Archive for October, 2007

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  Local body results - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  As usual a mixed result in local body elections. Auckland City Council falling into the hands of Citizens and Ratepayers is bad news for anyone who cares about sustainability. Cits and Rats are responsible for the unsustainable urban sprawl that Auckland has now as they are the continuation of those who dismantled public transport post war and [...] read more
  October 14, 2007 5:14 pm - 20 Comments
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  Gore and the judge - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Al Gore has been in the news for two quite different reasons. He jointly received the Nobel peace prize, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a High Court judge in the UK said that while his movie was largely accurate there were nine inaccuracies. It is this second element that interests me. [...] read more
  October 13, 2007 10:05 am - 69 Comments
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  Should the RMA consider Climate Change? Is the Pope Catholic? - by frog

  
  
  
  No Right Turn has posted a couple of blogs in support of Jeanette’s Resource Management (Climate Protection) Amendment Bill: (Climate change: why we should use the RMA as well) yesterday and today…   “While the government supported the bill at its first reading, there’s no guarantee that they will support it any further. However, I [...] read more
  October 11, 2007 5:19 pm - 58 Comments
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  Flannery says GHGs hit 455ppm CO2e in mid 2005 - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Tim Flannery, scientist, author and Australian of the Year, told Lateline in Australia last nite that he has seen the figures in the latest IPCC report due out in Novermber and they show that we had hit 455 parts per million CO2 equivalent by mid 2005, nearly ten years ahead of expectations. This is a level [...] read more
  October 10, 2007 1:56 pm - 28 Comments
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  In Search of Ancient New Zealand - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Finally got a chance to read “In Search of Ancient New Zealand” by Hamish Campbell and Gerard Hutching. This is a really good book. They talk about the continent of Zealandia (half the size of Australia) of which NZ is only the visible part. They also put forward the possibility that we were completely submerged [...] read more
  October 10, 2007 11:34 am - 4 Comments
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  Sustainable West Coast - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  I went down to Blackball for the weekend and stayed at Formerly the Blackball Hilton. This is a great old pub from 1910. The pub has a whole bunch of history about the 1908 Blackball miners strike out of which emerged the Red Federation of Labour and a number of key Labour Party leaders, including Semple [...] read more
  October 10, 2007 11:20 am - 3 Comments
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  Heinberg in NZ – diachronic competition. - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Meanwhile, whil Transit contemplate the failure of their obsessive motorway building, Richard heinberg tries to wake up the powers that be to the finite nature of oil reserves. He had a piece on TV3 past night and is speaking in Auckland tonite – you can see his itinerary here. This is an interesting interview from [...] read more
  October 10, 2007 11:09 am - 23 Comments
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  Transit admits more roads won’t solve problem – and builds more roads - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Interesting piece in the Herald this morning. Transit admits that their motorway building programme is not easing congestion in Auckland. Congestion is actually getting worse. Well, you don’t say. And they even admit more roads aren’t the solution: This from Transit’s Auckland regional manager, Peter Spies: “We are aware that the long-term solution to Auckland’s [...] read more
  October 10, 2007 11:01 am - 18 Comments
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  Richard Heinberg arrives in New Zealand - by frog

  
  
  
  Don’t mention the jet fuel, but peak oil educator Richard Heinberg  www.richardheinberg.com arrived in New Zealand this morning to begin a short speaking tour.  After a very short sleep, he gave his first interview to Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon show this morning at 11.30am.  He spoke about transition towns – towns that had [...] read more
  October 9, 2007 1:06 pm - 1 Comment
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  burma, cont’d - by frog

  
  
  
  remember, protest actions around the world tomorrow. Keith and Sue Kedgley will be speaking at the Christchurch and Wellington rallies respectively. here’s another tack – an Olympian letter, via Radical Cross stitch Email ticketsupport@beijing2008.cn with the following letter: Dear Sirs/Madams, I am very interested in purchasing tickets to some of the events at next year’s [...] read more
  October 5, 2007 9:23 pm - 4 Comments
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  transport troubles - by frog

  
  
  
  The City of Amsterdam is tackling the multitude of problems our car-dependent culture has created with a raft of measures designed to reduce congestion, decrease climate change emissions, and restore the quality of life to those living there. Road user charges are being redesigned to incorporate how much pollution vehicles emit: the more polluting, the [...] read more
  October 5, 2007 9:04 am - 21 Comments
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  burma – day of action on Saturday - by frog

  
  
  
  This situation in Burma is worsening. Comprehensive coverage here, here and here. Amnesty International is organising protests in Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin this Saturday to protest against the Burmese regime’s crackdown on protest. Christchurch: 12:00 – 3:00pm, Saturday 6 October, Victoria Square (cnr Colombo and Armagh Sts). Wellington: 12:00 – 2:00pm, Saturday 6 October, Civic [...] read more
  October 4, 2007 5:32 pm - 11 Comments
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  public opinion on climate change action - by frog

  
  
  
  Good news from the States is that more and more people consider global warming an important threat needing urgent and drastic action. (According to this new Gallup survey). 40 percent of respondents indicated that a presidential candidates position on the issue will strongly influence how they vote. (Good luck to them, given a third of [...] read more
  October 4, 2007 12:42 pm - 8 Comments
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  NEWSFLASH – the war in iraq is over! - by frog

  
  
  
  According to John Key… Don’t race out to kiss returned servicemen in the street though, as I’m not sure the message has got through to Iraq. Mr Key has been saying that the reason they didn’t MENTION Iraq in their new Foreign Policy document is that they don’t need to, ‘cos, you know, the war [...] read more
  October 3, 2007 10:41 am - 36 Comments
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  bye-bye stand-by? - by frog

  
  
  
  Earlier last month, people started picking on tellies. Getting rid of the standby button on electrical goods and plasma screens was on the Tories list in their much touted Quality of Life report, although apparently the British Government were planning on doing that in 2006 (not sure what happened to their proposals….) Interesting that this [...] read more
  October 2, 2007 6:52 pm - 14 Comments
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  Support Burma - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  The tragedy in Burma is accelerating and there is a real opportunity to support the pro democracy movement there. The pro-democracy uprising began in 1988 and resulted in the killing of hundreds of protestors by the security forces. In 1990 there was the first free election for 30 years, which saw Ang San Suu Kyi [...] read more
  October 1, 2007 9:45 pm - 31 Comments
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  Nat’s hari-kari - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems the Nat’s are doing a comprehensive job all by themselves of tarnishing the shine from their superduper run in the polls. The latest Herald Digipoll showed a bounce for the Labour Party and a drop for the Nats, resulting in a narrowing in the polls. It’s beginning to seem like the Government’s work [...] read more
  October 1, 2007 4:05 pm - 52 Comments
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  Tidal power - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Neptune Power are confident of getting the $10m together to put in a test turbine into Cook Strait by January 2009, according to article in the Press and DomPost today. The test platform will be located off Sinclair Head at about 80m underwater. They will have cameras and sensors on it to monitor how it [...] read more
  October 1, 2007 11:12 am - 10 Comments