Archive for January, 2008

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  Save Happy Valley - by frog

  
  
  
  I’ve been sent emails all week by people asking ‘are you going to write about the walk the walk crew who are walking all the way from Auckland to Happy Valley on the West Coast of the South Island, near Westport?’ It’s been a busy week, what with Helen Clark and John Key both revealing [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 9:19 pm - 31 Comments
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  Romantic advice - by frog

  
  
  
  I’ve got a confession to make. There is someone really quite hot working around the parliamentary press gallery, and I want to, well, get to know them better, so to speak. After the Madeleine Setchell kerfuffle there has been a fair amount of discussion around Parliament about what is an appropriate relationship for people working [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 8:16 pm - 12 Comments
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  Russel’s reponse to the State of the Environment Report - by frog

  
  
  
  From his media release this afternoon: “Not only [has the Government] failed to solve the problems threatening New Zealand’s biodiversity which were the key problems identified in the 1997 report, we now have the addition of major problems of environmental degradation caused by land use intensification and increased roading transport, which are also driving water [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 5:04 pm - 3 Comments
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  Exporting climate change - by frog

  
  
  
  Statistics New Zealand’s release today of Overseas Merchandise Trade for the month of December 2007 reveals the incredible statistic that dairy exports (milk powder, butter and cheese) rose 76.9% from the previous December to exceed $1 billion for a single month, for the first time ever. Our third biggest export for the month of December [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 12:30 pm - 6 Comments
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  Growing populations and growing economies - by frog

  
  
  
  Population is always a troubling issue for green thinkers.  Just as any ecology can become plagued by unsustainable growth of one species, too many humans appearing too fast could threaten the sustainability of our planet. So it was thought provoking to read George Monbiot’s latest article on the environmental impact of population growth: If we [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 9:13 am - 62 Comments
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  Cornering dairy - by frog

  
  
  
  The news this morning is full of stories about the 3rd major political event for the week – a State of the Environment report to be released at lunchtime today is likely to be highly critical of the impact of our dairy industry on the environment.  Radio New Zealand currently has a Morning Report debate [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 8:46 am - 31 Comments
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  Food sovereignty - by frog

  
  
  
  The future of New Zealand’s grocery market continues to wind its way through the courts. Last year the High Court overruled the Commerce Commission’s decision to prevent either Foodstuffs or Woolworths from buying the Warehouse. The Commerce Commission is now appealing that decision and a result is expected from Justice Mallon shortly. The Commerce Commission [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 4:51 pm - 13 Comments
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  Russel’s response to Helen Clark - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s Russel again, this time responding to the Prime Minister’s speech this morning. And Frog’s got a few questions for the Prime Minister: If the problem is the poverty caused by the 1991 Mother of All Budget cuts, why is the solution keeping young people in schools (or other forms of education) and a $9 [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 2:53 pm - 17 Comments
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  Military style boot camps for young people - by frog

  
  
  
  Hmm, I guess John Key was a fan of what was allegedly going on in the Ureweras after all. [edit] Oh, and take the chance while it’s still on the website to listen to Radio NZ’s Morning Report interview with the Lieutenant Colonel Phil McKee of the Limited Service Volunteer scheme out of Burnham Military [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 8:02 am - 24 Comments
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  Russel’s response to John Key - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s interesting that John Key’s ‘Youth Guarantee’ scheme talks about providing free tertiary education for 16-17 year old students who leave school but nothing for those students who stay at school and then try to follow their dream through tertiary education. Instead it appears to put funding for our world class public secondary school teachers [...] read more
  January 29, 2008 4:17 pm - 12 Comments
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  The ‘right to beat your child’ petition - by frog

  
  
  
  Family First is fairly certain that it is going to reach the threshold 300,000 necessary signatures on its petitions to initiate a Citizen Initiated Referendum.  This would allow its referenda to join the exhalted heights of the three other referenda questions of our time where we got to vote on how many firefighters we should [...] read more
  January 29, 2008 2:01 pm - 46 Comments
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  Watermelons - by frog

  
  
  
  Trevor Loudon, Whale Oil, Silent Running should all take note: There’s a rumour going around the 8th floor of Bowen House that the Greens have established a new election campaign coordination committee called the CCCP (verbally shortened to ‘the Soviet’). It’s secret though and no one knows what it does. Gagarin is launched into space. [...] read more
  January 29, 2008 8:55 am - 14 Comments
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  Too much meat? - by frog

  
  
  
  There were some interesting articles over the weekend about meat farming. The New York Times warns that: Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations. These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant [...] read more
  January 28, 2008 11:48 am - 17 Comments
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  Hello to the Exclusive Brethren - by frog

  
  
  
  A big, cheery welcome to our new Exclusive Brethren readers! Now that you’ve got access to computers, and thus hopefully Frogblog, and you’re also able to vote, you might like to peruse some of the Green Party policies on topics of relevance, such as Children, Food, Water and Economics. I’ll look forward to your contributions [...] read more
  January 28, 2008 10:57 am - 27 Comments
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  The Herald joins the Nandor Fan Club - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems today’s Herald has decided Russel Norman has come of age when the editorial writer unleashed on him the type of vitriol normally reserved for Sue Bradford, or, ironically Nandor. The middle aged, middle class Herald attacks Russel, the youngest political party leader in New Zealand, for being middle aged.  It dismisses fighting global [...] read more
  January 28, 2008 10:06 am - 23 Comments
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  Pollsters give up and go to beach - by frog

  
  
  
  There were two new polls over the last couple of days saying opposing and contradictory things. No surprise there; who wants to say sensible things to a pollster in the middle of January – unless they are polling on the Black Caps middle order or the Big Day Out lineup.  The Greens do better in [...] read more
  January 26, 2008 9:47 pm - 21 Comments
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  Farmers’ markets - by frog

  
  
  
  Today and tomorrow many thousands of New Zealanders will be visiting their local farmers markets around the country, neatly skirting around New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly, and trading directly with the people who grow their food. Radio New Zealand’s Country Life currently has an interesting podcast documentary on the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, which is giving small [...] read more
  January 26, 2008 8:37 am - 17 Comments
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  climatekiwi.co.nz - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s a kiwi blog that’s not kiwiblog, that’s well worth a look. Climate Kiwi is a collection of news and snippets about climate change here and around the world. This week’s link to Climate denial car adverts is great as is this youtube clip on peak oil: Of course none of this is as funny [...] read more
  January 25, 2008 7:41 am - 23 Comments
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  Mexico City and Taranaki - by frog

  
  
  
  Mexico City has just committed to building 300 kms of cycleways as well as holding weekly street closings to vehicle traffic to allow its citizens to enjoy their city by bike, foot, or skateboard.  And, on the whole, this leadership is being well received.  Meanwhile in New Zealand Labour, the ‘sustainability’ government, has committed to [...] read more
  January 24, 2008 3:21 pm - 8 Comments
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  Healthy chickens could reduce campylobacter - by frog

  
  
  
  American disease scientists are warning that bouts of food poisoning can cause serious health risks months or even years after people think they have recovered from the initial illness. E coli for instance has been linked, years after a patient has recovered from it, to hospitalisation as a result of high blood pressure, colon or [...] read more
  January 24, 2008 1:58 pm - 12 Comments