Dr Muriel Newman nzcpr.com Dr Muriel Newman established the New Zealand Centre for Political Research as a public policy think tank in 2005 after nine years as a Member of Parliament. A former Chamber of Commerce President, her background is in business and education. Climate change represents a major
DaveOnTheWestBank After enjoying my Sunday two-egg omelette and observing the frost-covered lawn I settled down to read the 5th of July edition of Rural News, the front page headline of which read, “Avalanche Warning”. “Outgoing Federated Farmers leader Karen Williams says an avalanche of state-sponsored regulations is de-motivating and discouraging
In 1996 I arrived in Hong Kong. There I worked in various capacities including factory inspections within a territory ranging from Japan across to India and down to New Zealand. Over a decade I probably performed over 300 factory inspections: checking all sorts of things – health, safety, employee age, remuneration,
John Maunder Over 50 years ago, in April 1968, when I was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography in the University of Victoria in Canada, I remember very well when on a Wednesday morning the representative from the British publishers Methuen and Co came to see me in
After I wrote about the electricity crisis in Australia, last Thursday it happened here as Transpower declared a grid emergency. This should not have come as a surprise, as Transpower had warned last month, based on modelling, that there would be 37 days between June and August where there could
The recent electricity crisis in Australia is a stark warning of the dangers of government interfering in the market. Households in NSW were asked to cut their power use on three consecutive nights as the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) seized control of the electricity market. In addition Australia’s
John Maunder Each month Professor Ole Humlum of The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), in Norway publishes on his very comprehensive website a large number of updated charts and related analyses of data from international sources. His latest website can be found at: www.climate4you Record of recent global air
John Maunder Since instrumental records became available in the 1850’s, climatic values show a range from the highest temperature of 42.4 degrees C recorded in Rangiora on February 7, 1973, to the lowest temperature of-25.6 degrees C in Eweburn, Ranfurly on 17 July 1903. In terms of
Ralph Sims Massey University Ralph Sims began his career in Sustainable Energy at Massey University, New Zealand in 1971 making and testing biodiesel from animal fats. After 4 years based at the IEA (International Energy Agency) in Paris (2006-2009) as a senior analyst working on renewable energy and climate change
John Maunder The ‘Maunder Minimum’ is the name given to the period from 1645 to 1715 when the number of sunspots – ‘storms’ on the sun – became almost zero. The period is named after the solar astronomer Edward Walter Maunder (1851-1928), who was working at The Royal Observatory at Greenwich when
Cognitive dissonance is the situation of holding “conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviours”. For instance, someone on a strict, calorie-controlled diet who regularly sneaks a doughnut, because “just one won’t hurt”. Note the rationalisation: it’s bullshit, the person making it knows it’s bullshit, but that’s how they
Owen Jennings bassettbrashandhide.com Owen Jennings is a former ACT MP. Before entering politics, Jennings was a farmer. He was active in New Zealand Federated Farmers, becoming its National President in 1990 and served three years. Prior to this he was National Dairy Section Chairman. A number of critically important
Bryce Edwards Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka democracyproject.nz Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the Democracy Project. Was last week’s major climate change announcement a case of vested interests getting their way? The sweet
John Maunder For further information on a range of weather and climate matters see my recent book Fifteen shades of climate… the fall of the weather dice and the butterfly effect. Available from Amazon. The following is an update on the subject from pages 171 to 173 and 180 to
Stuart Smith National MP Kaikoura On Monday the government released their first three emissions budgets, which take us out to 2035. These budgets are based on the Climate Change Commission’s advice to get New Zealand to net zero by 2050. Next week the government will release their Emissions Reduction
