Average temperature in Arctic has risen more than 2°C in half a century

Every day it gets harder to ignore the alarmingly rapid changes to the global climate. According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment the average temperature in the Arctic has risen between 2-3 degrees Celsius over the last half a century. A CNN article entitled Warm climate transforms Alaska terrain provides us with a stark reminder of how rapidly things can change with Alaska experiencing sinking villages, record wildfires and rapidly shrinking sea ice. The question is, even with the will, can these changes be reversed?

Arctic sea ice melts to record low

Even the NZ Herald has covered this story.

Marsden B will contribute to Kyoto deficit

In response to yesterday's initial resource consent for Mighty River Power to recommission Marsden B, the moth-balled coal-fire power station in Whangarei, the Greens have made a press release warning that Marsden B will make it even harder for New Zealand to maintain a positive balance under the Kyoto protocol. They point out that the environmental cost of Marsden B was not considered in the resource consent process and that other greener alternatives exist. Why on Earth do the commissioners think refurbishing a dirty out-dated coal-fired power station is a good idea?

Marsden B is a giant leap backwards

Greenpeace says that the world's greatest threat is climate change (and we agree!). If this is so, then they argue that the decision by Commissioners to allow Marsden B coal fired power station to be restarted is a huge blow to New Zealand's efforts to develop a sustainable future. If we don't lead the world down the sustainability route than we will eventually have to follow those brave enough to lead. It is just a matter of time. We strongly argue that if New Zealand leads the push for a sustainable society, it will provide great rewards for all New Zealanders. Therefore it is imperative that we ensure that Marsden B doesn't go ahead.

Election reaction

Why have New Zealander's clamoured towards the right in this election? Is it just about taxes? In a guest opinion piece (Is Kiwi greatness just a façade?) in Scoop I try to understand what has happened. Is this the end of the great Kiwi tradition of being a pioneer society forging into the future? Are we now meekly following the global trends of self-interest that are occuring everywhere else in the western world? I hope not.

National ignoring climate science

In June this year, the national science academies of the G8 nations, along with China, Brazil and India, published a statement asserting that the scientific evidence on climate change is now clear enough to take prompt action to reduce and mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases.

Last week I attended a science communication conference at Te Papa. Listening to National’s Paul Hutchison espouse the virtues of good science, I thought it ironic that National has decided to ignore the global scientific community. In light of the clear and widely acknowledged need for action, National’s proposal is that New Zealanders ditch the Kyoto Protocol and do less, not more, to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Hutchison’s argument was paradoxical - the evidence for climate change is inconclusive and the Kyoto Protocol is not up to the task – and, to paraphrase a late New Zealand politician with a nose for the truth, I could smell the petroleum on his breath.

Check out this for a neat review of all the parties' energy policies.