If James Shaw yawns in a carbon sink forest, did the climate notice? If this is our ‘Nuclear Moment’, Lange is weeping
The Ministry for the Environment has shut down a web page detailing an emissions projection tool following an error where it posted the words “Blah Blah Blah” three times.
A screenshot of the Ministry for the Environment website showed a page originally said: “Here are some the actions currently being taken by New Zealand to mitigate against climate change.”
This was followed by bullet points which said “Blah Blah Blah” three times.
By 2030, 122million will be driven into extreme poverty as direct result of climate change.
By 2030, 100million will die as a direct consequence of climate change.
By 2030, even if the Paris Agreement is actually implemented, we will see a planet warm to 3.4 degrees by the end of this century
By 2030, the global annual cost of global warming will be $3trillion.
By 2030, the number of extremely hot days — classified as maximum temperatures of more than 35C that can kill— are tipped to climb in all capital cities.
To appreciate how weak the Government’s proposals are, National and BusinessNZ have already signalled their support, which begs the question, if James Shaw yawns in a carbon sink forest, did the climate notice?
If you think being carbon neutral by 2050 is the solution, you are part of the problem.
There are 10million cows in NZ, a cow produces 14times faecal load as a human, that’s equivalent to 140million people shitting into our waterways – where’s the realisation of that in this emissions plan?
We are not looking at true energy self sustainability utilising solar, wind or tidal technology.
We are not funding community resilience or decentralised food supply chains.
We are doing very, very, very little to combat the true scale and danger of the climate crisis.
And the crisis is happening now.
Before Putin invaded the Ukraine, global grain production had already plummeted in 2022 due to massive climate crisis global droughts impacting harvests and interrupting the agricultural calendar.
Russia & Ukraine produce 12% of all globally traded calories and the shut down of exports and war damage to farms has devastated food and fertilizer production which will trigger food riots throughout the Middle East and South America.
I’ve been arguing that our inflation will hit double digits by December because we are grossly underestimating the Apocalyptic impact of global War, Famine, Pestilence and Death.
There is an amalgamation of crises that are rushing together pushing the planet into a steep economic recession. Since 2008 the central banks have printed 25 Trillion to keep the Ponzi scheme from collapsing and that has artificially created the lowest interest rate in 5000 years.
The unwinding of that kind of pressure surely is going to be the event horizon of a Debt Black Hole?
A climate crisis that exacerbates an economic crisis that exacerbates a war crisis that exacerbates a pandemic crisis.
That’s a lot of Black Swans all ubering home.
In the light of the threats to us in the here and now, this document trying to determine the future seems hopelessly compromised.
If this is our ‘Nuclear Moment’, Lange is weeping.
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On transport I awaited the announcement that only a government can make. Starting next month the government intends all intercity freight and passengers is to be carried on rail by 2030, and as commitment we are electrifying the entire existing network and adding to it and improving it.
We are building new electrified commuter lines in all the main centres, in addition to those already in existence.
We are providing funding and buying power for every council in the main centres firstly, to fully electrifying their bus fleets to connect to these new commuter lines using grid connected electrification, not toxic batteries using precious metals that destroy the planet.
We will also provide parking at stations in the extreme fringes to assist where bus based PT is inefficient.
And once we have provided these real alternatives to cars and trucks we will toll everything that moves. But not until then.
Why, because we are serious and this will reduce emissions, hugely.
What did we get? Some sort of Soviet central planned car leasing thingy, subsidies to buy a lesser polluting car, if the person who can’t afford to trade theirs in anyway suddenly wins lotto. A deeply misguided belief that the little man in a coal powered factory China will just magic up all these E cars from his arse to satisfy our needs and that the climate change they create in production and their magic beans toxic precious metals batteries can be ignored. Oh, and some cycleways.
And we know this severe halfed arseness will be eroded by National and ACT anyway after 2023.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the inept totally impractical morons we have as MP’s. Much less this government!
Well I suppose a government could direct that no-one could travel between cities except by rail. The only problem is that at the next election they would lose office.
Policy in this area has to be sustainable, that is, be able to survive changes of government. It not progress at the rate of lowest ambition, but you can’t get out too far ahead. Your opponents (Labour and National) have to be at least able to tolerate what the other side is doing, even if they are not singing your praises. The policies can’t be anathema to other side.
I actually thought the overall initiatives were not too bad. Although I was surprised there was no ban on imports of pure ICE cars and light vehicles after 2035. Most European countries have such bans. Most manufacturers will be fully electric or Plug-in Hybrids before then.
It is respectable start, which will be built upon.
What they’re proposing won’t work but will waste unprecedented money.
The entire car industry is a complex but very intertwined ecosystem and a huge employer, from the new car buyer down to the wreckers yard, very much market driven and very much anti bureaucracy by nature. The volk may not necessarily trade their car that they like for many reasons for a Prius or an E bike. And E car prices will hit the afterburners, they already are from the last intervention by government. Battery prices are causing big price hikes with Tesla’s for example owing to shortages of raw materials and that doesn’t cover off the profiteering that car sales enjoy when a type is in short supply and in demand.
And to show just how much this announcement is a charade is, is that the alternatives the government offers aside from the non realistic E car option is the same old same old number 9 bus scenario, not even close to a match for the freedom and flexibility of the private vehicle that currently in Auckland 97% of citizens use. And yes I know the likes of the Heralds Simon Wilson by virtue of their address and position in life think buses are the answer, but they simply aren’t.
And they know if they bring out the stick option of congestion charges, car bans, and road closures for bike lanes, they as a government are gone.
Hence I thought if government were serious about change there would be a demonstrable lead taken by them rather than throw random cash around in an awkward Wellington based government dept bureaucracy thing at a micro level trying to interfere in the market.
And we all know this announcement was poor as James Shaw is already blaming Labour’s “red hue” for it.
More facile meaninglessness from the most transparent government ever.
We won’t do anything meaningful till we absolutely have to do something and then it will be too late to do anything. I’m 67 and I am going to start taking better care of my health. I want to see the end of the world.
Similar thoughts here.
When I’m dead I’ll probably not be missing much……..SADLY for the next generation…..hey ho, the most importnat point is…………..that for a brief moment (in gelogical terms) we made maximised profits for the few elites that own/control the stock market.
@Kevin brings a tear to my eye, thinking of the delicate and intricate beauty of those financial indicies, sniff
” I want to see the end of the world.”
Even if it means attending the funerals of your own grand children?
I think James Shaw did the best he could and to get Nationals buy in would have been difficult.
Nearly 500 pages with little detail and not even any way to measure the implementation that I could see.
More committees. More trials.
If we are to get serious the governing party has to lead and specifically their chariamatic leader Jacinda.
Talk of climate change being her generations nuclear free moment 4 years ago resonated with many.
“classified as maximum temperatures of more than 35C that can kill”
Srry but bad news ( its only ever more bad news these days ):
Practical Human Wet-Bulb Temperature Resilience Threshold Limit Measured to Be Much Lower than 35 C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twwhTWEkBqY
“…I also discuss a paper looking at regions of the world that are experiencing wet bulb temperatures approaching 35 C, including parts of the Middle East near oceans with very high Sea-Surface Temperatures (SSTs). In fact, many parts of the world are starting to exceed the 31 C wet-bulb temperature which the new research shows to be the practical human threshold limit…”
This is from scientist Paul Beckwith’s channel – he is a good man:
“Well known climate system science educator; joining the dots on abrupt climate change. Occasional part-time professor (sessional/contract instructor) in Geography (on climatology, oceanography, environmental issues) at University of Ottawa. Physicist. Engineer. Master’s Degree in Science in Laser Optics, Bachelors of Engineering, in Engineering Physics. Won Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario gold medal. Also interested in climate solutions, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Avid chess player, and likes restoring old homes. Married with three sons.”
https://www.youtube.com/user/PaulHBeckwith/about
Well worth following this guy, he has regular video updates on all the latest science on Climate Catastrophe.
and millions going to agritech so that we can keep mass producing food from genetically edited cows and plants, grown intensively e.g. the new vertical automated towers for growing ge food indoors. empty food. sick food. ge plants and microorganisms in our environment. what could go wrong?
If this is the response to the climate crisis it will be interesting how enlightened the budget is in fighting the financial crisis.
I think both will be as much use as a damp squid
Really really looking forward to National and Acts policies on climate change any time soon Trevor, seriously?
I hope if National do get back into power Act will only have a small voice and no real power just like Labour and Greens . I am not against calling out National if their policy goes against my thoughts and while you have every right to stand up for Labour surely there is little that grabs you to say they have created a path to true climate salvation.
your cities will go under regardless. Your crops will wither and your economies will crash and in the end we will go extinct.