Biofuels revisited
Jeanette Fitzsimons’ Sustainable Biofuel Bill began its first reading last week. She says it corrects mistakes in the government’s Biodiesel Grants Scheme, which commenced on 1 July.read more
View ArticleEmissions trading: learn to count, and look before you leap
In its reluctance to give Phil Goff a platform from which to launch his 2011 campaign, the government may inadvertently have opened a window for him.read more
View ArticleIPCC under the microscope – but isn’t that what science is all about?
As has been well reported recently by the media, several errors have emerged from the IPCC 4th Assessment Report (AR4) published in 2007.read more
View ArticleMy virtual rain dance: water for urban gardens
Environment Minister Nick Smith did a good thing last week. I would like to encourage him to do another one.read more
View ArticleIPCC vs the deniers: the next round begins
The story goes like this: Following publication of the 4th Assessment Report in February 2007 and the completion of the Special Report on Renewable Energy, the member countries of the Intergovernmental...
View ArticleWhy Politics needs Science
Politics is often described as a contest of ideas, and so it is. But because politicians only get to implement their ideas if they can win the support of the majority, simple and populist ideas often...
View ArticleBattle with geography slowly being won
The 21st century has whacked me round the face a couple of times in the past week. First, I was asked to give a job reference for someone I'd never met. A woman I've only ever known and worked with...
View Article7 thoughts on Media, science, and sustainable dairy
It’s an august line-up, on this Thursday’s Media 7 science special: Professor Sir Peter Gluckman; Robert, Lord Winston. Me.read more
View ArticleNever argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference
It's fair to say that "Lord"/"Viscount"/"Grand Wazoo" Monckton is a somewhat polarising figure. Google "Monckton lies" and you'll get some flavour of why that might be. At the moment, he's over here in...
View ArticleIs more organic food an answer to obesity?
The headline in the New Zealand Herald's Element magazine last month certainly hit its targets: "Feeding the nation – obesity, poverty and how to get New Zealand eating its greens".read more
View ArticleOur future lies in science
This is not a column on global warming, climate change or whether humans are or aren’t having an impact.read more
View ArticleGreenhouse gases and growing pains
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon trading are an odd construct. Mark Schapiro, writing in Harper’s Magazine (February 2010) pointed out that ‘carbon exists as a commodity only through the...
View ArticleGM showdown: Minister & Councils face-off over who decides
National can't believe it's luck. The government announced an historic, controversial decision this week -- the first ever general release of a genetically modified organism in New Zealand. In other...
View ArticleNew Years' Resolution: How to save the planet
It's the time of year many start thinking about their diet, about turning over a new leaf. An the Paris climate talks may have given that new impetus for those keen to 'save the planet'. But it's...
View ArticleAre animals to blame for peak antibiotics?
'Peak Antibiotics' is a catchy headline. Prime TV ran a documentary with that title just this month. Whether that turns out to be a true depiction of this era will depend on changes to policies around...
View ArticlePure profit... even if pure science says it's safe
An article published a month ago in the Daily Mail prompted GE Free New Zealand to read more
View ArticleBattle with geography slowly being won
The 21st century has whacked me round the face a couple of times in the past week. First, I was asked to give a job reference for someone I'd never met. A woman I've only ever known and worked with...
View Article7 thoughts on Media, science, and sustainable dairy
It’s an august line-up, on this Thursday’s Media 7 science special: Professor Sir Peter Gluckman; Robert, Lord Winston. Me.read more
View ArticleNever argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference
It's fair to say that "Lord"/"Viscount"/"Grand Wazoo" Monckton is a somewhat polarising figure. Google "Monckton lies" and you'll get some flavour of why that might be. At the moment, he's over here in...
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