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, 05 May 2009 10:54 am – Posted by Guest | 2 Comments
Guest blogger: Vicki Connor, Communications Team Manager at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
Our demand for energy – electricity for our homes and petrol and diesel for our cars keeps rising. Some of it is down to population growth, but a lot of it is simply because as individuals we are using and doing more stuff. We drive more, buy more products and appliances and use them for longer.
The average NZ home has two televisions and chances are they are not small - plasma flat screen TVs tend to be between 42 to 100 inches, and can use around three times the electricity of a smaller traditional cathode ray tube set. We buy these things because many of us want them. We like watching TV and, if we can afford it, we want to watch it on a state-of-the-art, massive screen. Just because it looks better. It’s the same as wanting to drive instead of taking the bus. It can be more convenient, more comfortable, easier. And isn’t an easy life what many of us are after? And it’s a free country after all.
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Published in: Energy, General
Tags: energy conservation, energy efficiency, new zealand
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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.