"Sacred futurism views all these stories as powerfully interactive. Our ability to embrace uncertainty with imagination, compassion, and hope affects our role in the unfolding universal story. Joanna Macy has called this the time of the “Great Turning,” and invokes the powerful metaphor of three rivers: “Now, in our time, these three rivers—anguish for our world, scientific breakthroughs, and ancestral teachings—flow together” to help us face the unknown.1 Transformation tends to converge what we consider disparate: birth and death, old and new, despair and hope. Tension between opposites creates the warp and woof of life’s mysteries. Nature requires us to tolerate this tension, and as we learn to flow with it, we discover the essence of transformation."
https://realitysandwich.com/sacred-futurism-radical-enchantment/
“Berry and Swimme describe the tendency for all systems in the universe to generate a cascade of ever-expanding complexity through symmetry-breaking differentiation. As this cascading process continues, higher orders of increasing complexity self-organize, and new systems with new capacities emerge. Although the universe’s complexity expands in a dazzling kaleidoscopic of patterns, everything remains related, interconnected, and in deep communion—the sacred fundament of cosmic evolution.”
“In the 1960s, Buckminster Fuller gave a powerful call to the world: “We are called to be the architects of the future, not its victims.” To this he added an equally powerful and provocative challenge: “[to] make the world work for 100 percent of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone.”
Just last night I was having a similar – parallel if you like – conversation with our lead process engineer, surrounded by a heavy industrial plant the very antithesis of a food forest. Yet the motivations were not a million miles apart. The crucial theme I would underscore from your comment is the idea that we all bring something of value to the table because of our differences.
This is the reason why I so vociferously resist the idea that the world is 'overpopulated'. By contrast I see each individual, each unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate. Let me try an analogy (as risky as they are around here).
A child growing up has a sense of belonging to a family, but until perhaps their late adolescence or early adulthood, lacks the ability to understand the emotional, social and economic bonds that brought and held their family together. If I extend the this to the idea that humanity collectively sits on the cusp of a similar transition into early adulthood – then perhaps we are also just beginning to be able to properly conceive of how all humans – indeed all life at some level – shares an unbreakable bond.
Once that idea becomes more visible to more of us – then I suggest that finding common purpose, common will and action will come more easily to us.
"This is the reason why I so vociferously resist the idea that the world is 'overpopulated'. By contrast I see each individual, each unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate. "
It's as if you accessed my mind and harvested one of my primary thoughts 🙂
If each individual is "unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate", it does not follow that the world is not overpopulated.
Take some time to look around this source. Contrary to what many people still imagine the peak rate of human population growth was way back in 1968, We've been slowing down ever since.
It's my view that much environmental pessimism is rooted in a Malthusian bigotry, the extremes of which were openly shared by the Unabomber, the ChCh and El Paso terrorists. They all took the time to explain in writing that they believed overpopulation, mass immigration from poorer countries would destroy the environment. Not nice company – no matter how much you would repudiate their acts, there isn’t much daylight between your motivations.
And so, as you listen to the purveyors of doom on the television and the radio, and read apocalyptic predictions of humanity’s future on Twitter and in the newspapers, bear in mind that with every hungry mouth comes a pair of hands and a brain capable of thought, planning, and innovation.
But none of this was my primary point – that not only does each individual bring an arithmetic increment to the capacity of the human species – but when we understand our common bond and essential unity, our ability to work toward a common purpose expands exponentially.
I’m waiting, but maybe I should stop holding my breath?
As usual, you were very quick to respond and criticize my Moderation note. I gave you the opportunity to step up to the mike and all we hear is crickets.
So, how about it? Are you going to contribute to the debate or continue with your needling and one-liners, and spit the dummy and walk away when you don’t get your way?
You know your lack of selfawareness is quite breathtaking, you of the snarky little comments and what have to be deliberate missings of the point (because who could really be that dense?). You didn't notice the sly little implication that anyone claiming overpopulation is a bigot and against immigration?
Hi dipshit, you’re barking up the wrong tree here and wasting (my) time. You want to contribute to debate and respond to the comment by RedLogix @ 1.1.1.1.1 then go ahead, state your case, make your argument, and debate. This is the reason why I lifted your 3-day ban. Instead, you come here barking at me like an angry chihuahua, which makes me regret my reversal. If you’re too stupid to understand that you now have an opportunity to redeem yourself here then maybe I should put you back in the rabbit hole so you can whine to the Easter Bunny again.
Of course if I suggested you were a wankstain of the first water you'd act all offended and pontificate on how unacceptable personal abuse is, wouldn't you. Did you have a go at the selfproclaimed logical one over his illogical suggestion that lesser mortals disagreeing with him must be morally reprehensible? The fuck you did.
Hi ‘gain, dipshit. Ignoring your fuckwittery, for the moment, are you going to add some discussion to the thread in response to RedLogix @ 1.1.1.1.1, which you seemed to be keen on? Or were you merely pretending again? Just give me a clear signal, so that we can move on from here, one way or another, thanks. Please don’t tell me I have to do the donkey work for you and enter the discussion with RedLogix about your pet peeve, whatever that is, just because you want me to. That would be an utterly ridiculously stupid thing to even think. If you have an argument to make to a commenter about their comment then fucking make it and engage in a conversation with that commenter and possibly others. Surely, even you can manage that? You’re heading for the self-martyr cliff and you know it; in your case, it may be a free-fall into the bottomless pit of oblivion. Now, let’s see how fucking stupid you can really be. BTW, you have typed more words in your last couple of utterly wasteful comments than in ages; you must be exhausted after all that mental effort and may want to give it a break before you break down and end up in tears. Just saying, as your friend.
Well, friend, my critique of the poster was pretty clear. The aspect I engaged with, which you seem to be wilfully ignoring, is his preemptive claim that disagreement with his view, ie environmental pessimism, would be due to a Malthusian bigotry, ie a moral shortcoming. Do you think that is a valid way to present an argument? I think it's an arrogant assumption of ones own moral superiority. As to the point he seems to have appropriated, that infinite population growth is infinitely good, it's nonsense for reasons of available space. Several other posters have pointed this out. Wtf d'you need that spelt out?
Oooohhh, is that what you meant when you wrote the following one-liner and for which I gave you a long weekend off?
Did you just set up a wee racist man made of straw there?
No, that was not clear, but I had forgotten to update my Mind-Reader app, sorry.
Subsequently, you wrote this, which ended up in the Trash folder because you were already having the long weekend off:
That’s a bullshit mod note and you know it. The guy equated belief in overpopulation with racism.
Therefore, I thought I’d give you a second chance, to explain and discuss, with Redlogix, which you almost blew and you’re still not completely out of the woods.
Indeed, several others have engaged with RedLogix in a constructive way although not all agreed with him. I may have missed anybody pointing out an issue with racism in his comment to which you were replying, but I take your word for it. Overall, a good discussion thread, mostly; the only ‘outlier’ appears to be you.
Now, if you could address your comments to the right person, i.e., to RedLogix instead of to me, that would be grand. It may have escaped you, but I’m actually not participating in this thread, as such, and I have no intention doing so, even though you apparently want me to do this so badly that it hurts.
I would like to draw a line under this, not waste one more word on it, and move on, especially tonight 🙂
Again spend more time with the source I linked to – all of the developed nations now have almost zero or negative population growth rates. (And this may well be nothing to celebrate in fact.) The only place on earth where growth is not project to slow down this century is Africa. Entirely because it’s the least developed of all the continents.
Secondly while humanity uses roughly half the ice-free land available, our move toward urbanisation means that we actually live on about 3% of it at far higher densities than your numbers suggest.
As agriculture becomes more efficient (we've more than halved the amount of land use per head since 1960) – we're seeing in the developed world land revert back to forest and wilderness.
And finally, as the Simon-Erlich wager so vividly demonstrated, if resources were getting more scarce their price would be increasing over time. With few exceptions – they're not.
None of this means there is no shortage of specific environmental issues that demand attention, but the idea that their solution lies in a genocidal reduction of human population – however you think it might be achieved – is bunk.
I have spent time on that resource (and others like it) and it dosnt change the exponential function (as much as you wish that it would)
Yes we are only capable of using a small portion of the worlds land mass and we are increasingly reducing that which is useful…and that only makes those numbers even worse than they appear at first glance.
Using a monetary measure for anything is a fools errand when 'money' is a human construct which is manipulated for political ends.
Finally, you once again fall back on the bogus argument that anyone who points out the logical fallacy in your position is demanding humanicide dosnt change the reality of the situation…..the world is grossly overpopulated (human)
The effects of this natural 'genocide' will be disproportionally felt by those least equipped to deal with it or enact the system change needed to mitigate it; those that are already the poorest globally. It's incumbent on those of us not in that cohort to actually do what is necessary to prevent this and not wash our hands of the responsibility to help fellow humans.
…when we understand our common bond and essential unity, our [the human species] ability to work toward a common purpose expands exponentially.
Can't wait for that expanding global human population (and so our expanding ability to work toward a common purpose) to implement fixes for anthropogenic global warming and ecosystem collapse.
It's theoretically possible that the corrosive effects of civilisation on spaceship Earth's life-support systems are due to insufficient human crew. Maybe another billion is just what the doctor ordered for that "common purpose" to 'gel' (between, say, China, India and the slighly less populous combined developed world) in time to produce sustainable solutions for our many well-established problems – time will tell.
“We, the undersigned, senior members of the world’s scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.”
Twenty five years after this original warning, a Second Notice was published in Nature magazine in 2017, signed by 15,372 scientists from 184 nations. This Second Notice looked back at the original warning and evaluated the human response by exploring the available time-series data. It pointed out that with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity had failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen global ecological challenges, and alarmingly, most of them were getting far worse.
I agree entirely that overpopulation is a Malthusian myth. Humanity has the capacity and ability to feed and house the current world population plus 20-40%. As to why we don’t manage to do it currently, despite that surplus of resources? That is a matter of ideologies.
Some would say that the current incarnation of international capitalism is demonstrating its inability to adequately distribute those resources, and is therefore woefully ill equipped to lead us through the global crises that we all face; climate change.
Overconsumption is perhaps the best way we could frame the ‘overpopulation’ arguments that are based around observations of the growing and unjust inequity across humanity?
"As the nations gear up for a World Population Conference to be held in Cairo next September, a Cornell professor has given them something to talk about. He says the number of human beings, currently 5.6 billion and rising, really should be somewhere around 2 billion."
So all the empty houses and food waste do not demonstrate the wasted resources brought about by profit motives?
That food and shelter going to waste isn’t a sign of overconsumption rather than overpopulation problem?
It is a dangerous territory to frame it as such precisely because it can be used to support ideologies that devalue human lives; to oppose that, humanity should be working so that everyone has health, home, food and education. Working towards that can begin with a voluntary reduction in consumption by those of us with the privilege to, wouldn’t you agree?
No one is denying there is overconsumption or waste (misallocation) of resources but that is not the issue…the issue is what level of human population is sustainable on this planet and what is the optimal level of consumption that enables that…those that study complex systems have determined it is considerably less than current and the limits are hard real limits of water, land fertility, biodiversity and pollution (waste)….everything else is subservient to that (in the long run).
Humans have had decades to make co-operative progress on these issues and have not only failed but made things worse.
And I do not disagree with any of what you're saying either, other than the framing as 'overpopulation'. Instead, it is lack of political will and the lack of ability for the vast majority of us to do anything to mitigate the excesses of capitalism; the machinery of the world is subservient to profit motive and status quo rather than real sustainability and the systemic change that is necessary to reach that. I think as peoples needs are met they can be trusted to reduce consumption in myriad of ways, one of which is whether they have children. This is observable already.
You can blame capitalism (or any other ism) but it dosnt change the fact that the world cannot support approaching 8 billion human beings for any length of time and therefore that number will reduce…we can engage with that process or not.
How does expressing the overconsumption of the finite carrying capacity of the earth as overpopulation engage with the process then? Overpopulation has the vaguely sinister solution in the elimination of people rather than the systemic, and not solely individual change that is needed to alter the path that we are on. While nature itself might provide the 'solution' for us, I would prefer to blame that on human systems failing those people who will inevitably hit hardest, instead of potentially blaming individuals for their own existence or seeing widespread death as nature 'healing itself'. Those are misanthropic and unhelpful views.
We are barely managing to feed the population we have; and while we could no doubt distribute food more fairly, and/or change our diet to allow for the production of more calories from our existing resources, the difficulties seem to indicate overpopulation.
There are vast food surpluses in the developed world, as well as unoccupied houses, it really is a matter of redistribution, but that aside, okay, we've done it, we diagnose earth with overpopulation; now what is the next step following that declaration?
What is the next step?….one would expect some sort of population planning (incorporating the necessary distribution) a la the Paris accord on climate….of course what is needed and what eventuates are likely two very different things, much like Paris.(indeed it could be incorporated)
So much for the increased capacity of numbers to problem solve.
'Population planning' may rub up against the UN Declaration of Human Rights and reproductive freedoms, but that aside, this planning entails what? Something akin the One Child policy? How is this enforced and by whom?
I dont think im likely to be called on to write a population strategy for the world but Im quite sure there would be plenty capable ….as to how its implemented and enforced…how are any global treaties enacted and enforced?
There comes to mind a vast number of actions and solutions to our overconsumption and distribution problems, and many have written widely about these, the global productivity and transport networks already exist.
The actions and solutions to overpopulation come to mind too, but throughout history these have been inflicted on the powerless, and IMO inaction to prevent 'nature' from 'solving it for us' is similarly inexcusable.
"From a biophysical perspective, human civilisation is a non-equilibrium thermodynamic or dissipative system that must maintain a minimum level of available exergy to avoid entropic decay and a yet higher level to permit physical growth [4]. From the ecological economics perspective, it can be viewed as an ‘economic superorganism’ that seeks to maximise energy consumption through self-organisation at a large scale [1], or the ‘megamachine’ driven to ever greater size and scope by the enhancing feedbacks of capital accumulation [5]. The Earth System is, however, finite in spatial extent, energetic capacity and overall complexity, and the ongoing expansion of human endeavours has and will continue to result in the Earth System’s limits being exceeded and the system being moved out of equilibrium. The Earth System (characterised as ‘Gaia’) is a self-regulating mechanism [6], and observable shifts in the behaviour of Earth Systems may be manifestations of balancing feedbacks resulting from the strong and growing perturbation from human activities. These may have the potential to fundamentally undermine the agriculture-based civilisation that has flourished in benign Holocene conditions."
I don't find much to agree with you Redlogix but absolutely with you 100% on this one. The best cure for any tendency towards overpopulation is to raise standards of living and increase access to free education. Its easy as that.
I was not expressing an opinion as to whether the world is or is not overpopulated, but merely pointing out a non sequitur. However, our capacity to feed the the current world population seems to depend on the use of synthetic fertilizers; and, according to a recent article in New Scientist, such use seems to be upsetting nature's nitrogen balance, and will eventually lead to disaster.
I wonder if it is that any announcer saying "Russia" instead of "Russian Olympic Committee" will be sacked?
The farce of letting the Russians, drug cheats, compete but by punishing them hideously by saying they must be called the "Russian Olympic Committee" should be unbelievable. It isn't though.
What chance some small country would have been accorded the same treatment if they'd done the same as the Russians?
The stuff article is a good one. Well done to Ian Anderson for the research.
Oh dear – how sad especially for farmers whose plight was the original motivation when a NZ Government looked after the country ahead of the plunderers.
The answer would have been NZ's own shipping company as was established under the Kirk Government to prevent such problems.
Yes – undone by Roger Douglas! No doubt his mates did well out of the deal!
All eyes on NSW's bugled lockdown and a premier who is economical with the truth, a federal treasurer suggesting they'll cause a recession and a PM who's not even bothered reprimanding his own consirapacy – anti vaxxing colleagues.
Covid doesn't care and appears to have grasped the opportunity. Epic leadership failure from the ‘blue light’ state.
They have as predicted, brought in the army and hefty fines. Time is ticking. Their neighbour, QLD has closed their border and is terrified of the renegades who sneak across this huge borderline between the states.
"The fortunes of the two classes; the securely housed and the others, are intimately connected. The solution is not to rant simplistically that more supply is the only answer, or to hanker after a capital gains tax. The horse has bolted. We need to use the resources in housing more intelligently.
From an economics perspective the current situation has resulted in a gross misallocation of resources and a sharply divided society in which we are gifting the rich and their children a
reason not to contribute through useful paid work. Upgrading the family home to a mansion is a highly tax advantaged way to accumulate wealth. Developers have an incentive to produce new builds for the investor class, who can avoid the recent demand-side impositions. All these activities divert scarce building resources away from providing basic housing for low- income New Zealanders."
Thanks, pat. I enjoy reading Susan St Johns contributions.
I don't know if I agree with her solution, but she does eloquently state the problem – and why it is such a problem. Many media articles limit the housing issue to "I/We/My kids can't afford to buy a house", when we are housing many children in motels or worse. "Carring" them instead of caring.
"Conversion practices have no place in modern New Zealand. They are based on the false belief that any person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is broken and in need of fixing.
"Health professionals, religious leaders and human rights advocates here and overseas have spoken out against these practices as harmful and having the potential to perpetuate prejudice, discrimination and abuse towards members of rainbow communities."
Though there doesn't seem to be much room for historical redress, at least those injured by being force-fed the poisoned chalice of self hatred will be better able to seek treatment. It is weird talking to Leitis about the exorcisms trusted community leaders convinced their families to subject them to as children. Plural Leitis!
Proviso: As long as appropriate counselling and support services for children presenting with body and gender dysphoria does not fall under this large umbrella.
I'm concerned this particular law change may have long-term consequences for children if clumsily applied. (Which on reflection, probably makes it a bad law change made with good intent.)
Having lived with a national-level rower I give huge respect to the 24-7 dedication that New Zealand rowers have done for 12 years to get to this point.
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Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...
Sacred futurism.
"Sacred futurism views all these stories as powerfully interactive. Our ability to embrace uncertainty with imagination, compassion, and hope affects our role in the unfolding universal story. Joanna Macy has called this the time of the “Great Turning,” and invokes the powerful metaphor of three rivers: “Now, in our time, these three rivers—anguish for our world, scientific breakthroughs, and ancestral teachings—flow together” to help us face the unknown.1 Transformation tends to converge what we consider disparate: birth and death, old and new, despair and hope. Tension between opposites creates the warp and woof of life’s mysteries. Nature requires us to tolerate this tension, and as we learn to flow with it, we discover the essence of transformation."
https://realitysandwich.com/sacred-futurism-radical-enchantment/
“Berry and Swimme describe the tendency for all systems in the universe to generate a cascade of ever-expanding complexity through symmetry-breaking differentiation. As this cascading process continues, higher orders of increasing complexity self-organize, and new systems with new capacities emerge. Although the universe’s complexity expands in a dazzling kaleidoscopic of patterns, everything remains related, interconnected, and in deep communion—the sacred fundament of cosmic evolution.”
“In the 1960s, Buckminster Fuller gave a powerful call to the world: “We are called to be the architects of the future, not its victims.” To this he added an equally powerful and provocative challenge: “[to] make the world work for 100 percent of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone.”
Just last night I was having a similar – parallel if you like – conversation with our lead process engineer, surrounded by a heavy industrial plant the very antithesis of a food forest. Yet the motivations were not a million miles apart. The crucial theme I would underscore from your comment is the idea that we all bring something of value to the table because of our differences.
This is the reason why I so vociferously resist the idea that the world is 'overpopulated'. By contrast I see each individual, each unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate. Let me try an analogy (as risky as they are around here).
A child growing up has a sense of belonging to a family, but until perhaps their late adolescence or early adulthood, lacks the ability to understand the emotional, social and economic bonds that brought and held their family together. If I extend the this to the idea that humanity collectively sits on the cusp of a similar transition into early adulthood – then perhaps we are also just beginning to be able to properly conceive of how all humans – indeed all life at some level – shares an unbreakable bond.
Once that idea becomes more visible to more of us – then I suggest that finding common purpose, common will and action will come more easily to us.
"This is the reason why I so vociferously resist the idea that the world is 'overpopulated'. By contrast I see each individual, each unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate. "
It's as if you accessed my mind and harvested one of my primary thoughts 🙂
If each individual is "unique with their own experience and identity – as also being connected at a level we have yet to properly appreciate", it does not follow that the world is not overpopulated.
I'll indulge your little derail this far:
But none of this was my primary point – that not only does each individual bring an arithmetic increment to the capacity of the human species – but when we understand our common bond and essential unity, our ability to work toward a common purpose expands exponentially.
Those are awesome websites. Thanks
Did you just set up a wee racist man made of straw there?
[Take a long weekend off for your ongoing needling here with your dimwitted one liners that add nothing to (the) debate – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 11:07 am.
Ok, you want to debate? Debate then. Make it work or have a break!
I’m waiting, but maybe I should stop holding my breath?
As usual, you were very quick to respond and criticize my Moderation note. I gave you the opportunity to step up to the mike and all we hear is crickets.
So, how about it? Are you going to contribute to the debate or continue with your needling and one-liners, and spit the dummy and walk away when you don’t get your way?
You know your lack of selfawareness is quite breathtaking, you of the snarky little comments and what have to be deliberate missings of the point (because who could really be that dense?). You didn't notice the sly little implication that anyone claiming overpopulation is a bigot and against immigration?
Hi dipshit, you’re barking up the wrong tree here and wasting (my) time. You want to contribute to debate and respond to the comment by RedLogix @ 1.1.1.1.1 then go ahead, state your case, make your argument, and debate. This is the reason why I lifted your 3-day ban. Instead, you come here barking at me like an angry chihuahua, which makes me regret my reversal. If you’re too stupid to understand that you now have an opportunity to redeem yourself here then maybe I should put you back in the rabbit hole so you can whine to the Easter Bunny again.
Of course if I suggested you were a wankstain of the first water you'd act all offended and pontificate on how unacceptable personal abuse is, wouldn't you. Did you have a go at the selfproclaimed logical one over his illogical suggestion that lesser mortals disagreeing with him must be morally reprehensible? The fuck you did.
Hi ‘gain, dipshit. Ignoring your fuckwittery, for the moment, are you going to add some discussion to the thread in response to RedLogix @ 1.1.1.1.1, which you seemed to be keen on? Or were you merely pretending again? Just give me a clear signal, so that we can move on from here, one way or another, thanks. Please don’t tell me I have to do the donkey work for you and enter the discussion with RedLogix about your pet peeve, whatever that is, just because you want me to. That would be an utterly ridiculously stupid thing to even think. If you have an argument to make to a commenter about their comment then fucking make it and engage in a conversation with that commenter and possibly others. Surely, even you can manage that? You’re heading for the self-martyr cliff and you know it; in your case, it may be a free-fall into the bottomless pit of oblivion. Now, let’s see how fucking stupid you can really be. BTW, you have typed more words in your last couple of utterly wasteful comments than in ages; you must be exhausted after all that mental effort and may want to give it a break before you break down and end up in tears. Just saying, as your friend.
Well, friend, my critique of the poster was pretty clear. The aspect I engaged with, which you seem to be wilfully ignoring, is his preemptive claim that disagreement with his view, ie environmental pessimism, would be due to a Malthusian bigotry, ie a moral shortcoming. Do you think that is a valid way to present an argument? I think it's an arrogant assumption of ones own moral superiority. As to the point he seems to have appropriated, that infinite population growth is infinitely good, it's nonsense for reasons of available space. Several other posters have pointed this out. Wtf d'you need that spelt out?
Oooohhh, is that what you meant when you wrote the following one-liner and for which I gave you a long weekend off?
No, that was not clear, but I had forgotten to update my Mind-Reader app, sorry.
Subsequently, you wrote this, which ended up in the Trash folder because you were already having the long weekend off:
Therefore, I thought I’d give you a second chance, to explain and discuss, with Redlogix, which you almost blew and you’re still not completely out of the woods.
Indeed, several others have engaged with RedLogix in a constructive way although not all agreed with him. I may have missed anybody pointing out an issue with racism in his comment to which you were replying, but I take your word for it. Overall, a good discussion thread, mostly; the only ‘outlier’ appears to be you.
Now, if you could address your comments to the right person, i.e., to RedLogix instead of to me, that would be grand. It may have escaped you, but I’m actually not participating in this thread, as such, and I have no intention doing so, even though you apparently want me to do this so badly that it hurts.
I would like to draw a line under this, not waste one more word on it, and move on, especially tonight 🙂
Which all ignores the exponential function….until such time as population growth turns negative any growth rate is problematic.
1968 growth rate 2.09%…additional annual population 73 million
2020 growth rate 1.05%…additional annual population 81 million
but even more apparent…
Population density 1968 24 people per km2
Population density 2020 52 people per km2
A mere 50 years
And co-operation goes out the window when theres a dearth of resources
Again spend more time with the source I linked to – all of the developed nations now have almost zero or negative population growth rates. (And this may well be nothing to celebrate in fact.) The only place on earth where growth is not project to slow down this century is Africa. Entirely because it’s the least developed of all the continents.
Secondly while humanity uses roughly half the ice-free land available, our move toward urbanisation means that we actually live on about 3% of it at far higher densities than your numbers suggest.
As agriculture becomes more efficient (we've more than halved the amount of land use per head since 1960) – we're seeing in the developed world land revert back to forest and wilderness.
And finally, as the Simon-Erlich wager so vividly demonstrated, if resources were getting more scarce their price would be increasing over time. With few exceptions – they're not.
None of this means there is no shortage of specific environmental issues that demand attention, but the idea that their solution lies in a genocidal reduction of human population – however you think it might be achieved – is bunk.
I have spent time on that resource (and others like it) and it dosnt change the exponential function (as much as you wish that it would)
Yes we are only capable of using a small portion of the worlds land mass and we are increasingly reducing that which is useful…and that only makes those numbers even worse than they appear at first glance.
Using a monetary measure for anything is a fools errand when 'money' is a human construct which is manipulated for political ends.
Finally, you once again fall back on the bogus argument that anyone who points out the logical fallacy in your position is demanding humanicide dosnt change the reality of the situation…..the world is grossly overpopulated (human)
We don't have to resort to genocide. Nature will accomplish that for us.
something some appear unwilling to understand
The effects of this natural 'genocide' will be disproportionally felt by those least equipped to deal with it or enact the system change needed to mitigate it; those that are already the poorest globally. It's incumbent on those of us not in that cohort to actually do what is necessary to prevent this and not wash our hands of the responsibility to help fellow humans.
Can't wait for that expanding global human population (and so our expanding ability to work toward a common purpose) to implement fixes for anthropogenic global warming and ecosystem collapse.
It's theoretically possible that the corrosive effects of civilisation on spaceship Earth's life-support systems are due to insufficient human crew. Maybe another billion is just what the doctor ordered for that "common purpose" to 'gel' (between, say, China, India and the slighly less populous combined developed world) in time to produce sustainable solutions for our many well-established problems – time will tell.
I agree entirely that overpopulation is a Malthusian myth. Humanity has the capacity and ability to feed and house the current world population plus 20-40%. As to why we don’t manage to do it currently, despite that surplus of resources? That is a matter of ideologies.
Some would say that the current incarnation of international capitalism is demonstrating its inability to adequately distribute those resources, and is therefore woefully ill equipped to lead us through the global crises that we all face; climate change.
Overconsumption is perhaps the best way we could frame the ‘overpopulation’ arguments that are based around observations of the growing and unjust inequity across humanity?
Those that study it dont agree with you
"As the nations gear up for a World Population Conference to be held in Cairo next September, a Cornell professor has given them something to talk about. He says the number of human beings, currently 5.6 billion and rising, really should be somewhere around 2 billion."
https://donellameadows.org/archives/the-most-undiscussable-topic-in-the-world/
So all the empty houses and food waste do not demonstrate the wasted resources brought about by profit motives?
That food and shelter going to waste isn’t a sign of overconsumption rather than overpopulation problem?
It is a dangerous territory to frame it as such precisely because it can be used to support ideologies that devalue human lives; to oppose that, humanity should be working so that everyone has health, home, food and education. Working towards that can begin with a voluntary reduction in consumption by those of us with the privilege to, wouldn’t you agree?
No one is denying there is overconsumption or waste (misallocation) of resources but that is not the issue…the issue is what level of human population is sustainable on this planet and what is the optimal level of consumption that enables that…those that study complex systems have determined it is considerably less than current and the limits are hard real limits of water, land fertility, biodiversity and pollution (waste)….everything else is subservient to that (in the long run).
Humans have had decades to make co-operative progress on these issues and have not only failed but made things worse.
And I do not disagree with any of what you're saying either, other than the framing as 'overpopulation'. Instead, it is lack of political will and the lack of ability for the vast majority of us to do anything to mitigate the excesses of capitalism; the machinery of the world is subservient to profit motive and status quo rather than real sustainability and the systemic change that is necessary to reach that. I think as peoples needs are met they can be trusted to reduce consumption in myriad of ways, one of which is whether they have children. This is observable already.
You can blame capitalism (or any other ism) but it dosnt change the fact that the world cannot support approaching 8 billion human beings for any length of time and therefore that number will reduce…we can engage with that process or not.
How does expressing the overconsumption of the finite carrying capacity of the earth as overpopulation engage with the process then? Overpopulation has the vaguely sinister solution in the elimination of people rather than the systemic, and not solely individual change that is needed to alter the path that we are on. While nature itself might provide the 'solution' for us, I would prefer to blame that on human systems failing those people who will inevitably hit hardest, instead of potentially blaming individuals for their own existence or seeing widespread death as nature 'healing itself'. Those are misanthropic and unhelpful views.
You may choose to take that intent of meaning from the term 'overpopulation' it dosnt mean it is there.
I would suggest it is difficult to address something if its existence is denied or it is misidentified…..as it has proven to be.
We are barely managing to feed the population we have; and while we could no doubt distribute food more fairly, and/or change our diet to allow for the production of more calories from our existing resources, the difficulties seem to indicate overpopulation.
There are vast food surpluses in the developed world, as well as unoccupied houses, it really is a matter of redistribution, but that aside, okay, we've done it, we diagnose earth with overpopulation; now what is the next step following that declaration?
What is the next step?….one would expect some sort of population planning (incorporating the necessary distribution) a la the Paris accord on climate….of course what is needed and what eventuates are likely two very different things, much like Paris.(indeed it could be incorporated)
So much for the increased capacity of numbers to problem solve.
'Population planning' may rub up against the UN Declaration of Human Rights and reproductive freedoms, but that aside, this planning entails what? Something akin the One Child policy? How is this enforced and by whom?
I dont think im likely to be called on to write a population strategy for the world but Im quite sure there would be plenty capable ….as to how its implemented and enforced…how are any global treaties enacted and enforced?
There comes to mind a vast number of actions and solutions to our overconsumption and distribution problems, and many have written widely about these, the global productivity and transport networks already exist.
The actions and solutions to overpopulation come to mind too, but throughout history these have been inflicted on the powerless, and IMO inaction to prevent 'nature' from 'solving it for us' is similarly inexcusable.
"From a biophysical perspective, human civilisation is a non-equilibrium thermodynamic or dissipative system that must maintain a minimum level of available exergy to avoid entropic decay and a yet higher level to permit physical growth [4]. From the ecological economics perspective, it can be viewed as an ‘economic superorganism’ that seeks to maximise energy consumption through self-organisation at a large scale [1], or the ‘megamachine’ driven to ever greater size and scope by the enhancing feedbacks of capital accumulation [5]. The Earth System is, however, finite in spatial extent, energetic capacity and overall complexity, and the ongoing expansion of human endeavours has and will continue to result in the Earth System’s limits being exceeded and the system being moved out of equilibrium. The Earth System (characterised as ‘Gaia’) is a self-regulating mechanism [6], and observable shifts in the behaviour of Earth Systems may be manifestations of balancing feedbacks resulting from the strong and growing perturbation from human activities. These may have the potential to fundamentally undermine the agriculture-based civilisation that has flourished in benign Holocene conditions."
https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/embedded_images/sustainability-13-08161.pdf
Lovely links cheers
I don't find much to agree with you Redlogix but absolutely with you 100% on this one. The best cure for any tendency towards overpopulation is to raise standards of living and increase access to free education. Its easy as that.
[I’ll indulge your little derail this far:]
I was not expressing an opinion as to whether the world is or is not overpopulated, but merely pointing out a non sequitur. However, our capacity to feed the the current world population seems to depend on the use of synthetic fertilizers; and, according to a recent article in New Scientist, such use seems to be upsetting nature's nitrogen balance, and will eventually lead to disaster.
Tell me they are a drug cheat without saying they are a drug cheat lol
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300365971/rowings-surprise-package-the-main-obstacle-to-emma-twiggs-olympic-redemption
I wonder if it is that any announcer saying "Russia" instead of "Russian Olympic Committee" will be sacked?
The farce of letting the Russians, drug cheats, compete but by punishing them hideously by saying they must be called the "Russian Olympic Committee" should be unbelievable. It isn't though.
What chance some small country would have been accorded the same treatment if they'd done the same as the Russians?
The stuff article is a good one. Well done to Ian Anderson for the research.
Huge shoutout to Portia Woodman and team for going deep into a 21 point hill, and still coming back with the win.
Outstanding mental toughness there team.
Incognito
My question is why does the curser go back to an already filled in space,with out pointing out the that most go to comment,tap away and hit sent
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Oh dear – how sad especially for farmers whose plight was the original motivation when a NZ Government looked after the country ahead of the plunderers.
The answer would have been NZ's own shipping company as was established under the Kirk Government to prevent such problems.
Yes – undone by Roger Douglas! No doubt his mates did well out of the deal!
What is this about? What has upset the farmers that causes this comment today?
Sorry, didn't check that the link had attached.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125900465/pressure-ramps-up-for-nz-to-charter-its-own-ships
All eyes on NSW's bugled lockdown and a premier who is economical with the truth, a federal treasurer suggesting they'll cause a recession and a PM who's not even bothered reprimanding his own consirapacy – anti vaxxing colleagues.
Covid doesn't care and appears to have grasped the opportunity. Epic leadership failure from the ‘blue light’ state.
They have as predicted, brought in the army and hefty fines. Time is ticking. Their neighbour, QLD has closed their border and is terrified of the renegades who sneak across this huge borderline between the states.
QLD should be worried, it's got George Christiansen (one of barnaby's lot) attending rallies and whipping up the Qanon'ers etc in Mackay last weekend.
There's a t-shirt about with Barnaby's 'I don't care about melbourne' comment on it dated and attributed to him.
These are members of federal parliament ! Pretty sad.
Military on the streets of Sydney sounds like a terrible idea. Surely this will only heighten the fear and mistrust. smh.
"The fortunes of the two classes; the securely housed and the others, are intimately connected. The solution is not to rant simplistically that more supply is the only answer, or to hanker after a capital gains tax. The horse has bolted. We need to use the resources in housing more intelligently.
From an economics perspective the current situation has resulted in a gross misallocation of resources and a sharply divided society in which we are gifting the rich and their children a
reason not to contribute through useful paid work. Upgrading the family home to a mansion is a highly tax advantaged way to accumulate wealth. Developers have an incentive to produce new builds for the investor class, who can avoid the recent demand-side impositions. All these activities divert scarce building resources away from providing basic housing for low- income New Zealanders."
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/111527/susan-st-john
An excellent piece by Susan St John that identifies the heart of the problem and offers a potential solution.
Thanks, pat. I enjoy reading Susan St Johns contributions.
I don't know if I agree with her solution, but she does eloquently state the problem – and why it is such a problem. Many media articles limit the housing issue to "I/We/My kids can't afford to buy a house", when we are housing many children in motels or worse. "Carring" them instead of caring.
Good call on criminalising gay conversion therapy! Common sense and well overdue.
+1 KSaysHi
+2
Though there doesn't seem to be much room for historical redress, at least those injured by being force-fed the poisoned chalice of self hatred will be better able to seek treatment. It is weird talking to Leitis about the exorcisms trusted community leaders convinced their families to subject them to as children. Plural Leitis!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/448077/conversion-therapy-widely-discredited-by-science-faafoi
Proviso: As long as appropriate counselling and support services for children presenting with body and gender dysphoria does not fall under this large umbrella.
I'm concerned this particular law change may have long-term consequences for children if clumsily applied. (Which on reflection, probably makes it a bad law change made with good intent.)
Having lived with a national-level rower I give huge respect to the 24-7 dedication that New Zealand rowers have done for 12 years to get to this point.
Huge well done both men and women's teams.