What if climate collapse comes much sooner than we expected?
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6:07 am, April 8th, 2024 - 91 comments
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As a gardener, I’ve noticed one of the features of this summer’s El Nino pattern has been the greater than normal differences between daytime highs and nighttime lows. I came across a comment on social media a while back saying that a bigger than normal variation in temperature across 24 hours can damage plants. Googling just now to see the science on that, I didn’t find much because most of the hits were about how much plants depend on temperature change within certain ranges simply to function.
It seems prudent to consider that in addition to extreme weather events, climate change may be pushing local temperatures outside the norm of what makes food growing possible, even in temperate climates like New Zealand. We know that mono-cropped industrial grains and legumes are already at risk of failing significantly enough to cause widespread hunger and starvation as well as price spikes, civil unrest and war. Under the circumstances, it stands to reason, or the precautionary principle, to protect food growing with everything we’ve got. There is no future of magic domes and hydroponics if the global economy crashes fast or the countries with the biggest stick start invading stable growing climates for food resources. Or we become so overwhelmed with climate events that we can’t keep up economically, or simply repairing or recovering from the damage done.
The other feature of the past year has been the number of posts and articles I see where climate scientists are saying ‘ok, we didn’t really expect that…’
The Guardian reported on the weekend about what is happening in Antarctica,
In 18 March, 2022, scientists at the Concordia research station on the east Antarctic plateau documented a remarkable event. They recorded the largest jump in temperature ever measured at a meteorological centre on Earth. According to their instruments, the region that day experienced a rise of 38.5C above its seasonal average: a world record.
This startling leap – in the coldest place on the planet – left polar researchers struggling for words to describe it. “It is simply mind-boggling,” said Prof Michael Meredith, science leader at the British Antarctic Survey. “In sub-zero temperatures such a massive leap is tolerable but if we had a 40C rise in the UK now that would take temperatures for a spring day to over 50C – and that would be deadly for the population.”
This amazement was shared by glaciologist Prof Martin Siegert, of the University of Exeter. “No one in our community thought that anything like this could ever happen. It is extraordinary and a real concern,” he told the Observer. “We are now having to wrestle with something that is completely unprecedented.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/06/simply-mind-boggling-world-record-temperature-jump-in-antarctic-raises-fears-of-catastrophe
The article goes on to explain what that means now,
These events have raised fears that the Antarctic, once thought to be too cold to experience the early impacts of global warming, is now succumbing dramatically and rapidly to the swelling levels of greenhouse gases that humans continue to pump into the atmosphere.
These dangers were highlighted by a team of scientists, led by Will Hobbs of the University of Tasmania, in a paper that was published last week in the Journal of Climate. After examining recent changes in sea ice coverage in Antarctica, the group concluded there had been an “abrupt critical transition” in the continent’s climate that could have repercussions for both local Antarctic ecosystems and the global climate system.
“The extreme lows in Antarctic sea ice have led researchers to suggest that a regime shift is under way in the Southern Ocean, and we found multiple lines of evidence that support such a shift to a new sea ice state,” said Hobbs
What does this mean? Worst case scenario is if the whole of Antarctica melts we would have an average 60m sea level rise across the planet. In New Zealand that’s every coastal city and town needing to be relocated, plus airports, ports, and most of the main trunk line and much of State Highway 1 in the South Island.
Full pole melt isn’t going to happen in the human scale short or medium term. Data has historically been difficult to collect from Antarctica, but the current predictions from the IPCC seem woefully inadequate (.3 – 1.1m overall by the end of the century). Instead there is the suggestion of 5m as the Western ice sheets and glaciers melt completely. That’s based on what scientists know in 2024, not what is actually going to happen if shit keeps getting weirder year by year. But this is what people mean when they talk about runaway climate change. It’s the point where the unpredictable becomes common and causes more unpredictability and feeds back into itself. Precautionary principle applies again, we really don’t want to go there.
The melting of west Antarctica appears locked in even with rapid transition to low carbon. When I looked online I couldn’t find timelines for its collapse that took the evolving unpredictability into account and/or us doing what we are doing now which is failing to drop GHGs fast.
Five metres in New Zealand is significant for many places, including rail/roading/airport infrastructure. Invercargill, Dunedin, Napier, Wellington, Auckland airports are gone. Big chunks of Christchurch’s eastern suburbs and the northern coastal towns are underwater. South Dunedin. Whole suburbs in Wellington’s low lying land. So many areas of Auckland’s long sea edge.
You can have a play online to see how where you live will fare. Bear in mind not just your house, but transport routes, industry, supply lines.
It’s not just sea level rise, it’s storm surges, drought/flood cycles, cyclones and slips. Again, this is what is already locked in. What happens if we don’t lower GHGs fast is much worse.
Also in the Guardian piece is the problem of Antarctica warming causing mass algae death. Once the algae start dying, that’s not only the whole ocean food chain undercut (including our own sources of fish), but also the role algae plays in the carbon cycle. Short version: if enough algae die, global warming will increase faster. Algae are also critical in earth’s oxygen supply.
All of that is still able to be mitigated: we can limit the damage by dropping fossil fuel and other emissions fast, mass restoration of ecosystems including forests (not forestry), and shifting to regenerative not extractive/polluting economies. West Antarctica is locked in, but how fast that happens is still something we can affect.
The opportunity for mitigation doesn’t stay open indefinitely, there is a point when it becomes too late. Because of the way global physics works in time, what we do today impacts over coming decades. Waiting until the crisis is at the door is past the point we can do much about collapse. Climate collapse at that level is the end of civilisation as we know it.
Still thinking ‘she’ll be right’ in New Zealand? Go read up about wet bulb temperature.
All of which is to say two things. This is why adaptation without mitigation is an utter nonsense.
And, this is an actual emergency. Not in the future, but here and now. So why aren’t we acting as if it is?
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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. ...3 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...3 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...4 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
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. ...4 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
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. ...4 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...5 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
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. ...5 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
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. ...5 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
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. ...5 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...5 days ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
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 ...5 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...5 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
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. ...5 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
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. ...5 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
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. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
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. ...6 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
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. ...6 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
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. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
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. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
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. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
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. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
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. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...1 week ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
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. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
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. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
- Greyhound racing industry ban marks new era for animal welfare
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. ...2 weeks ago
- Rangatahi voices must be centred in Government’s Relationship and Sexuality Education refresh
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. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt introduces archaic anti-worker legislation
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters – Kinleith Mill Speech
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 ...2 weeks ago - Swarbrick calls on Auckland Mayor to end delay of revival of St James Theatre
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...2 weeks ago
- He Ara Anamata: Greens launch Emissions Reduction Plan
Today, the Green Party of Aotearoa proudly unveils its new Emissions Reduction Plan–He Ara Anamata–a blueprint reimagining our collective future. ...2 weeks ago
- Internationally-trained doctors jump at chance to boost health workforce
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 ...7 hours ago - PM appoints business leader to APEC Business Advisory Council
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 ...2 days ago
- New intelligence oversight appointments
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 ...2 days ago
- New housing developments able to progress more quickly
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 ...2 days ago
- Actions to speed up air travel delivering results
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 ...2 days ago
- Ending contracted emergency housing in Rotorua
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 ...2 days ago
- Vocational education and training decisions support return to regions
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 ...2 days ago
- Reducing the environmental impact of synthetic refrigerants
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 ...2 days ago
- Ngāruawāhia section of Waikato Expressway back to 4 lanes for Christmas
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 ...2 days ago
- Appointments to the ENZ board
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 ...3 days ago
- Government to celebrate Waitangi Day around NZ
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 ...3 days ago
- More gangs added to Gangs Act list
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 ...3 days ago
- Judicial appointment announced
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 ...3 days ago
- GDP data highlights importance of growth
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 ...3 days ago
- Strengthening Free Speech in Universities
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 ...3 days ago
- Launch of Emergency Cellular Priority Service
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 ...3 days ago
- Minister reopens Mangamuka Gorge
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 ...3 days ago
- Funding confirmed for second Ashburton Bridge
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 ...3 days ago
- Government boosts support for avian influenza response
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 ...3 days ago
- Levelling the playing field for media advertising
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 ...4 days ago
- Inspector-General of Defence appointed
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. ...4 days ago
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand final levy rates confirmed
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 ...4 days ago
- More AML relief on the way for Kiwi businesses
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 ...4 days ago
- Hawke’s Bay Expressway moving at pace
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 ...4 days ago
- Government seeks partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned-land
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 ...4 days ago
- Wide ranging legislation to make justice system more efficient
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 ...4 days ago
- Diverse skills in community trust appointments
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, ...4 days ago
- Torture redress for survivors of the Lake Alice Unit
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 ...4 days ago
- A busy year in the House
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 ...4 days ago
- Consultation opens on working with engineered stone
“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 ...4 days ago
- Greater reporting on Treaty settlement commitments
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 ...4 days ago
- New appointments to the Charities Registration Board
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 ...4 days ago
- Building consent processing times improve
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 ...4 days ago
- Faster access to support through Innovation Fund
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 ...4 days ago
- New Zealand to assist Vanuatu on earthquake response
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 ...4 days ago
- Government takes steps to reduce card fees for Kiwis
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 ...4 days ago
- Review recommends ECE regulation shakeup
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 ...4 days ago
- Offshore Renewable Energy Bill passes first reading
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 ...5 days ago
- Local Government (Water Services) Bill passes first reading
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 ...5 days ago
- Gene Technology Bill passes first reading
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 ...5 days ago
- Signs of the hīkoi: More than just ‘words on cardboard’
The placards seen at the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti conveyed "huge kōrero with immediacy", expert says: "People know the power of the word." ...3 hours ago - A final Ode to .. King Luxon
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 ...10 hours ago - A hater and an enthusiast review The Royal Free by Carl Shuker
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 ...12 hours ago - Survive to 25 (December, that 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 ...12 hours ago
- All I want for Christmas is modern day slavery legislation
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, ...12 hours ago
- Israeli-American historian describes attacks on Gaza as ‘war of annihilation’
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 ...15 hours ago - NZ govt plans to make ‘heavy handed’ change to free speech rules for universities
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” ...15 hours ago
- Caitlin Johnstone: Where does the aggression really begin?
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 ...18 hours ago
- OECD Report Highlights That More Is Needed
This report reflects that gap in our dealings overseas, and it shows that legislators, the public sector and businesses need to walk the talk. ...1 day ago - Government quietly scraps waste minimisation policies
The government has quietly cancelled plans to improve recycling and roll out a kerbside food scraps composting scheme. ...1 day ago
- MEAA welcomes News MAP funding ‘leg up’ for Australian journalism
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 ...1 day ago
- Transmission Gully partnership breakdown will not hurt future public-private partnerships, Infrastru...
The roads partnership unravelled under a confidential settlement this week, meaning NZTA will now finish off what it had said was incomplete work. ...1 day ago
- Funding cuts to charity particularly felt over Christmas period
The number of people seeking help from Lifeline is expected to increase by 10 to 20 percent over Christmas. ...1 day ago
- Nelson Hospital conditions ‘unbearable’ – staff
One worker says the building is decrepit and falling down around them. ...1 day ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Luxon at Xmas
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 ...1 day ago
- Stand by for cricket’s Smash Palace
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 ...1 day ago
- Early-onset dementia under the microscope
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 ...1 day ago
- Keeping the pirates at bay: Should the Australian ‘Blocking Order’ case prompt a discussion in N...
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 ...1 day ago
- ‘We were as famous as Tom Cruise’: Craig Parker on 90s Shortland St fandom
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 ...1 day ago
- ‘I prioritise the mission, not my health’: Adam McGrath’s perfect weekend playlist
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 ...1 day ago
- The rescue dog bringing joy to Christchurch retirement homes
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 ...1 day ago
- Fiji pro-Palestine nativity scene exposes Gaza as ‘hell on earth’ at Christmas
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 ...2 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: ‘Our shop was flattened like a deck of cards’
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 ...2 days ago
- How diplomats have broken the law in NZ – and what happened next
A handful of foreign diplomats have misbehaved during their time here - and not all of them have been brought to justice. ...2 days ago
- Swim schools report sinking enrolments as downturn deepens
Being able to swim is often considered a life skill, but tough economic times are forcing many families to pull their children out of lessons. ...2 days ago
- ‘There will be deaths because of this’ – Warning over Health NZ IT cuts
A West Coast IT worker is warning patients will die as Health New Zealand aims to slash its data and digital staff. ...2 days ago
- Polytech sales possible but unlikely when Te Pūkenga disestablished – minister
In a surprise move, the sale of polytechnics will be on the table when the national institute of technology Te Pūkenga is disestablished. ...2 days ago
- Parliament’s final sitting day an insight into party factions
On Parliament's last day of the year, there was a rare glimpse of the factions within the major parties. ...2 days ago
- Former Labour MP, North Shore mayor Ann Hartley dies
Former Labour MP and mayor of Auckland's North Shore City Ann Hartley has died. ...2 days ago
- The closest thing Australian cartooning had to a prophet: the sometimes celebrated, sometimes contro...
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 ...2 days ago
- Labour moves Speaker from the ‘nice’ to ‘naughty’ list
Last week's fights with the Speaker over the Fast Track schedule may have changed the tone in Parliament. ...2 days ago
- Govt ends pilot programme for Māori and Pacific, sparking outrage
The Government announced the end of the programme that allowed Māori and Pacific people to acess bowel cancer screening at 50-years-old. ...2 days ago
- Parliament fits an extra morning into final sitting day
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 ...2 days ago
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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 ...2 days ago
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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 ...2 days ago
- How does franchising work?
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 ...2 days ago
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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 ...2 days ago
- As China expands its cyber espionage and sabotage operations, how will the Trump administration resp...
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. ...2 days ago
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Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 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 ...2 days ago
- Government confirms plan to dismantle Te Pūkenga, re-establish polytechs
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...2 days ago
NZ horticulture derives about $4.5 billion of exports from only 55,000 hectares of land.
Viticulture is continuing strong expansion beyond Marlborough into Canterbury and Central Otago.
Apple production was hit hard in Hawkes Bay.
Kiwifruit is expanding fast esp East Coast.
Avocados are accelerating in Northland, as is hops in Nelson. Southland (Garston) has a large hops farm now. In Wanaka we're doing our first crop of Kumara. Far fewer frosts over the last decade.
What NZ hort needs to compete for land against dairy is small-medium dams and sustained good export prices. Looking forward to dairy in Central being eradicated by grapes.
Dairy's never made much sense in the drier parts of the country, and I'm also looking forward to a shift to grapes and olives in those districts. As for dairy in the Mackenzie Basin, it makes about as much sense as trying to grow bananas in Banff.
why grapes in Central predominantly rather than other crops?
Grapes = wine = economic growth.
Swopping one money-maker for another. Race to the bottom.
yes, but Ad is one of the few people on TS doing serious thinking about how we transition relatively fast without collapsing the economy into ruins.
without alternative narratives of the how, a wine fuelled race to the bottom it is.
the core problem is how to run an export economy in the short term that increasingly does less damage, and in the medium/long term actively regenerates (and maybe that's not an export economy).
if you can suggest ways to get straight to a regenerative economy I’m all ears.
Regenerative ag sounds fine, until you track how successful it actually is; organic/sustainable grape-growing also. The super-structure/banks/industries holding these industries up block genuine, large-scale movement away from highest-profit versions of their farms/vineyards. We have make the break, or we'll never escape. Advocating just-another-in-the-meantime means more of the same. Once you've set up the expensive posts and wires, irrigations systems etc. needed for vines, you'll be caught in the race. To the bottom. As well, the environment continues to suffer while we're on hold; degradations that come with monocultures and polluting land-use industries. How is hop-growing "transitioning really fast"?
I agree that Ad is thinking deeply about these things. I am not criticising him. I had Dolomedes III in mind 🙂
you seem to be under the mistaken impression I am advocating the wine industry, or supporting Ad's advocacy.
Sure. Now tell me the plan of how to do that. Because everyone knows what we should be doing. Very few are talking strategy and action.
Hemp and/or cannabis.
For example: approx 15 billion trees per year cut down worldwide to make paper. (The number itself is irrelevant, it's a lot). Not sure why we don't make paper from hemp as it's much quicker and easier to grow than trees.
Phytoremediation: It seems more and more studies are showing that cannabis is excellent at removing pollutants from soils.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8912475/
Building materials, Plastic substitute, textiles, Biofuels, cosmetics, biopesticides, health foods…. The list of uses and potential uses keeps getting longer and longer.
Then you've got the potential medicinal and mental health applications which are finally starting to be researched seriously.
Vineyards have a few benefits that no other crop has:
Cool, Ad. If I may address some of your many points:
Robert since you insist on bringing a brown banana to a knife fight.
The James Shaw Green Party knew about prosperity, and the left won't win again until people like you figure that out.
1. Tourists get here by car and plane. That's 11.4% of our total exports. OK cupcake?
2. People of Otara actually figure where they want to spend their holidays without racist stereotypes from you.
3. If you don't realise that telling a story to a foreigner takes effort, you'll struggle to figure out why Obama agreed to market the $450 jerseys of Untouched World
4. High contributing visitors contribute across the economy and across multiple levels.
5. I expect better from you. Next time bring a fact along.
Information; data, observations, predictions, arguments, examples etc. such as you've presented here is water off a duck's back to most people, as is information about global homelessness, poverty, war, famine, disease, slavery etc.
It's too much to consider, process and bear.
Loading information onto people in order to "bring them to their senses" and effect change in behaviour is ineffective, even when done by the most sincere of people or organisations determined to save us all.
Holding such information somewhere is of course, necessary; we can't hide from it and need to be exposed to it, but we won't be, in the main, galvanised into action as a result of hearing and seeing it. Humans are resistant to the influence of incoming mega-information, perhaps as part of our need to survive psychologically in our enhanced/big-brained state.
There is though, a way to by-pass the filters we seem to be fitted with; story. Story-telling and listening-to, watching and otherwise receiving, stories. I believe we are reliant now on story-tellers to get us through. Sadly, we've granted the position of story-telling to Big Story; the agency that makes most of the stories we hear and see through the portal of our screens.
Our small-story tellers; visual artists, dancers, musicians, prose-writers, poets, carvers, buskers, mimes (no, not mimes! 🙂 song-writers, et cetera, et cetera are our hope for the future. They can and I hope will, guide the Ship of Fools through the rough passage ahead.
In you eye, Big Everything!
Hospice Earth.
what if acting now makes the difference? Drop GHGs fast, transition to regenerative economics, mass restoration of ecosystems. Those are all possible in terms of tech and the material world.
What if warming is but one of a cluster of escalating ills?
Neonicotinoids and micro plastics seem to have started their own environmental collapses; better deal with those as well!
Yep, it's a polycrisis, and systems thinking is required to see how all those things interact, and how the solutions do too.
Systems thinking?
I say, animism.
animism is a form of systems thinking. The issue is how to get the very large number of people who are illiterate in 'nature is alive' to come to their sense?
Foster the telling of stories with an animist theme.
Children enjoy such stories. Let's start with them.
After all, children are our future, yes?
Many adults recognise the power of such stories also. Let's share those stories with everyone.
Sometimes a wild god.
https://tomhirons.com/poetry/sometimes-a-wild-god
Or a Matauranga Māori theme
Ae. Tika. Indigenous cultures from across the planet, including our own past selves, reported the existence of non-human "persons" as a matter of course.
Popular music and the arts are another way to influence culture and change our trajectory. I liked this article on the role of culture: (paraphrase)
Cultural and Spiritual Transformation – addressing the Climate Crisis in our daily lives within the Modern World | SEAI | Blog
Agreed, roblogic. Perhaps you've been a Dark Mountain reader also?
For me, it's about direct experience – it's tricky to advise others if you've not directly experienced at least some of the "ephemeral" things you are promoting. That's achieved through stillness in natural spaces and attention to detail, imo 🙂 Probably not the forum for an in-depth discussion, TS but there'll be some here who are all about this.
Haven't come across "Dark Mountain" before – is it this collective of authors?
This thread on X today was a relevant critique of western culture:
Yep, that's them:
https://dark-mountain.net
Agree with your quote.
I suggested on X recently that we need to act quickly, and the present CoC was absolutely the worst government in the face of the impending climate catastrophe!
While a few agreed with me, it was disheartening the read all the climate denying tweets, some quite abusive!
The little boy who cried wolf seemed to be a recurring belief.
I feel quite disillusioned about our ability to respond in any meaningful way to avoid what's heading our way, and much much sooner than expected.
"disillusioned"?
That might be a good thing. It's our illusions that got us into this mess 🙂
After disillusionment, what comes?
Clarity?
The great fear, Robert, is that after disillusionment comes despair!
Well, it does! Then after that..?
Unfortunately – hospice Earth!
I reckon, "realistic determination".
That is, there's a significant chance of failure, but I'm going to do everything I can to avert it.
Same as it ever was.
my solution to that on twitter is to be selective in who I respond to and who I talk with. I just told one climate denier there was no point in talking evidence as it would waste both our time. They accepted that and moved on.
I am careful how I curate my twitter generally.
The point is not that I should monitor who I attempt to communicate with on Twitter, but the level, as Obtrectator so rightly says below, of pretty profound ignorance (which precedes denial) on the whole topic of climate change.
Sure, more and more people are waking up, led largely by the younger generation, but enough? Is there enough time?
My fear is that we won't fully realise the shit we're in until it's up to our chins!
edit: largely answered by weka’s response below. Though it doesn’t answer the time question!
I think we should all be monitoring who we talk to on SM, because the SM giants are using sophisticated tech to manipulate us by what they expose us to in the feed.
And that directly relates to feelings of despair, which in turn directly affects politics and action/non-action.
I share your fear that we won't act in time, and I intentionally choose to move out of that and into states of hope and action, because I can't see how action can come from fear alone.
The time question for me is held in the idea that tipping points hold a lot of power for potential change. The pandemic taught us that change can happen very fast when there is a will. There are other examples, and XR in particular studied protest culture and successful change historically and deliberately developed their strategies and tactics from that. That's why they were able to change the whole public awareness and discourse in a short period if time.
Yes, of course we have all those possible actions, but how do you get a largely ignorant populace to see the need for them?
The current socio-political climate (pun unavoidable) makes it impossible to deploy them. Measures on that scale, with the consequent necessary degree of control over people's lives, only find general acceptance in extreme circumstances such as war, a virulent plague, or some colossal natural disaster – none of which (bar possibly the plague) appear likely to supervene until we're well beyond the tipping point.
Three things.
One is understanding why people aren't acting. That covers climate deniers and delayers, but there is a much larger group of people that know CC is real, and serious, but feel stuck on how to act. Humans are also suffering from depression and despair, and we need to support ourselves to not get stuck in that.
Two is the absolute necessity of telling the stories of what people can do and how things can work out. We are inundated with stories of how bad it is, and quite a few of it's too late. What we need now are the stories of hope that tell us yes it is bad, and this is what we can do instead. When you see people telling those stories, please amplify them.
Three is watching for the smaller sociopolitical tipping points and being ready to make sure we tip in a good direction. We have already had the pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle. There will be more events like that in the near term that we can work with. Preparing for them is a challenge that requires a lot of rethinking the leftist approach and how to work with people across difference.
Would it be timely to (again) note that the most effective change the individual can make..to try to lessen this shit storm..
..is to switch to a plant-based diet..?
..so if you really care…go there…eh..?
What about fungi, Phillip; the 3rd Kingdom, as akin to animals as to plants?
How could you (eat a mushroom)?
Is this another version of the screaming plant self-jusifying bullshit/excuse some flesh-eaters spin..?
I don't like mushrooms..so don't eat them..but not for any ethical reasons..
And how about you robert..?
How is it that you wear the green badge..and bang on about environmental issues..
Then you sit down to eat the flesh/fat of some long-suffering animal…that has had a hellish trip to your plate..?
How could you eat animals..robert..?
How do you justify/excuse that fail in 'green' behavior..?
Yeah, I'm familiar with your views on meat-eating Phil – I was extending the discussion into an area that's poorly defined, the fungal world, and wondered you'd applied your thinking to that in the same way you encourage others to consider meat-eating.
Saying you don't eat them because you don't like them side-steps the point of my question; are fungi animal or plant and how do you consider the eating of them, in light of your intense interesting what humans eat?
No..I haven't applied my thinking to that..
..but I would not consider mushrooms to be animals.. suffering from confinement..ending in pain/suffering/death…to be eaten by you..
Personally…I would probably be nearest the jainists…
But I do not apply the degree of self-regulation they practise..tho' I can see their point'..
Hope that clarifies that for you..
Now..how about you having a go at what I asked you..
A valid question…I would submit…
..given your well-trumpeted stances..
And if other people did consider it unethical to eat fungi because they believed them to be sentient? Advanced in their sentience, even?
Would you eat them then?
Why are you..an animal eater..dancing on the head of this pin..?
I'm calling bullshit..
How about just showing me the respect of answering my (entirely valid) question…
A question you should have asked yourself..a long time ago..eh..?
And that you haven't..is denial on steroids..
I'm asking you a genuine question, Phillip, just as you ask everyone here, repeatedly, about meat-eating. Why are you belittling my question to you? Given that I asked first, you might understand how I might feel about your dismissive answer and your angry response to my kindly insistence on a deeper response from you. I wonder if some people might feel the same way about your oft-asked questions about meat-eating?
ok, I'm going to put some limits on this sub-debate under my posts. Argue the points and the politics, but if you are going to tip over into personal attacks, I will moderate.
Not everyone sees the world in the way you do Phillip, if you want to lambast them personally for that, do it somewhere else.
Love mushrooms, but draw the line at chips – a pity, given some are made in NZ, and then there are imported (Australian) options.
https://www.mushroomhouse.co.nz/crispy-coated-oyster-mushroom-chips-70g
https://healthysnacks.nz/products/shiitake-mushroom-chips
https://www.super-store.co.nz/shitake-mushroom-crisps-225g.html
Couldn't eat insect-based food either – at least not knowingly – silly, I know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insects_as_food
I've mentioned this before, but 60 years ago Mum (bless her) cooked a meat-meal for the dinner table seven days a week, except for the afternoon Sunday roast when my local (widdowed) Grandma joined us.
Many Kiwis are lowering their meat consumption, with monetary and (human) health considerations significant drivers – I might eat a meat meal two days a week (I don't keep count). There's an absolutely fabulous array of NZ-made plant-based soup pouches in supermarkets. Tasty and nutritious (four out of five health stars), with a long refrigerator life, and ludicrously easy to 'prepare' – three minutes in the microwave – great for oldies. It's not haute cuisine, but it's hot cuisine, and you can add locally-harvested mushrooms (or whatever) for extra flavour, although it's not been good season for mushies in Palmy – too dry, and gosh isn't the river low.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/300865998/where-has-my-soft-plastic-collection-point-gone-and-what-i-can-do-about-it
On the plus side, the feijoas are well and truly here, and this year we're determined not to let a single one go to waste. Every fruit that doesn't get eaten fresh will be scooped out and frozen for smoothies through 2024 into 2025 until the next season arrives. And on the topics of smoothies, and veganism, dairy addiction is alas my Achilles' heel – I could give it up, but not voluntarily.
you can choose to buy ethical dairy (if you have the income to do that). More choices now than there used to be. Prioritise organic, local, small scale.
I see cows in flat, fenced (sometimes electrically) paddocks, eating grass (that's all their is) and wonder how bored they must be; mindlessly eating because there is nothing else to do; no logs to nudge, rivers to cross, wolves to run from, calves to nurture, bulls to be wary of, shrubs to munch upon, mushrooms to sniff.
We baulk at the sight of caged lions and tigers, pacing madly.
How about cows? Is it right for us to condemn them to prolonged boredom and empty-headedness?
I used to buy milk off Holy Cow in Dunedin, visited the farm a few times. Small herd, he knows the name of each of his cows, has a great love for them. The farm isn't just flat Southland paddocks. Lots of potential to do even better for many small dairy farmers.
I like the look of the Gow's place out past your way too, haven't been there though. I'd buy their meat.
It's about moving in the right direction.
Because people are saying they love their oat or soy milk, and I see large scale monocropping, the destruction of biodiversity and the murder of whole ecosystems, the small animals destroyed by harvesting machinery, the life harmed by the factories needed to make the plastic/paper/metal single use packaging that needs more industrial processes to be recycled, all the pollution and waste involved in that, and that can never be composted. And the carbon miles on all of that.
The oat milk company that ships their oats to Europe to be made into milk and then ships it back again. The sugars and other ingredients added to plant milks. On and on it goes.
I will keep buying my milk from Farm Fresh, who raise their cows in Southland and direct transport to retailers or customers, in glass bottles that they reuse. Not perfect, but 50 cows, trying to be organic, and heading in the right direction.
and yes I agree with you about the boredom. Large scale dairying is a crime in that regard. One of the great things about buying ethical meat and dairy is we directly support the farmers that are trying to change things for the better for the animals as well.
Of course, nothing is perfect, especially when we have already broken well away from the perfection-baseline, if ever there was one.
We can be sure also, that we will not ever please everyone, nor even balance-up our own ideas and beliefs – too many of those are embedded so deeply it's impossible to prise them out, or even detect them in many cases; we have to do the best we can and try not to make matters worse through our proselytising 🙂
I think though, that the angle to take on matters that affect others; people, animals, all living entities for that matter, is theirs, if they are the victims/recipients of our actions. It's easy enough for the oppressors/users etc. to justify their actions, so we should, imo, disregard those explanations, and ask the underdogs how they see the situation 🙂
well sure. I just don't hierarchise milking animals as being worse than ecosystem death. In terms of looking at it from the other being's pov, I cannot see how eating plants is inherently more respectful to life than eating from animals.
Either are both capable of creating great suffering and both can be done considerable better than we generally do. And either way, another life form will die so that you and I can live and be well.
Anyone saying 'plant based is better than animal milk' really isn't taking any of that into account.
" In terms of looking at it from the other being's pov, I cannot see how eating plants is inherently more respectful to life than eating from animals."
You believe that eating plants could be "creating great suffering" to the plants?
Really?
And that we can do plant-eating considerably better than we generally do?
Please expand on your thoughts 🙂
I gave a full explanation above in a reply to you on how eating plants can cause destruction and suffering.
ok
" I cannot see how eating plants is inherently more respectful to life than eating from animals."
Well, it just is 🙂
There are far fewer ethical issues with eating a lettuce than there are with eating a kereru, imo.
Could someone please explain to me just what it is that makes "ethical dairy/meat'…'ethical'..
..as opposed to the unethical stuff?..
..and what is it that makes the other stuff unethical..?
It's all about intent, Phil. Hunters of yester-year, dressed as their prey, danced as their prey, sang as their prey, then hunted their prey. They believed they had established a relationship with the deer/bear through song and ceremony, that engaged the animals in a symbiotic relationship that both sustained the consumer and up-lifted the eaten.
Can you show that this was not the case?
Yes..lots of cultures make up myths to justify their mistreatment of animals..
That one is particularly fanciful…
You are wrong about that, Phil. Or are you putting your personal opinion up against the traditions of so many indigenous peoples: tītī harvest, white baiting, kereru .. 🙂
I still have it in mind to do a post on that.
Chrs…!
And we have the highest concentration of greenhouse gases ever:
Guardian – Scientists confirm record highs for three most important heat-trapping gases
So we're going the wrong direction globally (and in NZ). We have to reduce emissions nearly 50% (compared to 2022) by 2030 to keep the 1.5 degree target.
And here another example why we should invest into infrastructure (not into roads) instead of providing stupid tax cuts:
RNZ – Energy sector upgrades unaffordable, unachievable, trade association says
Every little counts and there's so much (expensive) transformation we have to do.
I became aware of this movement for the first time on Friday. The local Green Party branch had a presentation on it.
Take the Jump NZ
It started in the UK and they have supported a group to establish it here. "The project is co-led by the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum with support from the UK Take the Jump team". So far there are regional groups in Nelson Tasman and Wairarapa.
I am just looking through the material but it seems to me like a useful tool to help people make personal changes, especially those who don't know where to start. People sign up to make seven life shifts for at least a month, one of which moving to a mostly plant-based diet, eating mindfully and composting waste. Another is to Change the System acknowledging that "Big improvements to global infrastructure and economic & financial systems are needed: this is the job of governments and big business."
I like the encouraging tone of it and the fact there is advice and support, including on all the usual social media channels.
Even if you can’t keep to it 100% it's still an incredible impact to ‘Take the Jump’ and just do your best. Start with what you can. If all seven feel like too much, start with what you can and build from there. The science is clear we need to start changing things now. So it’s not about being perfect from the start, it's about starting at all.
wow. Even just the front page of their website is exciting and inspiring! Very impressed.
I was impressed too, Weka. The website design is colourful, easy to navigate and engaging.
I am about to sign up to road test it. A friend wants to promote it in our area and I'll help her with that.
It's interesting that the NZ site is subtly different to the UK one. They have six shifts. NZ has added a seventh: Get Planting – Act to preserve and protect Aotearoa's unique biodiversity.
cool, would love to hear how you find their process.
I like it. Honestly was feeling absolutely garbage today about the state of the world, but that's something positive I can take out of the day.
If I get the opportunity I'll feed that back to the folk involved. I'm sure that sort of feedback will encourage them.
In terms of plants some prefer a big temp differential others a more temperate climate. The crops we grow, where and when we grow them will change. We will need to be nimble but people in horticulature are generally very well tuned to the enviroment the biggest risk will be in vested interests lobbying and getting barriers put up already happening with Bannanas.
There is quite alot of happening in the background mainly driven by enthusiasts. We're pretty close on commercially viable Bannana's (not cavendish) Pineapples and we could also do sugarcane in the north which is a bit of a cottage industry atm with local production used in making Rum and other sugar cane spirits and a few others. There are also pretty promising Papaya cultivars and getting close with mangos.
Theres not much help and even resistance to the trail blazers in this regard but if we are serious as a country about doing our bit we need to embrace and support these industries. Every local banana or pineapple we can grow and sell locally saves some pretty horrendous food miles same with the sugar.
yes! This is what I would have hoped from a green government, that government farming support would be refocused within transition consciousness. So many good things we could be doing for growers.
If you are committed to global trade, why would you support local?
I'm not committed to global trade. It appears you don't understand my position or arguments.
I took Cricklewood's comment to be about growing for the NZ market.
Yep, for domestic consumption although sugar cane perhaps has export potential at a boutique level.
The fact that these sub tropical crops are becoming viable here is a real world example of warming in NZ with the real difference being the increased minimum temps and shorter cold temp periods which means the soils are warmer on average. The other factor is the hobbyist / enthusiasts persisting with plants people scoffed out carefully growing from seed and selecting the best specimens over a number of years / generations to get hardier stock.
Yeah, Cricklewood – "The other factor is the hobbyist / enthusiasts persisting with plants people scoffed out (sic) :-)…"
I reckon this is the wild-card that will save us all 🙂 hobbyists/enthusiasts not heedin g conventional wisdom" and instead, doing what inspires them.
Plants are the future and we are being foolish restricting the thinking about them. We, meaning, they 🙂
I didn't mean you, weka, I meant you 🙂
Please try not to personalise the discussion 🙂
How about this: If one is committed to global trade, why would one support local? Sounds a bit tossy, doesn’t it 🙂
I dont think the two are entirely mutually exclusive, just not the current system with either low value high input products which go into industrially processed food etc or highly perishable goods on air freight which just isnt sustainable and overly proccessed crap coming back.
Trading high quality goods which we can produce well and travel by ship are a different kettle of fish.
Plants are our future,in particular the opportunities our temperate climate provides to grow clover and ryegrass to match a dairy cows requirements over a lactation with minimal need for supplement ,expensive housing and cut and carry. My bank recognises that a warming climate in Canterbury will result in more fodder for cows,augmented by irrigation from water storage and that the dairy industry is sustainable.They have dropped my margin on loans by 15 basic points in recognition of these facts. Alternative landuse and an increase in horticulture will happen over time and as in the North Island dairy farmers will be in the thick of it and eager to diversify. Guyton seems to be living in a cave back in the dark ages and I can't figure out why he expects me and my family to join him
You're such a dag, Ian, with your cliches! Good on you: "plants are our future", you proclaim, then you name them: clover and ryegrass! Classic comedy! 2 plants? Is that as far as your aspirations stretch? Clover and ryegrass! Who needs the zillions of other plants! Not the dairy guys, that's for sure 🙂
Mind you, you do add:
"Alternative landuse and an increase in horticulture will happen over time…" which is quite true, only you're thinking decades, where some of us here recognise the hands of the clock are beginning to spin at a pace cockies aren't prepared for.
Big ups to you, for engaging in the discussion, Ian!
Let's see what else you've got.
In this world our competitive advantage is our ability to grow Ryegrass and clover and produce protein for food cheaply and efficiently.With the adoption of modern plant breeding techniques and shortly when the playing field is levelled with the rest of the world I am sure our advantage will improve. Economics dictates landuse not government or fringe ,nutters pushing their wooden wheelbarrows.Next you will be telling me I should plant the farm in plaintain. The only profit coming from that will be the owners of the plant variety rights . The regen guys have all pulled their heads in after the accountant did the books.
Fingers crossed that that the NAF coalition hasn't trashed our trade agreements with their stated intentions to ignore environmental standards
We'll soon see whether the overseas markets have influence over farming practice here in NZ. I came to believe they would but am not certain now. Perhaps people living elsewhere will become so desperate and hungry that they'll disregard how the meat/milk was produced. As well, the farmer-pandering government we are saddled-with presently, will spin the truth of the matter over there, as they are doing here.
In this world?
In this country, our competitive advantage used to be a seemingly-endless supply of tall trees suitable for making ship's masts. Agriculture put pay to that. The climate will do the same to dairying. Our competitive advantage should be flexibility, diversity, long-sightedness and innovation, but we're stuck by greed and fear of change. If the markets don't force change on us, the climate will 🙂
It actually isn't what they have been saying in reality. It was a combination of (I'm paraphrasing)…
The reason why is obvious to anyone with half a brain and who understands the basis of science.
The physics of retained and reflected radiation in a atmosphere of various compositions, especially reflected infrared bands, comes mostly from physics. That is really well understood since the early 19th century. This blog has a good summary of the history on the effects of CO2 in the atmosphere in retaining heat in the upper atmosphere have been measurable since the 1950s.
By the 1970s when I started my degree in earth sciences, we'd moved on from physics to looking at evidence changes in the geological record. My italics
This is what lazy idiots like Damien Grant don't get. It probably doesn't help that he gets his science from someone whose science training is political rather than the real stuff – Bjørn Lomborg. Basically both of them are mindless dickheads who simply have never looked at the science of climate change to even an undergraduate level.
This is Damien Grant in a recent article
Lazy lazy fuckwit fool… For a starter the baseline was way closer to 275ppm than 300ppm. But it isn’t the actual amount, it is the change in effect. What DG should have been looking at was why a world wide drop from 282ppm to 275ppm correlated with annual freezes happening on the Thames after 1600 and until the late 1800s that were unknown in previous centuries.
Teeny changes like levels of insolation trigger glaciations or inter-glacials. That is because everything is teetering at a balance point and effects from one thing cause others to change as well – like sea ice or the production of CO2 from plants. Volcanoes erupting cause CO2 and other gas emissions. It also causes ash clouds. This is also in teeny amounts compared to both in the atmosphere. The exact mixture of this teeny injection over the duration over the can cause measurable effects worldwide within a year and over the course of a decade.
Having continents move into or out of a polar area causes ice ages that last for tens of millions of years. The effect is pretty minor, changes in reflection and a build up of ice, compared to other geological events – the consequences change the whole world for very long periods of time.
Anyway, since the 1980s science has kept trying to figure out what the actual effects have been in the past.
But the geological record has a resolution problem. The further back we look, the more that the detail is lost. We can see solid evidence at a seasonal level – but only for the last hundred years or so (tree rings or lake bed sediments). Annual temperature events back tens of thousands of years (isotopes in ice and deep ocean sea bed cores). Atmosphere in ice core bubbles for a few million with a resolution of about a century dated with argon isotopes.
But outside of the insolation effects, what we have problems with is cause and effect. Nothing that can be seen in the measurable geological evidence shows what happens when ambient level of CO2 is doubled within a century and tripled in 150 years. Or methane goes off the chart.
We simply don't have the resolution or the geological causative effects within recent history (ie over the last 3 million years or so) of a massive increase in the levels of these and other gases. We usually only see the effects of insolation changes – not massive releases of greenhouse gases. What we can see in the distant past with volcanic flood events like the Siberian Traps and Deccan Traps is major changes in climate and mass extinction events. But those took millions of years to happen – not a couple of hundred like we are doing now.
But so far what we are sure of is that each time the IPCC releases a report based on the evidence that has accumulated, the projected results are always worse than they were before. We're always on the worst case scenarios of the previous decade's reports.
I suspect that we're just starting up the curve of effects, and many of them will manifest while I'm still alive. Like really extreme weather, widespread ice melts, and farming and food production under great stress because every season is different.
I still reckon we will be lucky to stay below a 6C average global rise by the end of the century. 2% is a myth.
6C?
Boiled frog.
Most still see it as not keeping it under a 1.5 degree increase and coming to accept a 2 degree one – expecting measures being taken to achieve that.
The "myth" as you call it.
But at least the global warming deniers are quiet – even those funding that cause, such as Charles Koch, now admit they were wrong.
Yet we have to call it climate change, if the Atlantic current goes – we get a very cold north and a very hot south.
There would not be a uniform 2-6 degrees warming.
Yeah. Or even uniform in one place over the seasons. Plus it is the wind and the rain (or lack of it) that is the major issue.
I really don't think that people quite realise just how damn stable the world climate has been for the last 10-20k years. Everything has been gradual and taking centuries. Like the increasing size of the Sahara.
Our entire food production system evolved within the last 12k years. It is utterly dependent on quite static and predictable climate patterns. Our entire civilisation in built on top of agricultural systems that are very sensitive to any climate change , even mild and gradual ones. It is pretty easy to look in the archaeological record and see civilisations dying from minor climate shifts.
But we are working on our way towards having very rapid changes in climate.
Damian Grant? Luckily, the headlines of his Stuff "Opinion" pieces are so ridiculous, that you can smell the bullshit on the other end of the internet. Funny, that Stuff claims they don't allow "Climate Change deniers" but put the piece you've mentioned online.
In my opinion one of the reasons we hit Climate Change milestones quicker than predicted is humans, even experts, can struggle a little with exponential / growth functions. Another one is doing too little too late. To keep within 1.5 or even 2 degrees we probably have to reach net-zero now or at least in the next couple of years, long before 2050. Plus we have to hope we didn't hit too many tipping points yet.
The average of the last 12 months have already been over 1.5 degrees:
Guardian – Tenth consecutive monthly heat record alarms and confounds climate scientists
Sure, the temperatures will go down a little after El Nino… until the next event, when we hit new temperature records.
If we continue hitting temperature records like we do since 1980, there could be El Nino periods over 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels before 2050.
I suspect that we were too late even by the late 1980s to stay in that range by the end or even the middle of this century. When you look at what we now know about the interwoven feedback effects compared to then, the estimates from the 1990s look hopelessly optimistic now.
The problem is that I think is that we are still just looking at the effects we know about. For instance… It isn't the surface temperatures or GG levels we should be worried about.
Most of the heat and the greenhouse gases have been going into the deep ocean currents at the poles and in effect 90+% of greenhouse effects are getting stored in the ocean. Massive buffer, one that we have little idea of how it circulates under even slightly higher temperatures.
We barely understand where the conveyors are now. We only started mapping them worldwide seriously in the 1980s and 1990s. Certainly don't understand the velocities except as a guesstimate. In effect that means we don't really know when or if climate change pulses from the previous decades will resurface.
Probably find out the hard way.
Talk to anyone who understands the state of climate science, and they will effectively say that it is the hidden risk levels of what we don't know that are the major problem.
Ho hum….and on this side of the Tasman, everything's going OK…NOT! Well above average temperatures in the Tasman these last few summer months have been responsible for the fifth major coral bleaching event in recent years. This time it has deeply affected the shallower waters of the southern Barrier Reef, which because it is further south in normally cooler waters has largely escaped the damage to the central and northern reefs up to now. First Dog on the Moon's take on it is that greenwashing won't wash (pun unintended) and only urgent action on climate change will save the GBR and other world reefs, let alone many other key ecosystems vulnerable to atmospheric warming.