Archive for August, 2007

  • frog

    Mmmm..I love coal - by frog



    No, there has been a bit of frog fever going around the pond, but I haven’t got that bad. It’s just this ol’ free love forum coal promotion video, somehow it’s just so…comforting. Try it out. Maybe I’ve got coal all wrong. read more
    August 31, 2007 4:51 pm - 15 Comments
  • frog

    Radical supermarkets? - by frog



    Well, that’s probably going a tad too far, but check this out from UK supermarket chain Waitrose – a chain of 184 stores around Britain owned by its employees. Waitrose has an “Organic Commitment” which says: “At Waitrose our commitment goes much further than simply buying from producers and selling on to our customers. It [...] read more
    August 30, 2007 4:39 pm - 8 Comments
  • frog

    One down, two to go…. - by frog



    Good news (albeit a temporary reprieve at this stage) for whales out of Iceland. Iceland announced last year it would allow up to 30 minke whales and 9 fin whales to be hunted, controversially ending a ban in place since 1986. But their Fisheries Minister has refused to renew the quota until the demand for [...] read more
    August 28, 2007 2:00 pm - 5 Comments
  • frog

    Gateway to…. - by frog



    Appalling employment practices, apparently. The lockout at the Gateway Hotel in Mangere is entering it’s fourth week. The new owner isn’t doing himself any favours by acting like a cowboy – since taking over last November he has sacked a waitress for being pregnant, is under investigation by the Labour Department for paying some staff [...] read more
    August 27, 2007 10:26 pm - 123 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Aus Capital Territory review says don’t chase em - by Russel Norman



    A bit off my usual kind of post, but in light of the decision of the Police Complaints Authority decision to review the police pursuit policy, this caught my eye. A internal report by the Australian Federal Police has found that the risk to public safety does not justify chasing stolen cars or traffic offences. [...] read more
    August 24, 2007 5:40 pm - 23 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    A sign of the times - by Russel Norman



    Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas reported a 19% surge in revenue in the second quarter to one billion euros. It shipped 629 turbines in the quarter with a combined output of about 1000MW. It has a backlog of orders for about 4500 MW. Imagine if we had invested in a wind industry 20 years ago. [...] read more
    August 24, 2007 11:13 am - 20 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Can we be constructive now? - by Russel Norman



    One of the overlooked elements of John Key’s overcooked speech to the National Press Club yesterday is his proposal on electoral finance reform, rather than his rhetoric as to the problems with the current bill before select committee. His approach on non-party interventions in elections is interesting, if underdeveloped. Key said: For example, we would [...] read more
    August 23, 2007 10:47 pm - 65 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Tamihere to run for Mayor of Waitakere - by Russel Norman



    John Tamihere has launched his campaign to run for Mayor of Waitakere. Unfortunately Tamihere launched his campaign on Campbell Live tonight by criticising the Eco-City concept as a restriction on development. He also joined in the usual mindless attack on the Resource Management Act and restrictions on development. I wonder where he stands on allowing [...] read more
    August 23, 2007 7:22 pm - 4 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Bush told to produce climate change report - by Russel Norman



    It seems that Bush is on the retreat on all fronts on climate change with a federal court judge ordering the Bush Administration to produce a report on climate change that he has failed to produce so far. He was supposed to produce an assessment of the scientific evidence and a plan for research. The only [...] read more
    August 23, 2007 7:15 pm - 10 Comments
  • frog

    Organics Conference - by frog



    Guest post by Nandor Tanczos. I attended the inaugural conference of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand this weekend. OANZ is the peak body for the organics sector, and its board comprises reps from all the major sector groups including Soil and Health, Te Waka Kai Ora, Biogro etc as well as organic producer groups such as [...] read more
    August 23, 2007 11:51 am - 18 Comments
  • frog

    Shout-out to the hard core greenies - by frog



    Respect from the pond for our green cousins in the UK. A troop of 1500 environmental campaigners have been risking arrest and protesting outside Heathrow for the last week in opposition to the airport’s expansion plan, which would lead to an extra 250,000 flights a year and who-knows-how-much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They even had [...] read more
    August 22, 2007 7:15 pm - 53 Comments
  • frog

    the beauty of youtube, vis a vis Kevin Rudd and his infamous expedition - by frog



    (DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to draw any dramatic conclusion, nor make any sort of comment on the propriety or otherwise of Kevin Rudd playing up in New York.) Frog was just googling, and spotted quite a few Aussie bloggers pointing out the irony of Glenn Milne outing anyone for “inappropriate behaviour”. The trail leads [...] read more
    August 21, 2007 5:56 pm - 12 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Finsec offers to organise meeting with ANZ - by Russel Norman



    Finsec, the bank workers union, has offered to organise a meeting between ANZ and Greenpeace, Green Party and the Australian Conservation Foundation in order to make progress on the tropical rainforest logging issue. We are very happy to meet with them, but they do need to actually make commitments to improve their standards on environmental [...] read more
    August 20, 2007 4:25 pm - No Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Forest campaign launched - by Russel Norman



    After much preparation we launched the first part of a campaign around the logging of tropical rainforests this morning with street theatre outside the ANZ branch in Lampton Quay Wellington. We have targeted ANZ because they are the banker to Rimbunan Hijau, the giant Malaysian logging company that is logging tropical rainforests across South East [...] read more
    August 20, 2007 12:04 pm - 14 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Govt ads in election year - by Russel Norman



    One of the issues that needs to be dealt with in the Electoral Finance Bill is what to do about government spending on advertising in election year. Governing parties can use taxpayer funds to run massive tv etc advertising campaigns that promote the policies of the governing party, effectively circumventing the caps on spending by political [...] read more
    August 16, 2007 4:44 pm - 68 Comments
  • frog

    ticket to ride - by frog



    In honour of our national carrier making such ethically sound and politically disastrous business decisions, check out this powerful trailer…. read more
    August 15, 2007 6:31 pm - 65 Comments
  • frog

    NZ regulatory body welcomed - by frog



    Either some opponents were being disingenuous, or we didn’t do a good enough job of getting our position on the TTGA and dietary supplements across (or a bit of both). Politicians, bloggers and commentators alike crowed about the huge hypocrisy of Sue K wanting testing and regulations on frivolous things, like, say, food safety or [...] read more
    August 14, 2007 5:49 pm - 5 Comments
  • Metiria Turei

    He hikoi a Hone - by Metiria Turei



    MP’s should not throw stones at Hone Harawira for doing his job. In making haste to outrage they had better hope that they can avoid the sort of scrutiny that Hone Harawira has had for his decision to visit the aboriginal communities in the Northern Territories. For while Hone was doing what he was sent [...] read more
    August 13, 2007 6:03 pm - 58 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Vary tax depending on enviro impact? - by Russel Norman



    Interesting that in EU they are considering varying VAT based on the environmental impact of a product. Brown and Sarkozy put the proposal forward. When I suggested that we should tweak the tax system in order to advance social or environmental goals (in that case ringfence losses from investment properties to take some of the [...] read more
    August 13, 2007 5:16 pm - 15 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    MSC turns down lobster fishery - by Russel Norman



    It may seem like a bad news story – the Marine Stewardship Council has turned down a lobster fishery’s application to be certified as sustainable. But in some ways it’s good news because the MSC has been rather too lax on certifying fisheries as sustainable so it’s good to know that a fishery can actually [...] read more
    August 13, 2007 2:36 pm - 1 Comment
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