Extreme floods hit Tasman with more feared; Tornado hits Waitara, but no mention of climate change worsening extremity & frequency of floods; Models show climate change worsens events 10-20%
Thanks Bernard. What a barrage of news! Where to start? One observation, it’s not just the flooding coverage that has missed the obvious climate story. The story on increased costs at the supermarket mentioned the increase in olive oil, but no mention of the severe drought in Spain & Greece that decimated olive groves, starting in 2023.
I thought it was ironic and a bit funny that Nick Smith was talking about wanting an additional rain radar that covered the Nelson area better and made no mention of wanting a government to do more to reduce the effects of what he was wanting to see better.
It's a hard one for farmers - all your money is tied up in your land, it's all you know how to do, and the country depends on you. Farmers together with the rest of us have to have a long hard think about how this country survives economically AND makes changes to reduce our impact on climate change and prepare for the changes already hitting us...
But sales are down. ...and these are workhorses, not swimming pools. It's not the price per se we should point at, it's how they're applied. Digging is not that great, top grading is excellent. In our gardens also, and mowing our lawns is bad for emissions. ...No, I don't have a tractor!!! (no vested interest)
True that we depend on Farmers to produce our food. Must they produce a heck of a lot more to export? And must they all hang onto dairy like their life depends on milk that people don't actually need in our diet?
If we want to have a mature conversation the question of why do we have to destroy our environment for milk powder needs to be asked and answered.
Craig, my husband and I half joke that folks will take climate change seriously only when the waves are lapping at their front door. Such is human nature.
By then we'll say it's "too late" to mitigate emissions, we should only focus on adapting to the effects of climate change.
Then people will come looking for tax payer/rate payer funded sea walls, neighbourhood stormwater upgrades, and property buy-outs. Probably the same people that vote for lower taxes/rates, and call public leaders who advocate for investing in climate-friendly community resilience projects "woke".
I'm in Tasman and those front door waves have just subsided, in anticipation of the next front door waves. My neighbours are not talking about climate change, they're talking about cleaning up and getting ready for the next round.
The missing part of the equation is LEADERSHIP (sorry about the Trumpian all-caps). We are facing an existential, inevitable slow-rolling crisis and out there in charge we have the most piss-useless, short term thinking, "show me the money" no hopers you could possibly imagine. Grrrr!
I suspect the current Prime Minister is 'comfortable' with the current state of leadership. (It would seem he is 'comfortable' with pretty-much everything ...)
Right now it's almost like he's decided to not to bother anymore. Either he's lost interest (loving his jaunts talking to powerful people overseas though).
Not that he's ever had an interest in kiwis. It's interesting I was reading another article this morning that quoted his opening parliamentary speech in 2023. What a load of bulls**t
It appears he feels he's loaded the flight plan for knighthood anticipating an auto land and engaged the autopilot. He's then essentially gone off to the crew rest leaving the first officer and second officer to dodge both forecast and unforecast weather bubbling up all over the route.
I'm reading Auzzie writer Tim Wilton's novel, Juice. Try that for a view of the climate-destroyed future! Can't say I'm loving it. (I have the audio out from the library.) It's hard yakker, and confrontational in its possibility.
Where to even begin with this barrage of anti-social news? Climate change is the biggest threat we face, yet the coalition of chaos steadfastly ignores it and continues to focus on the programme of petty cuts here and mingy handouts there. And, of course, allowing those with vested interest to be part of decision-making in things like health and safety. Northland needs more investment in health care before it needs a four-lane highway.
I agree that Northland would benefit from improved Health Care. Roads are not built for the heavy vehicles using them. Get freight onto rail between Whangarei & upper north,spend on health the resulting surplus. Simple solution
On the rainfall expectations around climate change: I note that not only do we see materially increased rainfall in large parts of the country; we also see a material decrease in rainfall in parts of the South Island. Am I mistaken, or is that where many farms are located? Also, what does this expected increase in severe rainfall events mean for the wine industry? And does this increase in temp and water mean an increase in disease or pests?
We need to invest now in the infrastructure of viaducts to take the rainwater from where it lands to where it needs to be. If the Romans could do it...
Re: "butter shock" - what's being quoted is the cost of a product targeted at people who find the act of softening standard butter irksome and - probably - beneath them. Which is why it occupies 1% of the chiller while the $8.49 butter occupies the rest.
What Granny Herald should clutch its pearls over is why the 5% of domestically-produced meat and dairy that NZers consume *must* also attract global pricing, when we're also paying for the destruction of climate, land, air and water these sectors cause.
Mōrena, Bernard. You covered, admirably, your justified frustration about poor reporting on the relationship between our severe climate events and climate change. I'd just say that the standard of reporting these days seems in general to lack the substance we should expect. Thank goodness for your reporting and that of a few others here on Substack ... and my apologies to the few journalists still trying to keep up standards, against the tide of political influence ["Don't talk about the war" - ex Fawlty Towers!!!]
If I recall correctly, in the 2024 Budget the Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF), was wound up by the Govt ... no doubt going towards tax cuts instead.
Welcome back Bernard! I have wondered for a while why journalists in the "big" news organizations seem to "make a point" of deliberately missing the point about the manifestations of climate change: extreme weather, increased food prices, etc. I listened to the radio interviewing a London reporter sweltering on the tube this morning - not a mention by the correspondent or our intrepid hosts of climate change. Maybe you could get some senior media types on to talk about why the collective blind-spot...
Councils are well aware of the increasing climatic 'anomalies' that Climate Change is delivering. In planning stormwater systems for subdivisions the NIWA HIRDS modelling data is a part of Council resources that developers base their capacities on. https://hirds.niwa.co.nz/
That website has a spread of rainfall intensities and quantities that can be expected under the increasing climate warming scenarios with the RCP8.5 one being the most extreme and now commonly used.
The more difficult aspect is updating older stormwater systems. The Auckland Anniversary event for example completely overwhelmed the existing infrastructure. That sort of rainfall is commonplace in equatorial regions where open 'monsoon drains' handle the volumes but it would be a huge and expensive upgrade to install this sort of system in an urban area.
I cannot get my head around that climate map of NZ. Can anyone put the key in plain language for me? I assume red is worst. But the numbers elude me entirely.
Thank you Bernard.
Thanks Bernard. What a barrage of news! Where to start? One observation, it’s not just the flooding coverage that has missed the obvious climate story. The story on increased costs at the supermarket mentioned the increase in olive oil, but no mention of the severe drought in Spain & Greece that decimated olive groves, starting in 2023.
That's helpful context, ta!
Excellent point Hamersley!!
Add cocoa and coffee to the list of climate affected commodities too!
A good example of the lack of systems thinking that pervades this space
I thought it was ironic and a bit funny that Nick Smith was talking about wanting an additional rain radar that covered the Nelson area better and made no mention of wanting a government to do more to reduce the effects of what he was wanting to see better.
I had the same thought. Plus farmers suffering again, but not willing to change their practices
It's a hard one for farmers - all your money is tied up in your land, it's all you know how to do, and the country depends on you. Farmers together with the rest of us have to have a long hard think about how this country survives economically AND makes changes to reduce our impact on climate change and prepare for the changes already hitting us...
*cough* $250,000 tractors *cough*
But sales are down. ...and these are workhorses, not swimming pools. It's not the price per se we should point at, it's how they're applied. Digging is not that great, top grading is excellent. In our gardens also, and mowing our lawns is bad for emissions. ...No, I don't have a tractor!!! (no vested interest)
What about a push mower??
I know right! Isn't fancy machinery a boon for productivity though?! Certainly a boon for tractor-makers!!
I agree Tracey!
I agree Tracey!
True that we depend on Farmers to produce our food. Must they produce a heck of a lot more to export? And must they all hang onto dairy like their life depends on milk that people don't actually need in our diet?
If we want to have a mature conversation the question of why do we have to destroy our environment for milk powder needs to be asked and answered.
not "funny" at all
another example of Nick Smith's inadequate thinking ability.
The time to start is when it is way too late
Craig, my husband and I half joke that folks will take climate change seriously only when the waves are lapping at their front door. Such is human nature.
(head barely above water) I'm not a denier, just skeptical
When the capital gains have washed away in the monthly 1 in 100 year flood is my go to take it seriously reference
for the 5th time this century!
Love it!!
By then we'll say it's "too late" to mitigate emissions, we should only focus on adapting to the effects of climate change.
Then people will come looking for tax payer/rate payer funded sea walls, neighbourhood stormwater upgrades, and property buy-outs. Probably the same people that vote for lower taxes/rates, and call public leaders who advocate for investing in climate-friendly community resilience projects "woke".
I'm in Tasman and those front door waves have just subsided, in anticipation of the next front door waves. My neighbours are not talking about climate change, they're talking about cleaning up and getting ready for the next round.
The missing part of the equation is LEADERSHIP (sorry about the Trumpian all-caps). We are facing an existential, inevitable slow-rolling crisis and out there in charge we have the most piss-useless, short term thinking, "show me the money" no hopers you could possibly imagine. Grrrr!
Sad. (And infuriating). You live in a very beautiful part of the country.
I suspect the current Prime Minister is 'comfortable' with the current state of leadership. (It would seem he is 'comfortable' with pretty-much everything ...)
Right now it's almost like he's decided to not to bother anymore. Either he's lost interest (loving his jaunts talking to powerful people overseas though).
Not that he's ever had an interest in kiwis. It's interesting I was reading another article this morning that quoted his opening parliamentary speech in 2023. What a load of bulls**t
.
It appears he feels he's loaded the flight plan for knighthood anticipating an auto land and engaged the autopilot. He's then essentially gone off to the crew rest leaving the first officer and second officer to dodge both forecast and unforecast weather bubbling up all over the route.
oh dear….
I feel your frustration….
I'm reading Auzzie writer Tim Wilton's novel, Juice. Try that for a view of the climate-destroyed future! Can't say I'm loving it. (I have the audio out from the library.) It's hard yakker, and confrontational in its possibility.
I listened on Spotify. It's a gripping and unapologetically dystopian tale which lingers long after the last words.
Where to even begin with this barrage of anti-social news? Climate change is the biggest threat we face, yet the coalition of chaos steadfastly ignores it and continues to focus on the programme of petty cuts here and mingy handouts there. And, of course, allowing those with vested interest to be part of decision-making in things like health and safety. Northland needs more investment in health care before it needs a four-lane highway.
I agree that Northland would benefit from improved Health Care. Roads are not built for the heavy vehicles using them. Get freight onto rail between Whangarei & upper north,spend on health the resulting surplus. Simple solution
The point we are missing here is the media are ignoring it. Why is the question. Time for someone to start asking them.
Open up please Bernard! Come on folks, let's get this over 100!!!!
On the rainfall expectations around climate change: I note that not only do we see materially increased rainfall in large parts of the country; we also see a material decrease in rainfall in parts of the South Island. Am I mistaken, or is that where many farms are located? Also, what does this expected increase in severe rainfall events mean for the wine industry? And does this increase in temp and water mean an increase in disease or pests?
We need to invest now in the infrastructure of viaducts to take the rainwater from where it lands to where it needs to be. If the Romans could do it...
Re: "butter shock" - what's being quoted is the cost of a product targeted at people who find the act of softening standard butter irksome and - probably - beneath them. Which is why it occupies 1% of the chiller while the $8.49 butter occupies the rest.
What Granny Herald should clutch its pearls over is why the 5% of domestically-produced meat and dairy that NZers consume *must* also attract global pricing, when we're also paying for the destruction of climate, land, air and water these sectors cause.
Plenty of plant based alternatives to butter on the market.
Mōrena, Bernard. You covered, admirably, your justified frustration about poor reporting on the relationship between our severe climate events and climate change. I'd just say that the standard of reporting these days seems in general to lack the substance we should expect. Thank goodness for your reporting and that of a few others here on Substack ... and my apologies to the few journalists still trying to keep up standards, against the tide of political influence ["Don't talk about the war" - ex Fawlty Towers!!!]
Add on reading ... https://www.elysian.press/p/how-can-we-rewild-the-earth-at-scale
You notice one news now includes reports from Channel 9 in Australia?
It's all very nice that they have whales migrating off the coast of NSW, but it's hardly relevant to the good folks of NZ
If I recall correctly, in the 2024 Budget the Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF), was wound up by the Govt ... no doubt going towards tax cuts instead.
Yes that is where it went - pitched as an ETS dividend to citizens or something like that.
Something's got to fund mining....
Welcome back Bernard! I have wondered for a while why journalists in the "big" news organizations seem to "make a point" of deliberately missing the point about the manifestations of climate change: extreme weather, increased food prices, etc. I listened to the radio interviewing a London reporter sweltering on the tube this morning - not a mention by the correspondent or our intrepid hosts of climate change. Maybe you could get some senior media types on to talk about why the collective blind-spot...
Hopefully you get to interview Greg Bodeker. Keen to see that. 🙏
Glad you guys are back safe.
Councils are well aware of the increasing climatic 'anomalies' that Climate Change is delivering. In planning stormwater systems for subdivisions the NIWA HIRDS modelling data is a part of Council resources that developers base their capacities on. https://hirds.niwa.co.nz/
That website has a spread of rainfall intensities and quantities that can be expected under the increasing climate warming scenarios with the RCP8.5 one being the most extreme and now commonly used.
The more difficult aspect is updating older stormwater systems. The Auckland Anniversary event for example completely overwhelmed the existing infrastructure. That sort of rainfall is commonplace in equatorial regions where open 'monsoon drains' handle the volumes but it would be a huge and expensive upgrade to install this sort of system in an urban area.
Tautoko!
I cannot get my head around that climate map of NZ. Can anyone put the key in plain language for me? I assume red is worst. But the numbers elude me entirely.
I've opened this up for all to share now. Thanks for the encouragement.