Were any of my readers there? How was it?

This photo was taken from quite a distance so the perspective makes it look like there are fewer people, but basically the entire of the area outside the beehive is covered in people. Click the picture for a larger version.

I’ve encountered these babies myself while diving, and they are most unpleasant. Nati0nal Geographic has written them up in all their glory:

Up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, the mucilages appear naturally, usually near Mediterranean coasts in summer. The season’s warm weather makes seawater more stable, which facilitates the bonding of the organic matter that makes up the blobs (Mediterranean map).

Now, due to warmer temperatures, the mucilages are forming in winter too—and lasting for months.

Watch the movie, and quiver!

The Guardian has a great article on the video, who’s behind it and why it is so ripe for a spoof. I’m tempted to do one myself!

In a slick attempt to undermine the US Environmental Protection Agency’s recent ruling that CO2 should now be classified as a pollutant because rising levels of the gas in the atmosphere will “endanger public health or welfare”, a former oil industry executive has stumped up some of his cash to pay for these adverts to be shown in Montana and New Mexico. The ultimate aim of the advert, though, is to derail the forthcoming vote in the Senate on the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, which now appears as if it might even impact on vital UN climate talks in Copenhagen this December.

In not so plain English? It’s a simple case of political brinksmanship.

Dear Big oil,

If you kill our climate change bill, we’ll act on the EPA’s declaration of CO2 as a pollutant and achieve the same aims of the ETS through regulation.

Love,

Barack

Dear Barack,

We’ve got more money than you.

Love,

Big oil

I look forward to the outcome of this particular battle. Rumour has it that the Senate version of the climate bill is even tougher than the one that went through the House. We’ll find out over night.

It is vitally important that we turn out in numbers and let the Government know that the future is not negotiable!

Contrary to rumours spreading fast, I have it right from the folks at MfE that you do not have to register in order to have your say. They would like you to register so they have a sense of the numbers, but it is not mandatory.

I’ll be coming back here soon with more information on what you can talk about, some facts and figures, and some other advice. The important thing is that you turn up and be heard, whatever your opinion. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

In early April, the UK charity Women’s Aid, which battles domestic violence, released this public service announcement, directed by Atonement director Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley. Without showing graphic violence you couldn’t see on any crime procedural any night of the week, Wright creates a genuinely disturbing two-minute film that unsettles precisely because it’s shot so straightforwardly.

But now, Clearcast, the body that’s responsible for approving ads for British television, has reportedly decided that the PSA is not suitable for television unless they cut the end. You know, the part with the domestic violence in it.

I find it tragic that we are willing to wallow in violence for entertainment, but are afraid to look at something that resembles the real thing. Good on ya Women’s Aid, for bringing some reality to our diet of reality TV.

Hat tip to The Standard, who found the video before I did! So much for our clean, green image. So much for picking the low hanging fruit towards sustainability. They bullied us into thinking that we were world leaders on climate change. Actually, Labour were laggards. But National is much, much worse. They are a disgrace. Enjoy the film!

There is no such thing as clean coal, Gerry.

Should the government bail our Fisher & Paykel? Bootcamps for young offenders? These and many other questions are answered online at TVNZ OnDemand’s Back Benches. Have fun!

Metiria gave Labour a serve here. Stephen Fry gives the law a serve here. Meanwhile, laugh at this while you can, and contact your MP about repealing all the repugnant clauses inserted into the Copyright Act last year, starting with section 92A.

Umbra mentions CSA´s as a great resource, and indeed they are. I tried to find a nice convenient portal of kiwi CSA´s and farmers markets, but failed to find one. However, a great site for such local information is the TransistionTowns.org.nz website, which does have numerous links and conversations regarding local produce, among all the other fantastic things they are up to. Why not start there and then hook up with your local organisation?

Unlike the poor guy in the video, New Zealand enjoys a pretty broad round of growing seasons and plenty of local produce throughout the year. Why would you live anywhere else?

In reality, the speech from the throne is written by the incoming government, and spells out their agenda. As you might guess, economic growth was discussed 19 times in National’s speech. What is really scary is what they mean by economic growth. They mean anything, and I mean anything at all that money is spent on. If we have a pandemic and spend millions in fighting it, they call it growth. If we have a crime wave and spend millions on police and new prisons, it’s called growth. If we give away our natural resources without any economic rent, say oil, gas and coal, we get very little as a nation but call it economic growth.

But I digress. Here is the first half of the Address In Reply speech, made by Jeanette:

If you’ve got photos, send them to frogblog [at] greens dot org dot nz. If you’ve got video to share, post it on your favourite site like youtube and email me the link. I’d be happy to share your [mis]adventures!