carbon emissions Archive

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  Dear John letter from Dr James Hansen - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Before James Hansen, noted climate scientist, left New Zealand he found the time to pen this letter to the Prime Minister. I think it’s a great read and I encourage you to send your own letter to John Key urging for greater climate action from New Zealand.   Rt Hon John Key Prime Minister of [...] read more
  May 26, 2011 10:08 am - 2 Comments
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  Climate change, lignite, and Solid Energy: Searching for truth and reason - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  Matters are coming to a head, on the lignite saga in Southland. As climate change intensifies around the world and not least here in New Zealand, our national responsibility to respond proportionate to our size and liability increases commensurately. The UN has prescribed a national emission reduction target of 25% to 40% off 1990 levels [...] read more
  February 18, 2011 4:52 pm - 37 Comments
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  Forests and accounting are the big deal at Cancun - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  While there was never a great expectation for a legally binding global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions at the Cancun climate talks, there is hope that the talks will see progress in stopping deforestation, which was calamitously overlooked by the original Kyoto Protocol. The scheme to watch for is Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and [...] read more
  December 8, 2010 1:35 pm - 1 Comment
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  The Climate Change Select Committee - by frog

  
  
  
  Looking at the Climate Change Select Committee Terms of Reference agreed by the Act and National parties it seems like we are going to need to go through a significant re-litigation process that will be costly in terms of time and missed opportunities. Among other things Act proposes that the Select Committee will: • hear [...] read more
  November 17, 2008 12:30 pm - 10 Comments
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  Rocky - by frog

  
  
  
  Before we begin this topic let’s remember that carbon emissions are just one of the problems with burning fossil fuels at unsustainable rates. Nevertheless, this is kind of cool: Scientists say that a type of rock found at or near the surface in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could [...] read more
  November 13, 2008 4:38 pm - 13 Comments
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  Ride sharing - by frog

  
  
  
  With planning for Christmas holidays now probably front of mind here’s an interesting site that might appeal to some travellers. Fareshare tries to link up travellers with spare space in their cars with others who need transport, either for people or for goods. It’s a commercial site and relies on travellers negotiating a deal with [...] read more
  November 11, 2008 10:42 am - 4 Comments
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  Subsidising the oil burning industry - by frog

  
  
  
  George Monbiot has this story from the northern hemisphere about ‘the other bail out’: Last week, George Bush agreed to lend $25bn to US car manufacturers. It’s a soft loan, which will cost the government $7.5bn (1). Few people noticed; fewer fought it. The House of Representatives approved the measure by 370 votes to 58. [...] read more
  October 14, 2008 3:21 pm - 9 Comments
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  The climate change numbers - by frog

  
  
  
  The Environmental Defence Action Fund has a climate change time line of the last eight years which covers major climate studies and related events, alarming impacts that are taking place and eight years of political inaction (in America). It starts the International Panel on Climate Change’s third report which found in 2000 that burning of [...] read more
  October 10, 2008 10:43 am - 5 Comments
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  Just carbon emission trading - by frog

  
  
  
  There is an interesting article on Slate called ‘Adam Smith Meets Climate Change‘, which notes that now many countries are introducing carbon emission trading schemes, the next step is how to harmonise those schemes on an international market. In particular countries need to reach a consensus on how to globally acceptable level of carbon emissions [...] read more
  October 1, 2008 3:27 pm - No Comments
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  The carbon report – we’re certainly not running out - by frog

  
  
  
  Last Thursday, the Global Carbon Project released its annual report on the state of the carbon cycle, Carbon Budget 2007 [pdf]. And the news is that carbon dioxide emissions are up 3 percent for 2007 Dot Earth commented: More than half of global emissions, which totalled more than 34 billion tons of CO2 in 2007, [...] read more
  September 30, 2008 8:19 am - 2 Comments
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  Round and about - by frog

  
  
  
  Good Magazine has ten ways to tint your kids mint. They are all good green suggestions but my favourite is number 10: 10.USE THEM AS DONKEYS When you forget your eco-bags, get them to carry the shopping for you. Remember it’s not child labour, it’s education! Lester R Brown provides some positive examples of cities [...] read more
  July 17, 2008 10:20 pm - 3 Comments
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  G8s commit to a 2mtr sea level rise? - by frog

  
  
  
  A new global deal on climate change heralded by G8 leaders as a significant step forward yesterday ran into trouble within hours as developing nations including China and India rejected it because they believe the commitments are not strong enough. Non G8 member countries have good reason to be concerned: The environmental campaign group WWF [...] read more
  July 9, 2008 2:36 pm - 6 Comments
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  Goodbye lightbulbs - by frog

  
  
  
  With news of this story that we could be seeing the end of old style incandescent bulbs in New Zealand I thought it timely to also point to this article from TreeHugger – Six uses for old dead incandescent bulbs, which includes this little lightbulb greenhouse. Jeanette, in her role as energy efficiency and conservation [...] read more
  June 17, 2008 11:38 am - 64 Comments
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  Science solves global warming - by frog

  
  
  
  Every once in while someone comes up with a nifty new idea that’s going to save us from facing up to global warming and solving it the old fashioned ‘hard work’ way.  Last week we had Helen Clark’s Emissions Trading Scheme that exempts most major polluters.  Previously some of you may remember proposals for giant [...] read more
  May 15, 2008 9:26 am - 4 Comments
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  Sir Nicholas Stern - by frog

  
  
  
  You may remember Sir Nicholas Stern as the English chap who described global warming in terms of the amount of dollars it was going to cost rather than the amount of ecological destruction it was going to cause. He said climate change could cost the world 20 percent of GDP, but that it would only [...] read more
  April 21, 2008 8:16 am - 5 Comments
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  Up, up and away - by frog

  
  
  
  I see the government says New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 were 77.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). And they are ‘less than’ 1% more than our 2005 emissions, which were 3% more than our 2004 emissions. We are gently sliding further away from our Kyoto target of 61.9 Mt CO2-e. [...] read more
  April 18, 2008 3:43 pm - 17 Comments
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  Tahorakuri Forest: from carbon sink to industrial dairy - by frog

  
  
  
  This stunning photo that Greenpeace released today shows Tahorakuri Forest near Taupo being rapidly converted into industrial dairy farms.  The organisation doing this damage is  the government-owned company Landcorp: Greenpeace points out that up to 455,000 hectares of forestry land is at risk of being deforested and converted into industrial farms – the majority for [...] read more
  April 8, 2008 5:30 pm - 9 Comments
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  Tesco now counting carbon not food miles - by frog

  
  
  
  Eat.Drink.Better. asks whether food miles is a misleading concept and concludes that labels that calculate a food’s entire carbon footprint rather than just the distance it travelled is a better way to go: Many suppliers from third world nations like Kenya and Uganda protested the measure as a demonization of imports. Agricultural leaders in these [...] read more
  April 8, 2008 3:11 pm - 1 Comment
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  Helpful advice for Chinese farmers - by frog

  
  
  
  An NZPA story that I can’t yet find online has the Minister for Climate Change, David Parker, talking about the benefits that the preferential trade agreement with China might have for climate change: However, Mr Parker said the FTA was a realistic platform for New Zealand to have an influence on China’s pollution. “It is, [...] read more
  April 8, 2008 2:19 pm - 3 Comments
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  It’s a matter of doing, not of believing - by frog

  
  
  
  Labour’s attacks on John Key and various National MPs for not believing in climate change are interesting, but ultimately a bit of a sideshow. It doesn’t matter whether Cullen and his team believe in climate change or not if their actions are not doing anything to address the problem. Believing is a relatively easy step [...] read more
  April 2, 2008 2:48 pm - 79 Comments