Archive for May, 2008

• 

  A meaty dilemma - by frog

  
  
  
  Paul Roberts, author of The End of Food, has a compelling article in Seed magazine, Carnivores like us, which begins looking at the impact of China’s new-found meat eating revolution: Thanks in part to the meatier diet, the number of people suffering physical stunting has fallen from three in 10 in 1980 to half as [...] read more
  May 27, 2008 11:05 am - 14 Comments
• 

  Stuck in 1968 - by frog

  
  
  
  Colin James previews the Green Party Annual Conference at Auckland University this weekend by comparing the Greens to Paris’ 1968 student revolution. In doing so James tries to date the Green Party as a movement that has been left behind as other parties moved on with the times. (For example he falsely attributes the Greens [...] read more
  May 27, 2008 9:32 am - 45 Comments
• 

  Oil imports - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  New stats on imports and exports today. Once again a big surge in the value of oil imports. $635 million of petroleum (and products) imported for the month of April, a rise of 13.2% over April 2007. For the year ended April 2008, the total value of petroleum (and products) imported was $6,504 million, a rise of [...] read more
  May 26, 2008 4:31 pm - 23 Comments
• 

  Robert Hirsch forecasts US$12-15 per gallon - by frog

  
  
  
  Robert Hirsch, on of America’s key researchers on the impact of peak oil, says we will soon be seeing US$12 per gallon gasoline prices. That’s over US$3 per litre, or NZ$3.80 at our currently healthy exchange rate. He says that the plateau in production that is responsible for our current surge in prices has been [...] read more
  May 26, 2008 11:30 am - 44 Comments
• 

  Bastion Point 30 years on - by frog

  
  
  
  Today we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the forcible eviction of protesters from Bastion Point. I for one will be watching the series of documentaries starting from 9 tonight on Maori TV. Like so many events from our past, they are coloured by our impressions from the time as well as the fading of our [...] read more
  May 25, 2008 7:44 pm - 6 Comments
• 

  How about them Black Caps? - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems there has been some pretty impressive play from the Kiwis on tour. England currently trails by 229 runs with six wickets remaining in the 1st innings. Ross Taylor was 154 for 179 balls not out. Nice. O’Brien has taken two wickets, with this sort of gushing from the CricInfo commentary: O’Brien to Strauss, [...] read more
  May 25, 2008 7:17 pm - 25 Comments
• 

  Climate inaction will cost America: U.S. $3.8 trillion a year, study says - by frog

  
  
  
  Pretty staggering numbers for sitting on your hands, as some of frogblog’s readers as well as the Nats and the Greenhouse Policy Coalition so often suggest that we do. From the NRDC release: A report released today by researchers at Tufts University, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), presents two ways of estimating [...] read more
  May 24, 2008 2:33 pm - 15 Comments
• 

  Ken Deffeyes on Brisbane Radio - by frog

  
  
  
  For those who don’t know of him, Ken Deffeyes is Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of many books and articles on Peak Oil. With the Aussies panicking as much as us Kiwis about the rocketing price of petrol, Brisbane’s Radio 4BC rang him up and asked him what was going on. The [...] read more
  May 24, 2008 12:16 pm - 48 Comments
• 

  John Key’s Investigate interview - by frog

  
  
  
  John Key gets environmental in the latest Investigate magazine interview [not on line]: First his views on Peak Oil: Yeah, I’m not sure I entirely buy the peak oil argument. I guess, if it’s real, and demand really is greater than the world’s ability to supply, then you’ll certainly see technology being invoked that will [...] read more
  May 23, 2008 2:42 pm - 115 Comments
• 

  Gareth Morgan on Food: Buyer Beware - by frog

  
  
  
  In this latest video from Sue Kedgley, Gareth Morgan speaks candidly about the risks associated with poorly labelled food imported from overseas. He talks about how production models in non-OECD countries differ from our own and that there are risks associated with assuming that our Food Safety Authority is equipped to deal with the differences. [...] read more
  May 23, 2008 10:48 am - 3 Comments
• 

  Politics in the pub with Russel - by frog

  
  
  
  I headed along last night to listen to Russel at his Politics in the Pub Budget Night Debrief at Bar Edward in Newtown.  It was an informal, and often witty analysis of a budget that failed to take into account any of its surrounding environmental and societal circumstances – any that is except for an [...] read more
  May 23, 2008 7:51 am - 32 Comments
• 

  OPEN LETTER to Paul Lennon, Premier of Tasmania - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Jeanette here. This evening I had this letter delivered to Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon at a parliamentary function. The Premier is here researching New Zealand climate change initiatives, and I felt there was one thing in particular he could learn from our experience in New Zealand: 22 May 2008 OPEN LETTER to Paul Lennon, Premier [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 8:34 pm - 23 Comments
• 

  Jeanette’s budget speech - by frog

  
  
  
  Jeanette followed on from a number of convoluted speeches full of numbers, figures and backslapping about tax cuts. We are living in a moment in history, in a generation where the people who have the power have a clear choice. Either they face inconvenient truths that are so obvious around us, or they leave it [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 5:13 pm - 28 Comments
• 

  Give me gossip - by frog

  
  
  
  When the office is swirling with high level political debate and budget negotiations it can all seem a bit hectic.  The world’s in a spin, the environment needs a helping hand and sometimes it’s nice to get advice from a celebrity on how to live your life.  Luckily we have Ecorazzi, the latest in green [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 12:39 pm - 8 Comments
• 

  Is ANZ playing politics? - by frog

  
  
  
  The Press carries a story about a not yet released report from ANZ National Bank that is highly critical of government spending in the public service.  The Bank’s Chief Economist Cameron Bagrie says ANZ had done the research as a follow-on from work on productivity and regulation last year: “because a lot of government spending [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 11:58 am - 21 Comments
• 

  Oil reaches US$133 - by frog

  
  
  
  Oil at $133 a barrel.  I have been tracking the price of oil for the last 6 or 7 months as it sneaked up towards and then over $100 a barrel, while the whole time saying I thought these high prices were slightly ahead of peak oil’s schedule.  I think the last time I posted [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 10:19 am - 31 Comments
• 

  Where are the green teams? - by frog

  
  
  
  The red team and the blue team, both funded by massive doses of corporate money, are battling it out in Moscow at the moment for the UEFA Champions League Cup (currently 1-1 after 88 minutes, with goals by Ronaldo and Lampard).  It’s hard to imagine many of the players these days are in the game [...] read more
  May 22, 2008 8:33 am - 9 Comments
• 

  Oil: from Perpetual Backwardation into Contango - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s finally happened. And only a few hours after my post about tomorrow’s Treasury BEFU announcement. For the first time in history, al oil futures are higher priced than the present price. Backwardation is when prices in the future are lower than in the present. Contango is the reverse, where future prices are higher than [...] read more
  May 21, 2008 7:01 pm - 7 Comments
• 

  Winston turns Green - by frog

  
  
  
  Nice work by Winston adopting this longstanding Green policy from 2002 to remove all income tax on the first $5000 of income, for everyone: Mr Peters said the party also wanted the first $5200 of income tax-free. That would help the low paid and part-time workers, but also pensioners, who pay tax on their superannuation. [...] read more
  May 21, 2008 2:23 pm - 10 Comments
• 

  Nandor is staying until the election - by frog

  
  
  
  I don’t normally cut and paste entire media releases. But this one probably doesn’t need my speculation or comment: Tanczos to stay till election Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos will remain in Parliament till the 2008 election. “I had hoped that I might step down soon and allow Co-Leader Russel Norman to take my place [...] read more
  May 21, 2008 12:13 pm - 25 Comments