Digging up the past
No-one thinks coal is good for the environment. So, why is a coal-heavy, national mining forum about to be held in Dunedin? Bruce Munro takes a look.
Climate change
Striking at the heart of the issue
Striking at the heart of the issue
Children are going on strike over their health and wellbeing while schools are still burning coal, writes Alex Macmillan.
Dunedin pupils show support for youth climate campaign
Dunedin pupils show support for youth climate campaign
An information night at Knox Church's Stuart Hall at the weekend, to discuss the Schools Strike 4 Climate rally in the Octagon on March 15, was a "great success", Zak Rudin (16) said yesterday.
Youth climate crusade coming to Dunedin
Youth climate crusade coming to Dunedin
"Keep the Earth clean. This isn't Uranus," he says.
Joining global effort on climate change rational choice for NZ
Joining global effort on climate change rational choice for NZ
New Zealand should join the global effort to mitigate climate change. It's the rational decision, writes Elisabeth Ellis.
Ice sheet could melt - study
Ice sheet could melt - study
Sustained levels of moderate warming could melt the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, possibly contributing to up to 19m of sea level rise, researchers, including one from Otago University, say.
Calls for action
Calls for action
Melting ice caps, floods, droughts . . . concerned? As the clock ticks down on the Government's Zero Carbon Bill consultation, now's the time to let them know, writes Tom McKinlay.
Putting a price on our emissions
Putting a price on our emissions
Two main methods of controlling greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, using price signals, are being debated in NZ; carbon "fee and dividend" or "cap-and-trade" using an emissions trading scheme.
Making a submission
Making a submission
The Wise Response Society - a coalition of academics, engineers, lawyers, artists, sports people and others - believes the target in the Zero Carbon Bill must be to reduce net emissions across all greenhouse gases to zero by 2050.
Toxic price may be paid for warm summer
Toxic price may be paid for warm summer
High water temperatures could trigger a massive toxic algal bloom in Otago Harbour, decimating aquatic life, a marine ecologist has warned.
Heavyweights lobby Govt on climate action
Heavyweights lobby Govt on climate action
The Government has been urged to get tough on climate change in an open letter signed by groups ranging from Sanford and The Warehouse Group to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and Wellington Zoo.
Inconvenient burps
Inconvenient burps
Because methane is a less persistent greenhouse gas, it has been regarded as a lesser evil. That calculation may need to be reassessed, Colin Campbell-Hunt writes.
Submitting meekly
Submitting meekly
It's crunch time for climate change but the memo does not appear to have reached the Government, writes Tom McKinlay.
NZ 'not ready' for rising seas
NZ 'not ready' for rising seas
New Zealand is unprepared for sea level rises of half a metre by the end of the century that could turn 1-in-100 year flooding events into annual occurrences, an extensive United Nations report on climate change has revealed today.
Facts and fiction
Facts and fiction
Scientist and historian Naomi Oreskes is looking for new ways to explain the urgent threat posed by global warming, writes Tom McKinlay.
'It's the feedbacks, stupid'
'It's the feedbacks, stupid'
Campaign strategist James Carville coined the phrase ''It's the economy, stupid'' to focus the attention of campaign workers on the one key issue that would get Bill Clinton elected president in the 1992 US election.
Oceans of concern
Oceans of concern
Out in the oceans, climate change is pushing marine chemistry towards a critical trigger point, reports Tom McKinlay.
Switching on - Dunedin's energy future
Switching on - Dunedin's energy future
The time is ripe for a Dunedin energy plan. But will the crucial consensus and support be there to give it wings? Bruce Munro takes a look.
Urged to show way on climate
Urged to show way on climate
New Zealand should ''take some leadership'' over climate change issues, American environmentalist and climate change campaigner Bill McKibben urged in Dunedin yesterday.
Climate prophet McKibben brings message to Dunedin
Climate prophet McKibben brings message to Dunedin
One of the prophets of global warming visits Dunedin this week, and you can be assured the message will be chilling, reports Tom McKinlay