Cathrine Dyer & Bernard Hickey chat about the week's big climate news, including increasing scrutiny of carbon offsets, and the unravelling of our Government's pine forests plan
Sobering stuff, but important for as many as possible to have access to this stuff. I don’t see/hear this sort of depth of detail anywhere else, so I pass it on. Thankyou.
Talking about the influence accorded to Simon Upton, I do like his work but never forget that on top of being well-connected to the global centre-right, he is also an older, white, cis-male. It shouldn't make a difference, but it really does, even today.
Yes, and much of the stuff up we're currently experiencing in the health sector has his paw prints from 30 years ago all over it. The very fact that we had 30 DHBs all with their own IT systems etc was a legacy of the free-market, competition-knows-best mantra.
I think the term "Black Ostrich" fits the looming climate scenario better than "Black Swan", since deep down everyone knows it's coming but much of the planet has its collective head in the sand, pretending like mad that there's nothing to worry about.
Good to see a torch directed at the dairy industry 🐃 💩 and the forestry carbon capture fairy-tale...and big oil's greasy tactics.
We are going to need a lot of timber, to use one of Luxon's favourite terms - going forward.
You would think that New Zealand Forestry would be putting Aotearoa first and strategically planting to protect the whenua that grows the timber.
What is preventing forestry from planting only on appropriate land? What is stopping the industry from managing harvests responsibly, and sustainably, so as to NOT negatively impact natural systems upon which we rely to survive?
Why is the story of precious irreplaceable topsoil and the very viability of rural communities that live alongside forestry, so casually swept away with every news cycle that covers extreme weather events?
Most people who have seen a news bulletin in the last few years have learned the forestry term 'slash' - it's visable in the shocking images. But what about the top soil and entire stream / river ecology that is stripped from its habitat by, and along with, slash?
Are complex systems too complex for our government to understand? or our media?
We know old growth forests, wetlands, foreshore and seabed protections should be increased not shrunk - THAT is where carbon is stored. That is where thriving biodiversity and the hope of a stable planet exists.
Thank you for this work, it is becoming more obvious by the hour - the who and the what in Aotearoa New Zealand that is preventing environmental and socio-economic stability.
If we were to just wait for the crash landing - our country and it's clean green marketed image would die an oxymoron.
Where there are good and smart people, there is hope. Thank you, Cathrine and Bernard, for making us all smarter, and for elevating the voices of reason.
It's disappointing "carbon offsets" is still being used as an umbrella term, and 'carbon insetts' are not bring distinguished. Yet insetting is an international term for addressing an entity addressing their emissions on their own land. Please use it. It's so important, such as for addressing farm emissions. Their planting for sequestration is insetting, not offsetting.
The use of offsets, which should be a short term mitigation measure, have become a crutch and an excuse to do nothing about gross emissions.
Let's face it: taking geological carbon which has been locked up for millions of years and letting in loose in a geological blink-of-the-eye never was going to end well.
Unfortunately the big money corrupts both science and politics.
Great coverage of all the vital issues - thank you! Keep up the good work!👍
Sobering stuff, but important for as many as possible to have access to this stuff. I don’t see/hear this sort of depth of detail anywhere else, so I pass it on. Thankyou.
Talking about the influence accorded to Simon Upton, I do like his work but never forget that on top of being well-connected to the global centre-right, he is also an older, white, cis-male. It shouldn't make a difference, but it really does, even today.
Yes, and much of the stuff up we're currently experiencing in the health sector has his paw prints from 30 years ago all over it. The very fact that we had 30 DHBs all with their own IT systems etc was a legacy of the free-market, competition-knows-best mantra.
I think the term "Black Ostrich" fits the looming climate scenario better than "Black Swan", since deep down everyone knows it's coming but much of the planet has its collective head in the sand, pretending like mad that there's nothing to worry about.
Good to see a torch directed at the dairy industry 🐃 💩 and the forestry carbon capture fairy-tale...and big oil's greasy tactics.
We are going to need a lot of timber, to use one of Luxon's favourite terms - going forward.
You would think that New Zealand Forestry would be putting Aotearoa first and strategically planting to protect the whenua that grows the timber.
What is preventing forestry from planting only on appropriate land? What is stopping the industry from managing harvests responsibly, and sustainably, so as to NOT negatively impact natural systems upon which we rely to survive?
Why is the story of precious irreplaceable topsoil and the very viability of rural communities that live alongside forestry, so casually swept away with every news cycle that covers extreme weather events?
Most people who have seen a news bulletin in the last few years have learned the forestry term 'slash' - it's visable in the shocking images. But what about the top soil and entire stream / river ecology that is stripped from its habitat by, and along with, slash?
Are complex systems too complex for our government to understand? or our media?
We know old growth forests, wetlands, foreshore and seabed protections should be increased not shrunk - THAT is where carbon is stored. That is where thriving biodiversity and the hope of a stable planet exists.
Thank you for this work, it is becoming more obvious by the hour - the who and the what in Aotearoa New Zealand that is preventing environmental and socio-economic stability.
If we were to just wait for the crash landing - our country and it's clean green marketed image would die an oxymoron.
Where there are good and smart people, there is hope. Thank you, Cathrine and Bernard, for making us all smarter, and for elevating the voices of reason.
Fantastic emoji action Sara. And great points. thanks.
It's disappointing "carbon offsets" is still being used as an umbrella term, and 'carbon insetts' are not bring distinguished. Yet insetting is an international term for addressing an entity addressing their emissions on their own land. Please use it. It's so important, such as for addressing farm emissions. Their planting for sequestration is insetting, not offsetting.
The use of offsets, which should be a short term mitigation measure, have become a crutch and an excuse to do nothing about gross emissions.
Let's face it: taking geological carbon which has been locked up for millions of years and letting in loose in a geological blink-of-the-eye never was going to end well.
Unfortunately the big money corrupts both science and politics.
And against this backdrop, NZ govt is laying of scientists and setting sciemce back decades.350 so far.
The same govt who want scientists to create new markets and stop global warming, to save us from agriculture emessions.
To promote stem subjects. To become.... scientists and engineers.
Backwards anti science anti progress govt.