oil Archive

  • Gareth Hughes

    The best way to oil independence is to provide alternatives and use less - by Gareth Hughes



    The Ministry of Economic Development’s Briefing to the incoming Energy Minister predicts New Zealand could become a net exporter of petroleum by 2030 if new oil fields are developed. It’s a laudable goal to reduce our expensive dependence on foreign oil but it would be a lot smarter to invest in alternatives like better public transport, renewable electricity and sustainable alternative fuels. read more
    February 3, 2012 10:14 am - 30 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    Rena Oil Spill Day 12 - by Catherine Delahunty



    Midday at Papamoa Beach Surf Club and the free sausage sizzle is competing with the donated cakes stall. A motley group of citizens is broken up into ten people clusters and decked out in the white overalls and blue rubber gloves. With spades and rakes we are packed off down the beach to start cleaning [...] read more
    October 17, 2011 11:17 am - 8 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    Government slow to act on Rena highlights oil drilling risks - by Gareth Hughes



    As oil hits the shore I’d like to salute the hundreds of people working very hard to contain the spill and volunteers registering to clean up the beaches. It’s a deeply worrying situation especially with a severe weather warning issued. The Government and petroleum industry have gone on the defensive over the speed of the [...] read more
    October 10, 2011 4:27 pm - 22 Comments
  • David Clendon

    A precautionary tale - by David Clendon



    Following is an extract from Hansard, recording an exchange I had with energy Minister Hekia Parata back in April.  The question was asked at a time when iwi, hapu, environmental groups and others were trying to persuade the government that issuing permits for deep water drilling is a bad idea. David Clendon: What is the [...] read more
    October 10, 2011 9:52 am - 9 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Frack No! Sign the Petition - by David Clendon



    A lot of New Zealanders  have not yet heard about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but many of those who do know something about it are worried, and rightly so! The technique is used to extract ‘unconventional’ oil and gas – that’s industry speak for sources of hydrocarbons that until recently were deemed too expensive or difficult to [...] read more
    September 29, 2011 11:01 am - 16 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Boom times for oil and gas? - by David Clendon



    This morning’s  Dominion article about ‘boom times’ for the gas and oil exploration industry is an intriguing, even slightly funny, mix of boosterism, drum beating and dissimulation. The Chair of PEPANZ appears almost breathless with excitement as he seeks to fulfil the primary objective of his organisation, “to publicise, promote and advance the interests of [...] read more
    September 7, 2011 9:59 am - 6 Comments
  • Kennedy Graham

    How many jobs will oil and gas bring NZ? - by Kennedy Graham



    On Tuesday the Government released the final version of its backwards-looking energy strategy. Of passing note is the removal of any overt reference to lignite coal.  Of course bioenergy could be code for it, or ‘alternative transport fuels’ (the Energy Outlook 2010 specifically cites lignite diesel as an alternative transport fuel with potential.) But basically [...] read more
    September 1, 2011 12:30 pm - 24 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    World Oceans Day - by Gareth Hughes



    I recently learned to scuba dive at the Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s wild South coast which has given me a whole new appreciation of our marine environment. In contrast to outside the marine reserve, life is flourishing with an abundance of fish, crabs and crayfish. We are so lucky to have places like Taputeranga [...] read more
    June 8, 2011 8:57 pm - 10 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Conservation week – under the sea - by Kevin Hague



    I live on an island close to the sea. The opening lyrics of Jess Chambers memorable song Island which featured in our 2008 election campaign will ring true with many. Our coastline features heavily in our recreational opportunities. Many of us yearn for a sunny day at the beach under a deep blue sky or [...] read more
    September 15, 2010 5:14 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    Another day, another oil platform explosion - by frog



    Another oil platform off the Louisiana coast has experienced an explosion and fire. Fortunately, no lives were lost and earlier reports of a mile long slick have been recanted. read more
    September 3, 2010 11:27 am - 9 Comments
  • frog

    Oil spill deja vu - by frog



    Rachel Maddow has done a superlative job of pointing out the eerie deja vu that is this year’s Gulf of Mexico and Alaskan oil spills. read more
    July 15, 2010 2:25 pm - 11 Comments
  • frog

    How often does oil get spilled? - by frog



    Everyone is watching the gulf of Mexico with horror after the Deepwater Horizon spill, a spill that started in April and just keeps on giving. Meanwhile, we keep hearing platitudes about how rare this sort of thing is and how safe oil drilling really is. But is it? read more
    July 12, 2010 11:18 am - 13 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Has Brownlee broken the law? - by David Clendon



    Who owns the oil in our Exclusive Economic Zone? What is at stake is quite significant. Crown Minerals testified to the Waitangi Tribunal in April that the Minister had failed to investigate Te Aupouri’s claim and also confirmed that this might be a violation of international law and the Treaty of Waitangi. read more
    July 8, 2010 2:31 pm - 35 Comments
  • frog

    How bad could the BP spill get? - by frog



    I have asked myself this question repeatedly over the last month or so, as things in the Gulf of Mexico seem to be going from bad to worse. read more
    June 15, 2010 3:31 pm - 28 Comments
  • frog

    Finally, an answer - by frog



    Geniuses at Oil Sciences have come up with a novel idea about how to stop the millions of barrels of oil from billowing into to Gulf of Mexico. And, you guessed it, they’ve put it up for sale to the highest bidder on Trade Me. read more
    June 14, 2010 10:37 pm - 11 Comments
  • frog

    Visualising the BP oil disaster - by frog



    Use this handy tool to compare the size of the BP oil spill by placing an overlay on top of where you live: Needless to say, if a spill that spanned from the East Cape to Taranaki happened here, we would not cope well. Maritime New Zealand has just $12 million worth of oil spill [...] read more
    June 8, 2010 1:02 pm - 47 Comments
  • frog

    A message from Sarah Palin to you and me - by frog



    Sarah Palin never fails to warm the cockles of my heart. From her ever endearing wink to her seemingly clueless nature she always, always brings a smile to my face. read more
    June 3, 2010 10:13 am - 9 Comments
  • frog

    Petrobras comes to NZ - by frog



    It seemed strange to have Minister Brownlee fawning all over Russel Norman during question time in the House yesterday, eager to stress how much he cares about oil drilling safety. read more
    June 2, 2010 1:51 pm - 44 Comments
  • frog

    Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – link collection - by frog



    A major environmental and economic catastrophe has been unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico for about a week. No one knows how much oil is being leaked or for how long it will leak. It’s Sunday evening so I’m just going to brain-dump the links I’ve been reading this evening and come back to it [...] read more
    May 2, 2010 10:03 pm - 39 Comments
  • frog

    Thoughts on the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2009 - by frog



    The latest from the IEA is hot of the press. I’m curious to see what they have to say this time around, because their stance on oil supplies has shifted quite a lot recently. They used to believe oil supplies would last for a long long time, but are now saying 2020 will be the [...] read more
    November 11, 2009 4:21 pm - 10 Comments
Older entries »