famines due to crop failures, with millions of deaths.
The rise and rise in the number of climate refugees as millions attempt to flee famines.
The rise of economic nationalism as countries close borders to refugees.
The collapse of tourism and its replacement by the movement of people seeking a place where existence is at least possible.
New Zealand is already perceived as a place where the worst effects of climate change might be possibly avoided: expect to see increasing numbers of ‘boat people’ [and 1%ers] trying to get here.
A resulting collapse in ‘commercial or corporate’ farming and the revision to more immediate ‘food’ crops, such as market gardens.
e) temperatures simply too hot for humans to survive.
“Extreme heat waves cause the most harm among elderly people and young children. City dwellers are at particular risk because of elevated temperatures in cities, known as the “urban heat island effect” due to the magnifying effect of paved surfaces and the lack of tree cover.
In the United States, an average of 400 deaths per year are directly related to heat, and an estimated 1,800 die from illnesses made worse by heat – including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. Deadly heat waves swept across most of the nation in 2006, hitting California the hardest; the state saw an additional 16,000 emergency room visits during the two-week heat wave.” http://www.nrdc.org/health/climate/heat.asp
So, summers simply too hot to be comfortable, with resulting deaths from heat stroke and other complications. Large parts of the world too hot to be outside during the day!
f) and by about 2020, expect to see the 1%ers begin to build climate domes to protect themselves from the consequences of their own actions!
The collapse of welfare agencies such as those associated with the United Nations – catastrophes just too big to manage or alleviate.
The subsequent collapse of globalisation and the retreat of nation states to within their own borders in an effort to feed their own people.
The rise of extremism in all its various religious and political manifestations.
Do I believe Guy McPherson? I desperately don’t want to accept his model. My God, there are kids born yesterday who will only be just 14 or so when the shit hits the fan – though it is unlikely to be that dramatic. What I do think is that life will be an increasingly difficult struggle for all humans in the near future.
The NZ government must, first of all, accept that climate change is real and that its consequences should NOT be minimised or dismissed. Second, that plans, or at least discussions, should be initiated to at least begin to prepare for the worst possible scenario.
If Guy McPherson is right, we haven’t got much time left!
McPherson I think cherry picks his data in a very complex science. He also creates fear based responses like geo engineering which would only compound our problems.
+1. In the past when I’ve listened to him, he comes across as someone stuck in their own version of The One True Way. He believes that humans are going to go extinct and then he presents that as fact instead of his belief. That’s dangerous, not least because if people believe him why would they change? If it’s too late, why go through the pain of shifting to a post-carbon life?
There is no doubt our situation is precarious, and we are fast running out of time. MacPherson is part of the problem not part of the solution. Tony, if you are considering he might be right, what does that mean for you?
(and is MacPherson still flying around the planet and using more than his fair share of fossil fuels to promote his work?).
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster) 1.1.1.2.1
I do not wish to think he’s right!
But, I also don’t think we should minimise the problem.
If Labour can run a conference on the Future of Work, which is important and worthwhile, then perhaps the Greens could sponsor a conference on the Future of the Planet!
At the very least, we should be talking strategies/thinking of ways to actively combat climate change – certainly not holding oil exploration meetings!
I note he is accused of cherry picking and it is potentially disastrous to implement unproven geo engineering responses, however, his arguments are not fundamentally refuted and it highlights the fact that what is being done is essentially nothing….is that a logical response?
Well, Why are we not changing then.
Cause i look outside my window, and i don’t see the world changing. I see lip service being paid, i see trees being cut down, i see cow shit in water, fertilizers used to grow stuff where naturally it would never grow, i see bio-engineering our food is commonplace and I in the meantime the world is heating up, tick tick tick…..and the buckets flows over.
My point in all of that, if species are to go extinct due to global warming, coastal flooding, acidification of the oceans and the likes, why would we human assume that we can ‘science’ our way out of it, and why would we assume that we would not ‘go extinct’. On the ground of whats? Our intellectual superiority? Look where that got us too, ….
I don’t assume any of those things, and neither do many of the people I know.
I see things changing. People are far more aware of the problem with cc than even five years ago, and people are starting to get out there and do something. It’s not fast enough, but it’s not nothing either.
Lol..except some “good climate scientists” have supported his conclusions….it appears to me he is simply at the worst case scenario end of the impact spectrum.
If you consider that over 50% of the worlds population now live in cities and have something like 6 days food security then 15 years is a very long time…there are many weaknesses within our global model that could conceivably cause a rapid decline….and there is no denying the massive enviromental changes occurring as we speak, many already exceeding the predictions of the recently developed models.
“Thom goes over the basics of what global warming is, what’s causing it, and how we can stop it with climate scientist Michael Mann, author of the book “Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change.”
He is a symptom of what happens when collective consciousness has divided and subdivided so many times within this neoliberal psychosis that we no longer know how to make alliances, build coalitions and have each other’s backs or stand with each other when the going gets rough.
Reading more, it looks like Arizona Primary is rightly being called a Disaster. Election called while people still voting, democrats given independent voting forms, the fix in for Latino, and a really poorly run vote.
Not that it means anything – the establishment are going with Hilary. She is there only hope.
Utah
Democratic result: Bernie Sanders crushed Hillary Clinton, winning about 80 percent of the vote compared to her 20 percent or so. Again, a Sanders win was expected, but the extent of the landslide he got is surprising.
Idaho
Democratic result: Bernie Sanders’s enormous win in Idaho nearly matched his win in Utah — he got 78 percent of the vote to Clinton’s mere 21 percent. When all of Tuesday’s results are combined, Sanders will likely pick up somewhat more delegates than Clinton. But he’ll still trail her in pledged delegates overall by 300 or so.
I saw the news article on TV last week, and reminded me of a visit to kiwiblog last year, nearly all the pundits were scathing of Germany taking 800k Syrian refugees, saying that it was a ticking time bomb.
Another news article about the refugees, comparing Germany and Denmark (who took only 700 or so), that Germany had received the bulk of skilled refugees, the doctors and engineers, and the refugees that went to Denmark (who legislated to take the assets of refugees) received the ones with no skills and dependent on the state.
“Rockefeller family charity to withdraw all investments in fossil fuel companies
Started by John D Rockefeller – who made his fortune from oil – the fund singled out ExxonMobil, calling the world’s largest oil company ‘morally reprehensible’”
This headline is no surprise. Politicians and the captains of industry promised us golden times from the ’80s, to expect more leisure time and expect a boom in service industries, as the microchips replaced the majority of jobs as we know/knew them.
Of course, the reality has been redundancies and a general derision of the now growing pool of unemployed by those same captains of industry and their cheerleaders (conservative governments world wide.)
So here’s a thought. Every time a company installs a new computer system, it must declare how many human positions it replaces and the company must be levied the equivalent in PAYE losses for the lifetime of that system and any subsequent system developments.
If the government had a clue they would be using Technology to create jobs, not replace jobs!
We could have a silicon valley here, we could have incredible engineering here, look at climate change solutions and patent them, etc etc.
Instead the National government uses low wages and lazy immigration to keep making more stuff, cheaper and with government subsidised pollution and exporting it to someone else who adds the value.
“If the government had a clue they would be using Technology to create jobs, not replace jobs!”
The National govt has never been interested in Job creation, that’s a job for private industry, they just want to facilitate the businesses through low wages and conditions, only problem there is that the this model only serves to increase unemployment with less revenue circulating through the economy.
There hasn’t been a National govt in the last 30 years that has provided low unemployment, high unemployment is a National party strategy, keep the serfs down.
I want the technologies that are increasing the dividends being enjoyed by shareholders) to support the increasing pool of “the great unwashed” that they are creating.
Those being made redundant by automation are still being told to “get on your bike” and look for work by those very same shareholders.
I want the technologies that are increasing the dividends being enjoyed by shareholders) to support the increasing pool of “the great unwashed” that they are creating.
But your policy won’t do that. Instead it’ll force us to more hard labour.
Those being made redundant by automation are still being told to “get on your bike” and look for work by those very same shareholders.
Yes, I’m aware of that. The problem is neither the workers nor the automation but the rentier capitalists. Which means that we need to get rid of the rentier capitalists.
cheers draco, should be compulsary viewing for anyone opposed to the ubi.
went to the presentation he gave in wellys for the fabian society.
it aint a left or right thing.
it aint even an economic thing.
it’s a tool for reducing inequality and perhaps the true way that a rising tide lifts all boats.
+100 DTB and gsays… Yes ( now that I have had time to view this, and not be distracted by cats)
… absolutely agree this is compulsory viewing especially for young people , women in unpaid caring work, the unemployed, artists…and what is left of the working class
…in fact everyone who is not part of the 0.01 % crooks who own the wealth and control the people and the planet
Professor Guy Standing ( Professor for Economic Security , University of Bath) is an articulate advocate for why the precariat absolutely requires a basic income …and for a redistribution of wealth
He is really the equivalent of the old trade unionist and socialist…calling passionately for a return to an egalitarian, compassionate, just and humanitarian society…dignity and freedom for ALL
interesting …but does this mean that human males are more likely to have toxoplasmosis?…because they are overwhelmingly the ones who have the road rage in my experience
‘People with rage disorder twice as likely to have latent toxoplasmosis parasite infection’
…”A number of studies have found that individuals with road rage were predominantly young (33 years of age on average) and male (96.6%).[3]”
I had one last weekend, the guy stopped at a Stop sign in front of me and got out his car and tried to give me an earful, he falls directly into the group listed above (33 and male), he was an incompetent, inconsiderate driver who thought the road belongs to him alone, his girl friend got out of the car, I could see the embarrassment on her face as she gestured an apology for her boyfriends behavior, and asked him to get back in the car.
Iv’e had several other incidents on the road, and each time it’s been a guy about 33, they seem to have serious anger issues.
re..”a guy about 33″…yes I think so…at the invitation of the lawyer concerned, I once watched a prosecuting lawyer in Melbourne make the case against an Australian male in this age group….the accused had killed someone with a bottle in a fit of road rage…he would have been in his late twenties early thirties…and in my experience they do seem to be the most impatient and inconsiderate drivers… who speed, overtake dangerously and cut people off…in the USA my friend tells me you don’t engage with them or give them the fingers because they are likely to get a gun out of the glove box
Hayden please have some sense. The video evidence establishes that the car driver could have stopped. It shows that the car driver did not stop. Intended action. Did not stop. Resulting assault with weapon. Serious. Don’t fret……it just shows Man-Child PM’s “higher standards”.
Twenty-one years ago, when Felix Geiringer was 19, he lay down in front of a cabinet minister’s limousine. The driver didn’t see him and the hot-headed Otago University maths undergraduate ended up with abrasions, a couple of cracked ribs and a conviction for behaving in a disorderly manner.
His appeal to the High Court that he’d just been exercising his freedom of expression rights failed.
The key TMM…….driver didn’t see him. Look at the video here. The car nearly stopped, then proceeded. Having seen the people Driver nearly stopped the car. Driver then stopped stopping the car. Thereby wilfully applying force to the person of another. Mr Car Driver has no right to icebreaker his way through human beings, using a weapon and causing injury. Ensuring Paula Benefit’s timely delivery to airport is not a special reason in terms of any applicable law. This is very serious offending ! Demonstrable of Key’s “higher standards” governance.
This ain’t far from Trump’s campaign manager roughing up some female reporter.
Paula: “Ooh look protesters……quickly, run them over !”
Chester: “Right on future leader, with you all the way !”
The Herald allows Katherine Rich to pimp for Big Sugar.
How does she sleep at night, shilling for greedy corporates who care more about profit that people?
Does she have a conscience?
Whatever…….the masters of the universe they bloatedly perceive themselves as. Rotting away. Adored by slimey little people below them who luv the E! Channel of it. It’s not completely unlike the Trump/Trumpites picture.
Cadbury and mondelez are massive enough that if they made a decision to genuinely go to fair trade cocoa, it would shift the entire market, FT production would soar, and FT cocoa would become the norm, not the minority.
And even with half measures, they reckon they can’t monitor their logistics chain to keep the two seperate? Yeah, right…
Pretty good rule of thumb, if a big company is a doing ethics on the side, it’s unlikely to be ethical. Same applies to free range chooks too, companies that have a free range brand and conventional brand. Better to buy from the people who genuinely give a shit.
Cadbury in the UK,
Bought a 79p Dairy Milk? You just paid more than @CadburyUK paid in corporation tax for a whole year. #taxavoidance
Soooo…. the FBI needs the Israelis to crack an iphone but NSA can do it anyways…does this mean the FBI and the NSA are not talking to each other ….and does it mean the Israelis control NSA?
‘FBI using Israeli firm to crack San Bernardino iPhone without Apple’
Someone tell Key that the reason for the big poll number in the second flag vote was nothing to do with people being interested in change.
It was the majority telling him that they are sick of his corporate driven lifestyle.
No-one gives a monkeys what his cronies think. They don’t give a hoot what the sports personalities think. Colin Meads and the like have had their day. They have been rewarded with their honours and that should have been enough.
Congratulations to the Kiwi battler.
If Russian wheat crops have failed so badly and if they continue to do so maybe there is hope for dairy to convert back to wheat on the canterbury plains…
In 1976, Republican Governor Jay Hammond started Alaska’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF), which has come to be called the Alaska Permanent Fund. The way it works is Alaska has a big pile of money that it uses to buy up the means of production (sometimes called stocks and bonds). Those investments yield returns and revenue for the state. Right now, Alaska plows that revenue into its universal basic income (UBI) program, which is called the Permanent Fund Dividend. The way it works is the state sends a check to every single Alaskan each year. Last year, it was $900, but in better years, it has been as high as $2000. For a family of four, that’s a $3,600 and $8,000 income boost respectively.
The Alaska communist story gets more interesting than that though. The way Alaska builds the principal of the fund is in line with another of Myerson’s proposals: take back the land. You see, the oil wealth in Alaska happened to reside underneath public land. Instead of doing the red-blooded American thing and just giving all of that natural wealth that nobody creates away to oil companies, Alaska held on to its ownership and collects royalties from the oil. Those royalties are plowed into its SWF. So what you have in Alaska is a state that is leveraging publicly-owned natural resources to build a SWF that pays out a UBI. Or as conservatives on twitter call it: a communist hellscape.
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I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It ...
SATURDAY AUGUST 1Artefact (Prime, 7.30pm). The series presented by Dame Anne Salmond screened on Māori Television, but is totally worth revisiting if you saw it the first time. Dame Anne tells the stories of taonga that highlight the history of Aotearoa. Further reading: this 2013 interview with Dame Anne by the lovely ...
Have unions and the Government sold workers short with their attempt at fixing the so-called “Hobbit Law”? Unionist Ian Powell argues that the union movement has been outmanoeuvered, and the Government has agreed to a new piece of anti-worker legislation that retains the principles of the previous National Government’s hated ...
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source:Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ...
An article in the EETimes suggests that advances in autonomous vehicles are not moving as quickly as expected because those working on them have confused complicated problems with complex ones. Engineering can only take you so far in complex worlds. Complicated systems tend to have fairly predictable inputs, processes and outputs. Complex systems (like ...
Last week, after Judith Collins announced that National would be cruel and vicious to kiwis caught overseas by the pandemic, and rob them at the border if they returned home, Labour looked like it was falling all over itself to cry "me too". But now, it looks like kindness has ...
If entry into New Zealand from abroad is safe, it should be allowed. People arriving from places that are Covid-free, or no more risky than New Zealand, and who get here on flights that do not intersect with risky places, should return to normal travel arrangements. Currently, the Cook ...
Liz SlootenScientists from the University of Otago, working with colleagues from around the world, have found that New Zealand right whales are doing much better than right whales in other parts of the world. The research was published as the feature article in the journal Marine Ecology Progress ...
Back in 2019, the government asked for a comprehensive, independent review of the Resource Management Act and associated legislation. That review has now reported back and recommended a complete repeal and re-enactment. Despite the headlines, this is not a "scrapping" - we're still going to have a resource management law, ...
By Associate Professor Mik Black, Department of Biochemistry, University of OtagoThe increased availability of complex biological data sets means that analysis and computation are becoming critically important skills for New Zealand’s future scientists. Because of this, we need to be doing everything we can to help our students develop ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIs humanity doomed? If in 2030 we have not reduced ...
Britain's spy agencies are supposedly overseen by various watchdogs, including the investigatory powers tribunal. But it turns out that MI6 at least has contempt for those watchdogs, and attempted to interfere with the operations of the tribunal by concealing evidence from its judges: MI6 has been accused of “inappropriate interference” ...
Daphna Whitmore So far this year over 7.4 million people have died from preventable communicable diseases. There were 4.3 million children who died under the age of five. Nearly one million people have died of HIV/AIDS in the past six months. A similar number of people have died from malaria ...
Four weeks ago I wrote about the last time a sizable asteroid hit our planet – the ‘Tunguska Event’ of 1908, when an object about 50 metres across exploded above the Siberian taiga – but smaller cosmic rocks shoot close by Earth fairly frequently. In the past 42 hours ...
Last month, China imposed a new "national security law" on Hong Kong. The law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment for secession, subversion, and "colluding with foreign forces" - which basicly means peacefully advocating for democracy or independence. It has been used to crush peaceful protests and interpreted by the ...
Powerful Connection: Neoliberalism is the antithesis of everything that has traditionally been associated with the feminine aspects of human nature. Kindness and compassion, nurturance and inclusiveness: such qualities have no place in the neoliberal order. When Jacinda proclaimed her determination to practice the “politics of kindness”, she was, wittingly or ...
The bad news: Jacinda Ardern still wants to bill exiled kiwis for returning home. The good news: it would require a law change, which the Greens won't back, so she'll need to go grovelling to National. The other good news: she's running out of time to do it. This ...
. . For the mainstream media, today (22 July) was even a better day than yesterday. More Sex. More Politics. More Sex AND Politics. Yesterday, the msm dealt with Andrew Falloon. The obscure backbench MP had been found to have sent pornographic images to at least four women. The woman’s ...
If you want to understand what is happening in this year’s election campaign, it’s worth looking to the past for guidance. Colin James delves into recent contests and finds some interesting parallels. July 28 is 53 days before the 2020 election. Just 53 days before the 2017 election ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Wildfires burned much less acreage in the U.S. than average during the first half of the year, but with hot and dry conditions expected over much of the nation in the coming months, fire activity is likely to ramp up. ...
Today a full bench of the High Court is hearing Andrew Borrowdale's challenge to the legality of the COVID-19 lockdown. That lockdown ended two months ago, so the point seems moot - but it was never about ending it. Instead, as Andrew Geddis points out, its about a key principle ...
Kia orana and kia ora koutou katoa. It is a privilege to be able to speak in this adjournment debate and to mark and acknowledge the fact that we are now two years and 10 months into the conclusion of a parliamentary term that has been extraordinary in so many ...
On 1 August, we marked the anniversary of Jacinda Ardern becoming the Leader of the Labour Party. On that day in 2017, Leader Andrew Little nominated Jacinda Ardern to succeed him and lead the party to victory.Now, three years on, we look back at some of the key moments ...
With the June 2020 quarter showing underemployment increasing, the Green Party is calling for a Guaranteed Minimum Income and an increase to the abatement threshold to ensure everyone has a dignified income. ...
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has ridiculed the National Party "circus", with the politician saying it was in "chaos" after the resignation of another MP.Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon announced on Monday he would retire from politics after he allegedly sent inappropriate pornographic images to a young woman. Following a ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters today outlined what he saw as the requirements to re-open New Zealand's borders for tourists and travellers. If New Zealand was dealing solely with an Australian state such as Tasmania, we wouldn't need a vaccine, said Mr Peters, but these moves were complicated by the ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters appears to have prompted last-minute alterations to proposed legislation for commercial landlords and their tenants. Mr Peters told reporters on Wednesday said that he was making sure the proposed bill was in step with what the parties had actually agreed to. He said he ...
Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprise and New Zealand First List MP Shane Jones attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NZ Post "super depot" in Wellington. The state-owned postal service, which got $280 million from the Coalition Government last month, is expanding its operations to handle surging parcel volumes. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYIntroduction Good afternoon. Welcome to you all here today and party supporters watching from around the country. We appreciate your hard work keeping New Zealand First strong; thank you for keeping the faith. Sixty-three days out from Election Day, ...
The diversity of conservation boards around Aotearoa is increasing with 47 appointments to 14 of the 15 conservation boards across New Zealand announced today by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party is honoured to be remembering former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons today at a public memorial service in the heart of Wellington at the Cathedral of St. Paul’s. Following her passing in March, this celebration of her life brings together her friends, family and colleagues to honour her life ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has announced a $2.5 million boost for South Westland to help a regional alliance of local businesses and government agencies provide nature based jobs. ...
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...
A new trades training centre to upskill the local workforce will be built in the South Waikato town of Tokoroa through funding from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Government will contribute $10.84 million from ...
The Government has agreed to repeal part of the Oranga Tamariki Act subsequent children provisions, Minister for Children Tracey Martin announced today. “There are times when children need to go into care for their safety – the safety and care of children must always be paramount,” Minister Martin said. “But ...
A $1.5 million boost to grow primary mental health and addiction services for Pacific peoples in Auckland, Hamilton and Canterbury will lead to better outcomes for Pacific communities, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says. Pasifika Futures has received funding to expand services through The Fono, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest by ...
Twenty-two projects to boost the sustainability and climate resilience of New Zealand’s food and fibres sector have been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The $18m funding will deliver practical knowledge to help farmers and growers use their land more sustainably, meet environmental targets, remain prosperous, and better understand ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson welcomes an initiative that assists employers to get mature workers into New Zealand small businesses. The disadvantages that older people face in the workplace was highlighted in the whole of Government Employment Strategy. In order to address this, a Mature Workers Toolkit has been developed and ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The recovery and forensic examination of the loader driven by survivor Russell Smith means the underground team are now moving into an area of the Pike River Mine that has not been seen since the explosion, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said. “The fifth and last robot ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
The government is proposing changes to aquaculture legislation to improve the process for allocating and transferring aquaculture assets to iwi. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has introduced the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill to Parliament. It proposes a limited new discretionary power for Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (ToKM). ...
The Minister of Justice has today introduced the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill – the next step in the ongoing programme of work to fix the failed 2014 Family Court reforms led by then Justice Minister Judith Collins. The Bill arises from the report of the Independent ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
$50 million for further rural broadband digital connectivity has been allocated from the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been announced by Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure and Kris Faafoi, Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. The investment will go to boosting broadband ...
The Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media has congratulated the Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) programme on its major milestone of connecting more than 1 million New Zealand households and businesses to UFB. “This milestone has been 10 years in the making and demonstrates the popularity of the UFB network. “Uptake ...
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...
A discriminatory law that has been a symbol of frustration for many people needing and providing care and support, has been scrapped by the Government. “Part 4A of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced under urgency in 2013 by a National Government,” Associate ...
Kiwi motorists are set to reap the benefits of a more competitive fuel market following the passing of the Fuel Industry Bill tonight, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. “This Act is where the rubber meets the road in terms of our response to the recommendations made in the ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to New Zealanders to modernise tenancy laws with the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020 today, says Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), Kris Faafoi. “The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was out-dated and the reforms in the RTA modernise our ...
New rules to protect and restore New Zealand’s freshwater passed into law today. Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomed the gazetting of the new national direction on freshwater management. “These regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Jeremy Clarke-Watson as New Zealand’s new Consul-General in Los Angeles. “New Zealand and the United States share a close and dynamic partnership, based on a long history of shared values and democratic traditions,” Mr Peters said. “Mr Clarke-Watson is a ...
Victims of family violence can end a tenancy with two days’ notice Landlords can terminate tenancies with 14 days’ notice if tenants assault them Timeframe brought forward for limiting rent increases to once every 12 months Extension of time Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases via phone/video conference Reform of New ...
Two employment schemes – one new and one expanded – going live today will help tens of thousands of people continue training on the job and support thousands more into work, the Government has announced. Apprenticeship Boost, a subsidy of up to $12,000 per annum for first year apprentices and ...
The Government is funding a significant infrastructure package at Omokoroa which will create 150 new jobs and help transform the Western Bay of Plenty peninsula, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the Government is investing $14 million towards the $28 million roading and water package. This ...
The Bill allowing the Government to recover some costs for managed isolation and quarantine passed its third reading today, with charges coming into force as soon as regulations are finalised. Putting regulations into force is the next step. “The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill and its supporting regulations will ...
Today’s unemployment data shows the Government’s plan to protect jobs and cushion the blow for businesses and households against the economic impact of COVID-19 was the right decision, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ said today that New Zealand’s unemployment rate in the June quarter – which includes the ...
A new role of New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is being established, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Internal Affairs and for Children, Tracey Martin announced today. The Reading Ambassador, announced at a Celebration of Reading event at ...
Community Law Centres will receive a funding boost to meet the increased need for free legal services due to COVID-19, Justice Minister Andrew Little said. The $3.5m funding is for the next three financial years and is additional to the almost $8 million for Community Law Centres announced in Budget ...
New Zealand has joined Canada and Chile in a new trade initiative aimed at increasing women’s participation in global trade. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker, together with Canada’s Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrés Allamand, and Chile’s Vice ...
Building owners around New Zealand have benefited from the latest round of Heritage EQUIP funding with grants totalling $2,230,166. “The Heritage EQUIP grants for seismic strengthening assist private building owners to get the professional advice they need to go ahead with their projects or support them to carry out the ...
• New paediatric facilities, including a Special Baby Care Unit • Up to 50 extra inpatient beds • New lab facilities Northland babies and their whānau will soon have access to improved hospital care when they need it with Health Minister Chris Hipkins today confirming new paediatric facilities and more ...
People walking and cycling between Featherston and Greytown, or along Wellington’s Eastern Bays will soon have a safe shared path, as part of a $220 million shovel-ready cycleways package announced by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. “During lockdown we saw many more families and kids out on their bikes, ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Johnson Naviti, who passed away yesterday afternoon in Wellington. “Our thoughts are with the High Commissioner’s family and colleagues during this difficult time. This is a terrible loss both to ...
The Government has today set out the regional allocations of the $761 million Three Waters stimulus and reform funding for councils announced by Prime Minister Hon Jacinda Ardern this month. "I want to thank Councils around the country for engaging with the Central Local Government Steering Group who have been ...
Students with high and complex learning needs, as well as their teachers and parents, will benefit from a substantial increase to Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, Associate Education Minister Martin announced today. “Nearly $160 million will go towards helping these students by lifting their base support over the next four ...
Funding for innovative projects to connect Kiwis with affordable, safe and wholesome food, reduce food waste, and help our food producers recover from COVID-19 has been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “COVID-19 has seen an increasing number of families facing unprecedented financial pressure. Foodbanks and community food service ...
Eight shovel-ready projects within Kāinga Ora large-scale developments, and the Unitec residential development in Auckland have been given the go-ahead, Minister for Housing Dr Megan Woods announced today. Megan Woods says these significant infrastructure upgrades will ensure that the provision of homes in Auckland can continue apace. “The funding announced ...
The Government is funding a new separated walking and cycleway path along Napier’s Chambers and Ellison streets to provide safer access for local students and residents across Marine Parade and State Highway 51, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Police Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Funding of $2.7 million has been ...
This week’s 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with 250,000 killed and many more suffering terrible effects on their health, is a sombre reminder of the appalling destruction of nuclear weapons and should spur international efforts ...
Analysis - Can we postpone this year's election? We've ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that's worse than usual. ...
We seek the indulgence of readers of a delicate disposition to bear with us for a moment as we dip into what some call crude soldiery and examine some important aspects revealed in the Arnold-Palmer report into Operation Burnham. We know this concerned the NZ Special Air Service in actions ...
At an event at the controversial Cloud Ocean bottling plant in Christchurch today, The Opportunities Party said governance of water could not be any worse than how it is now. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Odette Best, Professor, Nursing, University of Southern Queensland Recently announced Closing the Gap targets aim to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous people. But if that’s to happen, we need to provide health advice suitable for First Nations Australians. That includes ...
The Ombudsman's report to Parliament on the children's ministry's taking of babies is scathing of its misuse of the law and treatment of families caught in its routine use of 'uplifts'. Tim Murphy reports. The latest damning inquiry into Oranga Tamariki finds that in 100 percent of cases investigated by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Review: Paul Kelly: The Man, the Music and Life in Between (Hatchette) Stuart Coupe’s new biography of Paul Kelly takes many known elements of Kelly’s story and rouses them again. Paul Kelly: ...
This was the last week of Parliament before the election and departing politicians had the opportunity to offer final thoughts in their valedictory speech. The stark contrast between the careers and speeches of two Labour ex-Ministers, Hon Ruth Dyson ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Money as an Unfortunate Metaphor for CostKeith Rankin. Especially but not only in election years, when any new policy is proposed by a major party, a ubiquitous refrain follows: “what will it cost?”; “where will the money come from?”. The context is that cost ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Gibbons, Professor, Australian National University Most people probably associate the Australian Alps with skiing and snow. Others might think of the Man from Snowy River legend or the engineering feats of the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme. But few people know the region’s ...
The Serious Fraud Office has welcomed a court decision confirming the confidentiality of material that was inadvertently disclosed by the agency to the defendants in the National Party donations case. The material was disclosed recently during the course ...
The Cancer Society is pleased to see the new vaping legislation passed with general cross-party support as it will help protect people from the harms of e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction while also supporting those who use vaping to quit smoking. ...
Imperial Brands says it is excited that a new law will allow it to sell vapes but is disappointed that the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill has made vapes harder to get than cigarettes. Imperial Brands spokesperson Kirsten ...
A loader driven by former miner Russell Smith at the time of the Pike River Mine explosion has now been recovered from 1581m up the 2.3km drift access tunnel. The recovery of the loader went smoothly and to plan. Pike River families were able to ...
The removal of a 20 tonne loader that has blocked the Pike River drift since the day the mine exploded marks the start of the forensic recovery of a crime scene that has been locked away for ten years. Russell Smith was driving the loader when the ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Mitchell Pham, founder of Augen Software Group.If the last century was the American ...
At this year's general election, the public will also be asked to cast a referendum vote on the End of Life Choice Act 2019. Here is an explainer on the Act, who is eligible and how we got here. ...
Ngāti Tūwharetoa has just become the first iwi to be approved under the Resource Management Act to take over certain council duties. Here’s why that matters.In 1991, the Resource Management Act (RMA) allowed councils to transfer any of their functions to local iwi. Now, almost 30 years after that act ...
The Public Service Association strongly opposes allowing privately-run quarantine facilities to open for international travelers, and the union says it would put all New Zealanders in danger. PSA members work in the government agencies spearheading ...
Catherine Woulfe reviews Upstream on the Mataura, a memoir by Gore flyfisherman Dougal Rillstone chronicling his journey along the Southland river.Dougal Rillstone is some guy you’ve never heard of, who grew up in Gore and is in love with a river. He also loves to fish for trout. He’s in ...
Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children has been using its powers to remove newborn pēpi from their parents under a without notice Court order more by routine than exception, says Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier. Mr Boshier today released He Take ...
A hairdressers casual approach to conversation allows for a story to be told in an authentic fashion. This approach allows Political Cutz to create unique discussions with the intent of communicating important subjects. We have been producing pop up ...
Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children has been using its powers to remove newborn pēpi from their parents under a without notice Court order more by routine than exception, says Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier. Mr Boshier today released He Take ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Gray, Associate professor, Jumbunna Insitute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney The Conversation is running a series of explainers on key figures in Australian political history, looking at the way they changed the nature of debate, its impact ...
This Town is being billed as 2020’s feel good Kiwi comedy movie, but Amanda Thompson finds it a gentle romcom with a heart of surprisingly confronting darkness.Movies about rural New Zealand are going to be funny, either intentionally or unintentionally. It’s a funny place and we’re funny people, and New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Aroney, Professor of Constitutional Law, The University of Queensland There is a theory that despite all the commotion, religious freedom faces no significant threat in Western democracies like Australia. Therefore, the argument goes, we do not need a federal Religious Discrimination ...
The Government has announced it will test run the CovidCard contact tracing system in Rotorua, Marc Daalder reports The plan to give every New Zealander a Bluetooth-enabled CovidCard for contact tracing is one step closer to fruition. On Thursday, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Government Digital Services Minister Kris Faafoi ...
The joint campaign to push the Government to commit to safer staffing levels in aged care continues around the country with two North Island actions. E tū members and delegates will be holding two photo opportunities in Gisborne on Thursday to ...
6 August 2020: We have written to the chief executives of public organisations with 30 June balance dates about the extended reporting time frames for 2020. Kia ora koutou katoa As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of work that will be ...
On the Rag meets two women advocating for the legalisation of cannabis to hear why they’re voting yes in this year’s referendum.The prevailing image of weed users in the media might be Seth Rogen and men who look like Seth Rogen ripping epic bong hits in front of a Bob ...
The Motor Trade Association says the Government has failed independent service station operators and missed the opportunity to create to truly competitive fuel market. “Sadly for New Zealand motorists, the Bill passed last night is not going to make ...
Evening Report Live: This week in A View from Afar with Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning, we examine the Beirut explosion and what is going on behind the headlines. We also debate how leaders around the world are using authoritarianism as a mask to cover their weak handling of ...
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been the death knell of New Zealand immigration as we know it, it also presents a much-needed opportunity for improvement. What might the new immigration system look like? Aaron Martin , principal lawyer at New Zealand ...
When they weren’t distributing money to an array of projects and programmes that met with their approval, our ministers were busy braying about the new laws they have promoted to improve – we hope – our wellbeing. Megan Woods was chuffed about two news laws passed into law on her ...
Over lockdown, mental health hotlines saw a massive spike in calls and texts from distressed New Zealanders. Their numbers still haven’t returned to normal, and growing research suggests demand won’t be going away anytime soon. In April and May, Lifeline experienced a 25% increase in calls and texts from people in ...
The Smokefree Environments (Vaping) Amendment Bill passed into law last night will help keep people smoking cigarettes, and caves into big tobacco interests, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “The vaping ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk A medical authority has warned that the spike in covid-19 cases in Papua New Guinea is to be expected and could reach thousands between September and December, reports The National today. Professor Glen Mola had predicted early last month, when the number of cases of infection ...
The government’s new freshwater laws, signed off this week, have the potential to create significant unnecessary costs for ratepayers, farmers and entire communities, Federated Farmers says. "We all want good water quality, that’s why farmers ...
Roughly 11,000 people lost their jobs from Covid-19, and 10,000 of them were women. But as Leonie Morris from Auckland’s Womens Centre writes, this shows the need to address industrial patriarchy and create opportunities for women where they’re needed most.Just as predicted, Covid-19 has affected unemployment and under-employment rates for ...
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says the government needs to do more to ensure women aren't left behind after employment figures showed they were disproportionately affected. ...
Political heavyweights took the immediate headlines, but Auckland's economic summit was broad and deep with business and community leaders predicting the return of good things from some time between late 2021 and 2024. Tim Murphy reports The call that 'we need to have a conversation' about almost anything in public ...
Disabled people and their families have been returned the right to complain to the Human Rights Commission or seek redress through the Courts about discriminatory family funding policies they may face. Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero said ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) has called on the Malaysian government to desist its current investigation of Al Jazeera English as the current methods of investigation are an attack on free, independent journalism. If the Malaysian government takes issue with Al Jazeera’s work – or ...
Whānau and families will sleep better at night knowing their homes can’t be taken away from them without good reason thanks to the new residential tenancies law, says the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). "Worry about keeping a roof over their ...
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill introduces a range of regulations that will be phased in over the next two years. ...
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill is now law. Mark Todd, long-time landlord and founder of Ockham Residential, welcomes the new legislation – and says hysterical critics need to get a grip.Hell hath no fury like the landlord lobby trying to thwart some fairly innocuous legislation that’ll help tenants feel a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Huaiyu Yuan, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University Far beneath the city of Dongshen in northern China, we have discovered what may be the 2 billion-year-old birthmarks of Earth’s first supercontinent. An ancient dipping structure in the ...
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Gone by 2030!
Human extinction in 14 years?
Nah! Surely impossible?
Well, Guy McPherson seems to think so.
He believes we’ve entered a phase of rapid climate change, which will result in a 4 degrees C rise in temperature, and that humans have never existed beyond a 3.3 degree range above the average.
“The climate situation is much worse than I’ve led you to believe, and is accelerating far more rapidly than accounted for by models. Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges, in a press release dated 6 June 2013, potentially lethal heat waves on the near horizon.”
“An increasing number of scientists agree that warming of 4 to 6 C causes a dead planet. And, they go on to say, we’ll be there much sooner than most people realize.”
“Director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States John Brennan delivered a speech 16 November 2015 at the Opening Session of the Global Security Forum 2015, held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He addressed climate change, and I apologize for his misogyny in these lines: “Mankind’s relationship with the natural world is aggravating these problems and is potential source of crisis itself. Last year was the warmest on record, and this year is on track to be even warmer. Extreme weather, along with public policies affecting food and water supplies, can worsen or create humanitarian crises. Of the most immediate concern, sharply reduced crop yields in multiple places simultaneously could trigger a shock in food prices with devastating effect, especially in already-fragile regions such as Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Compromised access to food and water greatly increases the prospect for famine and deadly epidemics.”
http://guymcpherson.com/climate-chaos/see-how-far-weve-come/
(A very long article, but impeccably referenced.)
So, if this is the case, what can we expect in the next 14 or so years? All that follows is speculation: there is no way of knowing how much, or how little, may come true.
a) an increasing number of extreme weather events.
So, more droughts and, paradoxically, more floods. More heat waves and, perhaps, more severe hurricanes and cyclonic storms.
‘500 year floods’ will happen with increasing frequency, destroying crops and communities.
Severe and prolonged droughts will result in widespread crop failures.
Food shortages will occur in urban areas, resulting in riots and the breakdown of civil order. These events will be particularly acute where urbanisation is highly dense, such as in Western Europe, parts of North America, China and India.
b) an epidemic of infectious and deadly diseases
So, more infectious diseases and epidemics sweeping the world and killing millions of people.
Large areas of the tropical world will become disease-prone areas, with ‘no-go’ zones.
Agencies like NZ’s MFAT will warn people against travel to such areas, with a resulting collapse of tourism travel.
c) rising sea levels (and perhaps more rapidly than we think!)
http://www.musther.net/nzslr/
A fascinating series of maps showing NZ under various sea level scenarios. Rapid climate change and rapid sea level rises could overwhelm our efforts to keep ahead of the changes!
Billions of dollars worldwide spent on futile attempts to stop or retard coastal erosion.
The disappearance of island nations such as the Maldives and Kiribati, and of huge parts of countries like Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Internal migration in many countries world wide, including NZ, away from low-lying coastal areas.
d) an increasing number of crop failures.
“Large-scale crop failures like the one that caused the recent Russian wheat crisis are likely to become more common under climate change due to an increased frequency of extreme weather events, a new study shows.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101007092817.htm
Increasing famines due to crop failures, with millions of deaths.
The rise and rise in the number of climate refugees as millions attempt to flee famines.
The rise of economic nationalism as countries close borders to refugees.
The collapse of tourism and its replacement by the movement of people seeking a place where existence is at least possible.
New Zealand is already perceived as a place where the worst effects of climate change might be possibly avoided: expect to see increasing numbers of ‘boat people’ [and 1%ers] trying to get here.
A resulting collapse in ‘commercial or corporate’ farming and the revision to more immediate ‘food’ crops, such as market gardens.
e) temperatures simply too hot for humans to survive.
“Extreme heat waves cause the most harm among elderly people and young children. City dwellers are at particular risk because of elevated temperatures in cities, known as the “urban heat island effect” due to the magnifying effect of paved surfaces and the lack of tree cover.
In the United States, an average of 400 deaths per year are directly related to heat, and an estimated 1,800 die from illnesses made worse by heat – including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. Deadly heat waves swept across most of the nation in 2006, hitting California the hardest; the state saw an additional 16,000 emergency room visits during the two-week heat wave.”
http://www.nrdc.org/health/climate/heat.asp
So, summers simply too hot to be comfortable, with resulting deaths from heat stroke and other complications. Large parts of the world too hot to be outside during the day!
f) and by about 2020, expect to see the 1%ers begin to build climate domes to protect themselves from the consequences of their own actions!
The collapse of welfare agencies such as those associated with the United Nations – catastrophes just too big to manage or alleviate.
The subsequent collapse of globalisation and the retreat of nation states to within their own borders in an effort to feed their own people.
The rise of extremism in all its various religious and political manifestations.
Do I believe Guy McPherson? I desperately don’t want to accept his model. My God, there are kids born yesterday who will only be just 14 or so when the shit hits the fan – though it is unlikely to be that dramatic. What I do think is that life will be an increasingly difficult struggle for all humans in the near future.
The NZ government must, first of all, accept that climate change is real and that its consequences should NOT be minimised or dismissed. Second, that plans, or at least discussions, should be initiated to at least begin to prepare for the worst possible scenario.
If Guy McPherson is right, we haven’t got much time left!
Most human beings are already struggling, have been forever, and its not only due to climate
There are many more pressing threats, than the uncertain outcomes of ‘climate change’
Posts like this ignore appear to ignore the wider picture, entirely
McPherson I think cherry picks his data in a very complex science. He also creates fear based responses like geo engineering which would only compound our problems.
Geo-engineering has been developed & ‘tested’ over many decades
It was written about in mainstream science journals back in the 1950s
+1. In the past when I’ve listened to him, he comes across as someone stuck in their own version of The One True Way. He believes that humans are going to go extinct and then he presents that as fact instead of his belief. That’s dangerous, not least because if people believe him why would they change? If it’s too late, why go through the pain of shifting to a post-carbon life?
There is no doubt our situation is precarious, and we are fast running out of time. MacPherson is part of the problem not part of the solution. Tony, if you are considering he might be right, what does that mean for you?
(and is MacPherson still flying around the planet and using more than his fair share of fossil fuels to promote his work?).
I do not wish to think he’s right!
But, I also don’t think we should minimise the problem.
If Labour can run a conference on the Future of Work, which is important and worthwhile, then perhaps the Greens could sponsor a conference on the Future of the Planet!
At the very least, we should be talking strategies/thinking of ways to actively combat climate change – certainly not holding oil exploration meetings!
I note he is accused of cherry picking and it is potentially disastrous to implement unproven geo engineering responses, however, his arguments are not fundamentally refuted and it highlights the fact that what is being done is essentially nothing….is that a logical response?
Of course not. But what MacPherson is doing doesn’t help. If it’s too late, why would we change?
Well, Why are we not changing then.
Cause i look outside my window, and i don’t see the world changing. I see lip service being paid, i see trees being cut down, i see cow shit in water, fertilizers used to grow stuff where naturally it would never grow, i see bio-engineering our food is commonplace and I in the meantime the world is heating up, tick tick tick…..and the buckets flows over.
My point in all of that, if species are to go extinct due to global warming, coastal flooding, acidification of the oceans and the likes, why would we human assume that we can ‘science’ our way out of it, and why would we assume that we would not ‘go extinct’. On the ground of whats? Our intellectual superiority? Look where that got us too, ….
I don’t assume any of those things, and neither do many of the people I know.
I see things changing. People are far more aware of the problem with cc than even five years ago, and people are starting to get out there and do something. It’s not fast enough, but it’s not nothing either.
Yup watch ‘chasing ice’. A former cc sceptic scientist documenting glacial retreats.
If glaciers are the canary in the climate coalmine then the bird seems to have flown.
I would suggest that it appears the worlds governments may have concluded exactly that (@Weka)
I’m not so sure about that. I think it’s more likely they’re still in denial.
I would say good climate scientists have got better things to do than debate with a guy who says we’re all going to die within 15 years.
Lol..except some “good climate scientists” have supported his conclusions….it appears to me he is simply at the worst case scenario end of the impact spectrum.
If you consider that over 50% of the worlds population now live in cities and have something like 6 days food security then 15 years is a very long time…there are many weaknesses within our global model that could conceivably cause a rapid decline….and there is no denying the massive enviromental changes occurring as we speak, many already exceeding the predictions of the recently developed models.
Thomas Mann thinks McPherson is a bit extreme. This is worth watching too…and it doesn’t pull any punches.
‘Understanding climate change: A conversation with Michael Mann’
https://www.rt.com/shows/big-picture/321538-global-warming-climate-change/
“Thom goes over the basics of what global warming is, what’s causing it, and how we can stop it with climate scientist Michael Mann, author of the book “Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change.”
“it appears to me he is simply at the worst case scenario end of the impact spectrum.”
I would have way less of a problem with MacPherson if he was honest about that and presented his theory as a theory rather than fact.
An outstanding summary from Eve Ensler of how Trump represents the inevitable outcome of a malignant hatred fuelled political system
That’s (soon to be) Sir John Key and his legacy will be the only four term leader elected under MMP
Nightmares are free, Puckish Rogue
that should kill the reputation of the Queen’s honours system dead
… and cement it as a cronyist list of male crooks…a list made up by cronyist male crooks
…now PR get out your cooking sherry and have drink to that
If it happened that would be his only legacy.
Look on Key’s works ye mighty and despair.
Sheesh crushing wins by Sanders.
Reading more, it looks like Arizona Primary is rightly being called a Disaster. Election called while people still voting, democrats given independent voting forms, the fix in for Latino, and a really poorly run vote.
Not that it means anything – the establishment are going with Hilary. She is there only hope.
Utah
Democratic result: Bernie Sanders crushed Hillary Clinton, winning about 80 percent of the vote compared to her 20 percent or so. Again, a Sanders win was expected, but the extent of the landslide he got is surprising.
Idaho
Democratic result: Bernie Sanders’s enormous win in Idaho nearly matched his win in Utah — he got 78 percent of the vote to Clinton’s mere 21 percent. When all of Tuesday’s results are combined, Sanders will likely pick up somewhat more delegates than Clinton. But he’ll still trail her in pledged delegates overall by 300 or so.
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/22/11284564/when-do-polls-close-results-utah-arizona-idaho
http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-blasts-arizona-voting-disaster-calls-the-fiasco-a-disgrace/
What’s the story with the independents? Is that people not registered with either party but who should be able to vote in the primaries somehow?
If I understand it right, if you are given independent papers, that’s all you can vote for.
You then can’t vote for a democrat or a republican.
hmm, ok I’ve misunderstood then. I thought I saw someone in Arizona saying they were refused a vote because they were an independent.
Yes they would not have been allowed a vote if they were registered as an Independent.
Arizona runs a “closed” system for the Presidential primary.
http://www.fairvote.org/primaries#presidential_primary_or_caucus_type_by_state
If you run your cursor over the map you will get the state details.
There’s a lot of different permutations on who can vote in which primaries – way too many to try to cover in comments here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election
Ironic…
Syrians rescue German far-right candidate from car crash wreckage
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/syrians-rescue-german-far-right-stefan-jagsch-from-car-crash-wreckage?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H&utm_term=163258&subid=13842748&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
I saw the news article on TV last week, and reminded me of a visit to kiwiblog last year, nearly all the pundits were scathing of Germany taking 800k Syrian refugees, saying that it was a ticking time bomb.
Another news article about the refugees, comparing Germany and Denmark (who took only 700 or so), that Germany had received the bulk of skilled refugees, the doctors and engineers, and the refugees that went to Denmark (who legislated to take the assets of refugees) received the ones with no skills and dependent on the state.
“Rockefeller family charity to withdraw all investments in fossil fuel companies
Started by John D Rockefeller – who made his fortune from oil – the fund singled out ExxonMobil, calling the world’s largest oil company ‘morally reprehensible’”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/23/rockefeller-fund-divestment-fossil-fuel-companies-oil-coal-climate-change
Technology to replace jobs.
This headline is no surprise. Politicians and the captains of industry promised us golden times from the ’80s, to expect more leisure time and expect a boom in service industries, as the microchips replaced the majority of jobs as we know/knew them.
Of course, the reality has been redundancies and a general derision of the now growing pool of unemployed by those same captains of industry and their cheerleaders (conservative governments world wide.)
So here’s a thought. Every time a company installs a new computer system, it must declare how many human positions it replaces and the company must be levied the equivalent in PAYE losses for the lifetime of that system and any subsequent system developments.
@Logie(7
If the government had a clue they would be using Technology to create jobs, not replace jobs!
We could have a silicon valley here, we could have incredible engineering here, look at climate change solutions and patent them, etc etc.
Instead the National government uses low wages and lazy immigration to keep making more stuff, cheaper and with government subsidised pollution and exporting it to someone else who adds the value.
QFT
This is what I mean by increased productivity developing our economy. It’s also this automation that kills economies of scale.
saveNZ
“If the government had a clue they would be using Technology to create jobs, not replace jobs!”
The National govt has never been interested in Job creation, that’s a job for private industry, they just want to facilitate the businesses through low wages and conditions, only problem there is that the this model only serves to increase unemployment with less revenue circulating through the economy.
There hasn’t been a National govt in the last 30 years that has provided low unemployment, high unemployment is a National party strategy, keep the serfs down.
I take it that you actually want to prevent that leisure time and improved living standards that automation promise us?
I want the technologies that are increasing the dividends being enjoyed by shareholders) to support the increasing pool of “the great unwashed” that they are creating.
Those being made redundant by automation are still being told to “get on your bike” and look for work by those very same shareholders.
But your policy won’t do that. Instead it’ll force us to more hard labour.
Yes, I’m aware of that. The problem is neither the workers nor the automation but the rentier capitalists. Which means that we need to get rid of the rentier capitalists.
+100…YUS….and artists
cheers draco, should be compulsary viewing for anyone opposed to the ubi.
went to the presentation he gave in wellys for the fabian society.
it aint a left or right thing.
it aint even an economic thing.
it’s a tool for reducing inequality and perhaps the true way that a rising tide lifts all boats.
+100 DTB and gsays… Yes ( now that I have had time to view this, and not be distracted by cats)
… absolutely agree this is compulsory viewing especially for young people , women in unpaid caring work, the unemployed, artists…and what is left of the working class
…in fact everyone who is not part of the 0.01 % crooks who own the wealth and control the people and the planet
Professor Guy Standing ( Professor for Economic Security , University of Bath) is an articulate advocate for why the precariat absolutely requires a basic income …and for a redistribution of wealth
He is really the equivalent of the old trade unionist and socialist…calling passionately for a return to an egalitarian, compassionate, just and humanitarian society…dignity and freedom for ALL
The fatal attraction of rats and cats,and the limitations under the policeman’s hats.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160323142328.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1690701/
interesting …but does this mean that human males are more likely to have toxoplasmosis?…because they are overwhelmingly the ones who have the road rage in my experience
‘People with rage disorder twice as likely to have latent toxoplasmosis parasite infection’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_rage
…”A number of studies have found that individuals with road rage were predominantly young (33 years of age on average) and male (96.6%).[3]”
Sansone, Randy A.; Sansone, Lori A. (July 2010). “Road Rage: What’s Driving It?”. Psychiatry 7 (7): 14–18. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922361/
Chooky
…”A number of studies have found that individuals with road rage were predominantly young (33 years of age on average) and male (96.6%).[3]”
I had one last weekend, the guy stopped at a Stop sign in front of me and got out his car and tried to give me an earful, he falls directly into the group listed above (33 and male), he was an incompetent, inconsiderate driver who thought the road belongs to him alone, his girl friend got out of the car, I could see the embarrassment on her face as she gestured an apology for her boyfriends behavior, and asked him to get back in the car.
Iv’e had several other incidents on the road, and each time it’s been a guy about 33, they seem to have serious anger issues.
re..”a guy about 33″…yes I think so…at the invitation of the lawyer concerned, I once watched a prosecuting lawyer in Melbourne make the case against an Australian male in this age group….the accused had killed someone with a bottle in a fit of road rage…he would have been in his late twenties early thirties…and in my experience they do seem to be the most impatient and inconsiderate drivers… who speed, overtake dangerously and cut people off…in the USA my friend tells me you don’t engage with them or give them the fingers because they are likely to get a gun out of the glove box
…i guess we are rather better off in New Zealand
mmmeeeeoooow
‘Cuckoo for Kitty Cats? You Should Be! Health Benefits of Cats’
http://www.crazycatladyconcoctions.com/health-benefits-of-cats/
Free publicity for the National Party courtesy of the fuzz.
“Police are investigating a complaint that Whanganui MP Chester Borrows drove his car into an anti-TPP protester”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/299816/mp-accused-of-driving-into-protester
At minimum dangerous driving. Obvious assault whether physical contact made or not. Assault with weapon. This is very serious.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11611165
No it’s not. This is exactly the outcome she was after.
Who is “she” ?
Hayden please have some sense. The video evidence establishes that the car driver could have stopped. It shows that the car driver did not stop. Intended action. Did not stop. Resulting assault with weapon. Serious. Don’t fret……it just shows Man-Child PM’s “higher standards”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7415536/More-than-a-lawman
The cabinet minister was Bill Birch. Have any labour Party done it too?
The key TMM…….driver didn’t see him. Look at the video here. The car nearly stopped, then proceeded. Having seen the people Driver nearly stopped the car. Driver then stopped stopping the car. Thereby wilfully applying force to the person of another. Mr Car Driver has no right to icebreaker his way through human beings, using a weapon and causing injury. Ensuring Paula Benefit’s timely delivery to airport is not a special reason in terms of any applicable law. This is very serious offending ! Demonstrable of Key’s “higher standards” governance.
This ain’t far from Trump’s campaign manager roughing up some female reporter.
Paula: “Ooh look protesters……quickly, run them over !”
Chester: “Right on future leader, with you all the way !”
This infamy done with Paula Benefit in front passenger seat. More and more they are caracitures of themselves. A power clique rotting away…….
Rotting away, polling nearly 50%.
And stand for nothing…apart from greed.
Which only translates to about 1/3 of the country when you take into account non voters… who are actually people too ya know.
+1
The Herald allows Katherine Rich to pimp for Big Sugar.
How does she sleep at night, shilling for greedy corporates who care more about profit that people?
Does she have a conscience?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11610731
Whatever…….the masters of the universe they bloatedly perceive themselves as. Rotting away. Adored by slimey little people below them who luv the E! Channel of it. It’s not completely unlike the Trump/Trumpites picture.
Just listen to yourself mate!! Have you had your pills today?
Nah nah Hayden bro’……..never meant to say you’re with the slime bro’…….nah nah no way bro’. Eckshully…….why fucking not ?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/299770/mayoral-candidate-pulled-up-over-signs
Right wingers are incabable of winning an honest contest it would seem.
Perhaps she gets her arrogance from the Slippery one.
With Easter almost upon us, here’s an interesting fact:
The Fairtrade label on a Dairy Milk bar is no guarantee it does not contain cocoa grown and harvested using exploitative child labour.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/78235708/cadbury-no-longer-offers-fairtrade-dairy-milk-easter-eggs
Sounds like false advertising to me.
Cadbury and mondelez are massive enough that if they made a decision to genuinely go to fair trade cocoa, it would shift the entire market, FT production would soar, and FT cocoa would become the norm, not the minority.
And even with half measures, they reckon they can’t monitor their logistics chain to keep the two seperate? Yeah, right…
“Sounds like false advertising to me.”
Indeed. Very misleading. But, evidently legal.
Pretty good rule of thumb, if a big company is a doing ethics on the side, it’s unlikely to be ethical. Same applies to free range chooks too, companies that have a free range brand and conventional brand. Better to buy from the people who genuinely give a shit.
Cadbury in the UK,
Bought a 79p Dairy Milk? You just paid more than @CadburyUK paid in corporation tax for a whole year. #taxavoidance
https://twitter.com/OLGCurtis/status/712372164347953152
From the stuff link
“First and foremost, farmers must begin to make a better living from cocoa by increasing their productivity,” Melo said.
Says it all really.
Soooo…. the FBI needs the Israelis to crack an iphone but NSA can do it anyways…does this mean the FBI and the NSA are not talking to each other ….and does it mean the Israelis control NSA?
‘FBI using Israeli firm to crack San Bernardino iPhone without Apple’
https://www.rt.com/usa/336948-fbi-israel-crack-iphone/
…but Snowden who worked for NSA argues they can do it already:
‘That’s horse sh*t!’: FBI can already unlock iPhone without Apple’s help – Snowden
https://www.rt.com/usa/335054-snowden-apple-fbi-fight/
…and from Kathryn Ryan and Robbie Allan RNZ
… “what’s all this fuss about unlocking the terrorist’s iPhone?”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201794523/new-technology-commentator-robbie-allan
Bloody Oz racism…how dare they ?!…time to boycott OZ banks!
‘Detainee accuses prison guards of assault’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/299840/detainee-accuses-prison-guards-of-assault
“Former New Zealand soldier Ko Haapu, who has arrived back in New Zealand, says he was assaulted by guards while in detention in Australia.”
BBC told to stop reporting/filming in UK parliament buildings a protest against disability cuts,
Poor old David Cameron, he’s so knackered he has to go to Spain to recuperate from the disastrous week he’s had.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/12202655/David-Cameron-flies-to-Spain-after-a-tough-week-telling-his-own-MPs-he-needs-more-time-to-think.html
Thanks ScottGN-
To paraphrase ,’ Poor old John Key, he’s so knackered he has to go to Hawaii? to recuperate from the disastrous week he’s had.’
Someone tell Key that the reason for the big poll number in the second flag vote was nothing to do with people being interested in change.
It was the majority telling him that they are sick of his corporate driven lifestyle.
No-one gives a monkeys what his cronies think. They don’t give a hoot what the sports personalities think. Colin Meads and the like have had their day. They have been rewarded with their honours and that should have been enough.
Congratulations to the Kiwi battler.
If Russian wheat crops have failed so badly and if they continue to do so maybe there is hope for dairy to convert back to wheat on the canterbury plains…
This.
In 1976, Republican Governor Jay Hammond started Alaska’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF), which has come to be called the Alaska Permanent Fund. The way it works is Alaska has a big pile of money that it uses to buy up the means of production (sometimes called stocks and bonds). Those investments yield returns and revenue for the state. Right now, Alaska plows that revenue into its universal basic income (UBI) program, which is called the Permanent Fund Dividend. The way it works is the state sends a check to every single Alaskan each year. Last year, it was $900, but in better years, it has been as high as $2000. For a family of four, that’s a $3,600 and $8,000 income boost respectively.
The Alaska communist story gets more interesting than that though. The way Alaska builds the principal of the fund is in line with another of Myerson’s proposals: take back the land. You see, the oil wealth in Alaska happened to reside underneath public land. Instead of doing the red-blooded American thing and just giving all of that natural wealth that nobody creates away to oil companies, Alaska held on to its ownership and collects royalties from the oil. Those royalties are plowed into its SWF. So what you have in Alaska is a state that is leveraging publicly-owned natural resources to build a SWF that pays out a UBI. Or as conservatives on twitter call it: a communist hellscape.
http://www.demos.org/blog/1/5/14/spectre-haunting-alaska%E2%80%94-spectre-communism