Nov 28, 2017  -  Agrophotovoltaics - Agriculture and renewable energy have worked together for more than fifteen centuries, ever since ancient Persians began using windmills to pump water and grind grain. Today, in the Midwestern US, we see cornfields sharing acreage with megawatt-scale wind turbines that produce minimal shading effects on crops, significant power enhancements to the grid, and additional income for farmers. Researchers in Baden-Württemberg, a region in southern Germany, are looking for ways to increase sustainable energy production in an area where wind speeds are relatively slow, making solar the preferred electrical generating technology. But plants need sunlight…

Nov 23, 2017  - Ara Institute of Canterbury Certificate in Creativity students are turning their art into environmental action. Tomorrow on Friday 24 November, they will wheel their concerns about plastics affecting our environment to the Christchurch City Council, and to Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalzell. For the past six weeks the students have been working on a group project, incorporating donated shopping trolleys, recycled plastic and plastic bags into three magnificent sculptures that represent their concerns for the planet’s future. Tutor, Henry Sunderland has overseen the creative process. “The students have done research on plastics around the world and how…

Nov 21, 2017  -  Robots are now being developed to sort household recyclables and differentiate between construction wastes. What will this mean for the human workers?  Matt Clay in Waste Management World writes about  the  increasing presence of robots in industry, in particular recyclables and waste, that robots once suitable for only niche applications, are now being developed that can sort household recyclables and differentiate between construction wastes. What will this mean for the human workers? Does it mean the start of robot revolution? How accurate is the technology? British pre-eminent scientist Prof Stephen Hawking once warned that the “development…

Nov 21, 2017  -  Air New Zealand has today announced it will work with the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to explore the establishment of a private afforestation scheme, providing funding to landowners to plant trees in return for the carbon benefits this will create. Building on the success of MPI’s existing Afforestation Grant Scheme, Air New Zealand is working with Government to scope a complementary private afforestation fund, with the airline to engage landowners to plant up to 15,000 hectares of new native and exotic trees. If the fund goes ahead, Air New…

Nov 16 2017  -  Co-operative announces ambitious water commitments; invites Kiwis to visit farms and see what’s being done to promote healthy rivers.  Fonterra today launched an ambitious plan to help improve the quality of New Zealand’s waterways. Based around six strategic commitments, the plan will underpin Fonterra’s efforts to promote healthy streams and rivers, including a strong focus on sustainable farming and manufacturing. In parallel, the Co-operative’s farmers will open up their farms around New Zealand to give Kiwis the chance to see first-hand the efforts farmers are making to increase water quality. The release of the plan signals…

Nov 14 2017  -  Human-induced global warming is happening faster than ever and accelerating, according to a new measurement index developed by an international team that includes the Director of Victoria University of Wellington’s New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, Professor Dave Frame. The researchers’ real-time Global Warming Index will be updated continuously on the website www.globalwarmingindex.org and provides improved scientific context for temperature stabilisation targets, with the potential to reduce climate policy volatility. The index and its data have been announced in a paper for the Nature research journal Scientific Reports. Warming exceeded 1°C above mid-nineteenth-century levels in 2017…

Nov 10 2017  -  BONN: As Energy Day gets under way at the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn today (Friday, November 10), influential and international businesses from a wide range of sectors are driving emissions cuts by leading the way on electric transport, energy productivity and renewable power.  Four major businesses from three different continents have today joined The Climate Group’s global electric vehicles campaign (EV100), and pledged to transition to electric transport by 2030. They include the airline Air New Zealand, Mercury – the New Zealand electricity retailer and generator, Dutch engineering and project management…

Nov 10, 2017  -  Reinforcing its leadership position in the shift to electric vehicles, Air New Zealand has been announced as the first airline to join The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative. The global not-for-profit works with businesses and governments around the world on initiatives that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EV100 is its new global programme which aims to fast track business uptake of electric vehicles, encouraging organisations to use their buying power and influence to build demand and ultimately help reduce the cost barrier to mainstream use. Earlier this year Air New Zealand completed the transition of its…

9 Nov 2017  -  The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage has today confirmed that the new Government will strengthen the protection for public conservation land by making it off-limits for new mining. The announcement was made as part of the Speech from the Throne given today at Parliament, which outlined the Government’s policy and legislative proposals. “Public conservation lands are set aside for nature to thrive and for New Zealanders and visitors to enjoy. Mining, especially open-cast mining runs counter to that. It destroys indigenous vegetation and habitats, permanently changes natural landscapes and can create sizeable waste rock dumps with…

7 Nov  -  Sustainable finance and central banking expert Professor Dirk Schoenmaker from the Netherlands is giving a free public lecture at Victoria University of Wellington later this month, as the 2017 Reserve Bank of New Zealand Professorial Fellow in Monetary and Financial Economics.  His lecture, ‘Climate Change and Financial Sustainability’, will examine the global financial implications of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.Keeping global warming below 2°C will require substantial reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. Professor Schoenmaker will consider a benign scenario where the transition to a low-carbon economy occurs gradually, adjustment costs are manageable and the repricing of…

Rod Oram notes a growing mood among New Zealand business leaders for any new Government to create a climate commission. Those calling for change include Air New Zealand's Christopher Luxon and Sir Rob Fenwick. Last Wednesday week, Air New Zealand laid on a big breakfast for 400 business people – enough to fill more than one of its Dreamliners – at the cavernous Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. The event – longer than a flight to Wellington and back – was not to celebrate a new aircraft, bumper profits or other conventional business milestone. It was for the launch of…