The first challenged Solid Energy to say something, anything, about its climate change/green house gas obligations. There was no reply.
Just this week, Dr Susan Krumdiek of Canterbury University was here in Invercargill, speaking to a meeting of councilors and mayors about issues that Southland faces.
On the topic of mining lignite at Mataura and the question of capturing the greenhouse gases that will be produced by the mining and the manufacturing of urea and diesel, Dr Krumdiek said that mining company Solid Energy’s claims about capturing and storing those gases were nonsense.
Perhaps it’s time Solid Energy came clean about its plans and explained to the people of Southland just how exactly, they plan to avoid polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas and how they plan to store it away forever once they’ve released it because the science and commonsense says, they can’t.
The second drew attention (I hope) to National's plans to go for black, with its coal and oil extraction plans. It's yet to be published.
The 'mistakenly published' energy strategy that reveals that National has not listened to New Zealanders and is pushing ahead aggressively with its mine, mine, mine plans is something that will affect Southlanders greatly.
Lignite is top of the list for exploitation and it's our lignite they've got their eyes on. The Government is showing 'more than an ardent interest' in Southland's lignite, Tuesday's Southland Times editorial says. That's put very politely. National's Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata says it more bluntly:
"For too long now we have not made the most of the wealth hidden in our hills, under the ground and in our oceans.”
It beggars belief that a government in this day and age would put coal and oil at the top of its energy strategy list, above the renewables like hydro, geothermal, wind and tide which other countries in the world have recognised and adopted as the only responsible way forward. Our own Government has taken the 'burn coal and oil' option and will make fools of us all on the international stage.
14 comments:
Go Hekia! Dig Baby Dig.
..National has not listened to New Zealanders... is Greenspeak for "National has not done what we demand".
FBB - I wish she would (Go that is) :-)
She seemed a bright hope, but she's mucked up here. I bet Gerry's giving her a stern talking-to. Careless that was.
It's a battle isn't it, the extractors .v. the soft-technologists, moles .v. fabricators.
Anon - I hardly think demand is the right term although I suppose the New Zealanders who marched in their thousands to protest National's highly unpopular plans to mine the national parks could be said to have 'demanded'. They succeeded too. Mustn't let that slide. It looks to me as though they'll be back in the streets before too long.
Steam energy vs clean energy, 18th vs 21st century. Dirty coal and lignite vs tidal, geothermal, wood biomass, micro hydro...
Gerry Brownlee is out of his depth as energy minister, and Hekia is no stand in.
Chrischurch should be rebuild as a lowrise eco city, the Garden City. It could be the clean technology centre of New Zealand, with windmill and tidal manufacturing, maybe lightrail and so on.
That will likely not happen under Gerry Brownlee, the dirty energy minister and quake tsar.
We could be world leading, and create lots of clean energy jobs to reduce emissions and unemployment.
Imagine a world class Christchurch eco city. Imagine a 100% clean energy New Zealand with clean air, clean rivers and clean energy. With native birds and trees on the main streets. With lots more ferries and boat transport, rail and for the flat areas - cycleways.
Gerry Brownlee needs to get on his bike and move on and move aside.
You create a good picture anon but the image of Gerry on a bike jars!
Could we at least grant him a golf-cart to exit on?
Each 12,000 (excluding children)equals 1% of voters.
Each 12 000 represents 50 times that number who also believe what the marchers believe but are too shy to go out on the street to say it.
Each 12000 represents teachers, actors,unemployed,unionists,Green Party supporters,Labour MPs,people who use their children as political pawns, anybody who wants to kick the Governments shins.
They march because they are an ineffective minority voice on the wrong side of the issue of the day.
Good news Anon. Those people are ordinary New Zealanders and it's they who will decide who the new Government will be.
As they did last time.
But this time they have the advantage of having seen what Key and his team do as opposed to what they say they will do.
We shall see.
I doubt any of the 12000 will be changing their votes, so they will need to up their clamour (and annoying all those who prefer reasoned debate to the shouting and abusive language of those demanding their own way).
"Haters and wreckers" as Helen Clark referred to such groups.
You are referring to the people who marched to save the national parks from mining as 'haters and wreckers' anonymous?
You're just like Helen Clark. You should be ashamed of yourself!
Post a Comment