It was the formal opening of the Toiora High Street Cohousing project last week. I've been fortunate to visit this inspiring project a number of times and know many involved and how hard they've worked. Now the ground has been broken in this pioneering Ōtepoti project I would like to see Government support grow for co-housing, and to re-engineer and re-design our cities for affordable housing and climate safe housing. We are in a combined housing and climate crisis, and we need to take heed of the positive examples and build momentum from here. #Cohousing #Community #HousingCrisis #HomesForAllPlan
Resident Anthony Doesburg and Dunedin City Mayor Aaron Hawkins planted a southern rata at the official opening of Toiora High Street Cohousing...
We're starting to move in the right direction! EVs aren't the silver bullet, but can be part of an integrated transport system and every Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) off the road is fewer emissions. I do hope that one day not too far away we see a similar graph showing investment in public transport and increasing ridership in our urban areas as well.
Why are we still using coal? One of the key reasons is the complexity, cost and challenge of consenting new renewable generation projects and incorporating renewables into the market. With a few simple regulatory changes, new wind farms could be built promptly. But better than 'Think Big' projects, we could do it smarter by supporting small and community scale wind and solar, embedded within local grids, and using the flexibility of the innovative retailers to balance the variability of renewables. Alongside new renewables, we need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes, our businesses and our industry. We can't just fight against dirty coal. We also need to support and endorse clean green wind and solar. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, we can remove fossil gas and coal from our energy system, but we need focus and intent to deliver all the fantastic alternatives. Scotland has almost achieved 100% renewable electricity, why can't we? "Where has been our future planning to increase renewable generation more than 80%?" #CleanEnergyPlan #RenewableEnergy #CommunityScaleWind #SolarPower #HealthyHomes
Despite seemingly green moves made by the government, it appears we are going backwards.
Wow! So I'd heard great stuff about #MilkAndMoney, but I find it so hard to find time to watch TV. But if you want something bingeworthy then this is it! A strong and diverse agricultural sector is an important part of an economically viable and environmentally sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand. Farmers who do the right thing by the environment should be recognised and rewarded. But there are so many challenges and no solid support for farmers to do the right thing while some groups are actively working to try to create tensions for political gain. We need to understand the key threats to the resilience and viability of rural communities and farms, i.e. the problems of succession, climate and biodiversity risk, the problem of extensive debt, artificial proteins and robotics, to name a few. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has long called for direct support of farmers and growers to transition to sustainable regenerative practices. This was and is our #FarmingForTheFuture plan. So if you haven't already, make sure you view #MilkAndMoney - it beats anything on Netflix hands down and I bet you too will be transfixed!
Milk and Money is a six-part documentary series by Re: investigating New Zealand’s dairy industry.
While this headline is misleading (the 'rural-urban divide' is more a media myth than something supported by evidence), this is a great story of telling the good stories. "[F]arms across the country are running in ways that not only reduce their environmental burden, but are actively beneficial for the environment." Let's hope these images and stories get shown around the country. #RegenerativeAgriculture
After travelling the country in search of sustainable and environmentally-friendly farms, a photographer is bringing her work to Auckland to show what it means to be stewards of the land.
Belinda Storey on "modelling the impact of escalating extreme weather events on decisions to invest in infrastructure such as bridges, roads, dams, stop banks and airports". It is surprising that this work is only now being done, but important that it is! #Adaptation #ClimateImpacts #Infrastructure #Resilience
Questions are being asked about how well our infrastructure can weather climate change. Climate economist based at Victoria University of Wellington and managing director of Climate Sigma, Belinda Storey is Principal Investigator on the Time-to-Failure in Infrastructure under Climate Change project,...
