Climate Change
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 9:41 am – Posted by Mandy | 1 Comment
Guest blogger: Forest & Bird’s Conservation Advocate Quentin Duthie
The Government is sharpening bulldozer blades and oil-rig drills. It’s prioritising digging and drilling for non-renewable resources over regulation and protection of the natural environment that our economy depends on.
Undeterred by the embarrassing u-turn on Schedule 4, Minister Brownlee is charging ahead with efforts to facilitate mining wherever possible. A review of the Crown Minerals Act, while quite technical, means making mining permits easier to get. More alarming is the Minster’s blatant advocacy for mining, unmatched by Government advocacy for the environment.
From the intoxicating fumes of the petroleum industry conference, the Minister announced a massive funding boost Crown Minerals – the agency that calls the mining industry “clients”. Unsurprising there is no corresponding boost for the Department of Conservation to advocate for the other side of the coin (just a $13.5m p.a. cut). This reflects the priorities in the proposed Energy Strategy: “develop resources” first, “environmental responsibility” fourth.
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Published in: Climate Change, Energy, Threats and Impacts
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Tue, 14 Apr 2009 5:12 pm – Posted by Alison Ballance | 4 Comments
Guest Blogger: Radio New Zealand’s Our Changing World environment reporter, Alison Ballance
Last week I interviewed two NIWA scientists – Philip Boyd and Cliff Law – about ocean fertilisation, or iron enrichment. Most of us have heard about this ambitious plan, to help solve global warming by dumping large amounts of iron into the ocean, generating phytoplankton blooms which die and sink, effectively sequestering carbon in the deep ocean. I imagine most people thought as I did: that there is an international cabal of scientists and entrepreneurs who are pushing ahead with experiments to test out this grand theory despite concerns and fears about negative side effects, especially those related to unintended biological consequences.
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Published in: Climate Change, General
Tags: carbon sink, Climate Change, experiment, global warming, iron enrichment, NIWA, ocean fertilisation
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Mon, 12 Jan 2009 3:08 pm – Posted by Jenny Campbell | 2 Comments
Guest Blogger: Jenny Campbell, Southland Branch Secretary
Right. Lets not beat around the bush. We are running out of oil. The bounteous supply we have enjoyed in the past 60 years is now dwindling to a few inaccessible pools buried deep within the earth or reservoirs set in environmentally sensitive areas.
We’re populating this earth at great speed - with some predictions estimating that in 2030 the population will be double that of our population in 1980. Do the maths, and you’ll realise that peak oil is hot on our heels.
It begs the question - how is our oil-addicted society we going to survive without it?
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Published in: Climate Change, General, Southland / Stewart Island
Tags: cob-brick buildings, community gardens, permaculture, transition towns
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Tue, 30 Sep 2008 9:22 am – Posted by Marina | 5 Comments
Welcome to Forest & Bird’s weblog. Like Forest & Bird itself, our weblog will touch on just about everything native and New Zealand: our native plants, animals, our wilderness areas and environment, whether they are on land, in our lakes, rivers and oceans.
We welcome your thoughts and ideas about how we can all contribute to helping preserve our precious – and vulnerable – natural heritage.
Standby for opinion pieces, diary-style web-logs, videos of our projects and much, much more. Just watch this space!
Published in: Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Climate Change, Energy, F&B National, Fresh water, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, High country, International, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marine and Coastal, Native land animals, Native plants and forests, Northland, Otago, Regions, Southland / Stewart Island, Taranaki, Threats and Impacts, Top of the South, Topics, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast
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From the intoxicating fumes of the petroleum industry conference, the Minister announced a massive funding boost Crown Minerals – the agency that calls the mining industry “clients”. Unsurprising there is no corresponding boost for the Department of Conservation to advocate for the other side of the coin (just a $13.5m p.a. cut). This reflects the priorities in the proposed Energy Strategy: “develop resources” first, “environmental responsibility” fourth.