Archive for July, 2009

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  Samoan community shows leadership on swine flu - by frog

  
  
  
  Samoan community leader and boxing promoter Teleiai Edwin Puni’s decision to postpone next Tuesday’s planned boxing show to minimise the spread of swine flu is a welcome and responsible move. The Fight for Unity tournament organised by Event Polynesia Boxing at the Otara Recreation Centre – an international sports event originally planned for July 14 [...] read more
  July 9, 2009 1:14 pm - 4 Comments
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  Nick Smith asks for a public education on climate change - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  On Monday night, Minister Nick Smith held the first of a series of public meetings on setting an emissions reduction target.  The series is being held throughout the main cities in NZ. The Government is to be commended for initiating this series since a democratic legitimacy for its policies is a necessary condition of it [...] read more
  July 9, 2009 6:34 am - 46 Comments
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  “Happy anniversary baby… - by frog

  
  
  
  On this day 23 years ago the Parliament of New Zealand passed the landmark Homosexual Law Reform Bill. Such reform was a founding a policy of the Values Party in 1972 (the Values Party became the Green Party in 1990). NZHistory tells: The Homosexual Law Reform Bill took 14 months to move through the parliamentary [...] read more
  July 9, 2009 6:01 am - 19 Comments
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  Super-City Hearings Day Two: The Elephant in the Room - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Phil Twyford and I both agreed that there could only be one title for our blogs today. The emerging elephant is the shadow of the yellow power jacket beneath the sweetness and light at the Select Committee. Today we heard another series of passionate and coherent submissions. The committee is receiving these as if there [...] read more
  July 8, 2009 9:27 am - 49 Comments
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  General Debate, July 8, 2009 - by frog

  
  
  
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  July 8, 2009 6:52 am - 61 Comments
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  Calling names isn’t nice, especially when you’re wrong. - by frog

  
  
  
  I previously blogged about last night’s climate change target meeting in Wellington, where amongst other failings, Nick Smith, accused the Green Party of only caring about the environment and having no regard for the impact on the economy. In the spirit of economic literacy, I wanted to remind our readers of these words from a [...] read more
  July 7, 2009 2:54 pm - 314 Comments
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  And you, sir, will do what? - by frog

  
  
  
  Last night I went to the climate change target ‘consultation’ meeting, held in Wellington by Climate Change Minister Nick Smith. Today, I’m still feeling more than a little outrage. It was heartening to find a room full to overflowing with 400+ citizens who were there to speak up for the need for a target that [...] read more
  July 7, 2009 1:55 pm - 21 Comments
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  Catherine Delahunty and ‘Dave’ talk tropical timber - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In Mid June Catherine Delahunty’s Sustainable Forestry Bill was picked from the ballot. Shortly after the Bill was drawn Catherine met up with someone just as keen as she is to make forestry sustainable. Dave, an Orangutan from the jungles of Sumatra whose forest home is under threat. Here’s a slightly silly video take on [...] read more
  July 7, 2009 10:47 am - 4 Comments
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  The Village People Speak: Day One at the Super Hearing - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  If the Government thought Auckland communities would take local government reforms quietly they soon learned differently. We started the first of 800 oral submissions yesterday with the focus being on groups and individuals from the central Auckland area. From 9am to 9pm the vast majority of a hugely diverse range of groups made a clear [...] read more
  July 7, 2009 9:26 am - 8 Comments
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  Should being “bigger” get Rio Tinto off the hook? - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  I see the Tiwai Pt Aluminium smelter (still known to most of us as “Comalco” but actually Rio Tinto now) wants to go back on its power contract with Meridian because God let them down.  A transformer failure left them unable to run at full production for two months which meant they didn’t “take” at [...] read more
  July 6, 2009 10:24 am - 17 Comments
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  Undam the dams, free the rivers - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  The US is accelerating the dismantling of dams in light of their environmental impacts. It’s ten years since the dismantling of the 917 foot wide Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Maine. Something the American Rivers NGO and the New York Times have been celebrating. It was the first time a dam was removed [...] read more
  July 6, 2009 10:17 am - 60 Comments
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  The politics of parking in San Francisco - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  This weeks San Francisco Bay Guardian headlines the battle over parking. It is part of the broader national discussion here in the US about the future of freeways, roads, buses, trains, walking and cycling – transportation in short. The politics of mobility. San Francisco is famous for its freeway revolts, including getting rid of a [...] read more
  July 6, 2009 9:02 am - 19 Comments
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  Why we need an emissions target - by frog

  
  
  
  Image created by Robert A. Rohde / Global Warming Art Despite the protestations of frogblog’s resident trolls, New Zealand contributes to this increase, every day. Kiwis have one of the highest per capita emissions profiles in the world. There can be no free-riders when it comes to climate change. No carbon bludgers. We are well [...] read more
  July 5, 2009 3:14 pm - 61 Comments
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  Having your say on New Zealand’s emissions target - by frog

  
  
  
  Everything you need to know can be found here: Making your voice heard on New Zealand’s emissions reduction target (This brief post will remain sticky at the top for a while) read more
  July 5, 2009 3:02 pm - 422 Comments
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  General Debate, July 4, 2009 - by frog

  
  
  
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  July 4, 2009 7:16 am - 56 Comments
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  Light rail in Denver - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  While the US has a very different greenhouse gas profile to NZ, there is one area of commonality which is transport. The US has made massive investments in roading and surprise surprise as a result has totally car dependent development and sprawl with associated high emissions. This is pretty clear in Denver and Colorado with [...] read more
  July 3, 2009 7:43 am - 50 Comments
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  Gas with a glow - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Here’s one that I was not aware of. According to today’s Denver Post the US govt in 1969 decided to demonstrate the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by letting off a bomb near Rulison Colorado to loosen up natural gas – part of the Plowshares Program. It was a 43 kiloton device set off at [...] read more
  July 3, 2009 7:06 am - 6 Comments
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  Another lever for Obama - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  I’ve previously blogged that one of Obama’s tools in the battle to get a climate change bill through the Senate is the US Supreme Court ruling of April 2007 that the Clean Air Act can be used to regulate CO2. This means that if the Senate won’t pass climate change legislation then Obama can use [...] read more
  July 3, 2009 6:55 am - 73 Comments
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  Compassionate Cannabis Use - by frog

  
  
  
  A question for the 86 MPs who voted against the Green Party’s medicinal marijuana bill last night:  will you deny your husband/wife/mother/father/daughter/son effective pain relief if they have the misfortune to suffer a terminal illness or undergo chemotherapy? A question for the 86 MPs who voted against the Green Party’s medicinal marijuana bill last night: [...] read more
  July 2, 2009 3:17 pm - 157 Comments
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  Feds’ selective with the science on water quality - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s one that left me speechless with incredulity… Fed Farmers Dairy chairman Lachlan McKenzie addressed the organisation’s AGM  yesterday and made some quite ridiculous and irresponsible comments on the progress that farmers have made in cleaning up waterways. This time last year, Fish and Game New Zealand was calling on the government to regulate production [...] read more
  July 2, 2009 1:35 pm - 9 Comments