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March 9, 2010

NZ's first Biodiesel refuelling operation

New Zealand's first public biodiesel consortium and refuelling operation was launched in Queenstown yesterday by Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority chief executive Mike Underhill.

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes yesterday said the project had the full backing of the council. The pump was built on council land at the rear of the Lakeview Holiday Park and the council had supplied some seed funding for the refuelling station, as had Destination Queenstown.

The consortium was initiated and developed by Otago Polytechnic's Centre for Sustainable Practice in collaboration with a group of tourism operators. Thirty Queenstown business operators are already on board for the 12-month pilot programme and will initially run their vehicles on 20 per cent biodiesel (B20) mixed with standard diesel. Otago Polytechnic centre for sustainable practice spokesman Steve Henry said they hoped to have 100 vehicles refuelling there within a month.

Mr Henry said the aim was to have a 100 per cent blend available in the future. The biodiesel was not yet available to the public. Biodiesel blends could be used in virtually all diesel engine vehicles and the pilot programme would test the compatibility of a wide range of vehicles, from four-wheel-drives to 53-seater buses.

Mr Geddes said it was one of the most exciting projects he had been involved in. Queenstown had managed to "squeak through" on the world stage as a destination in terms of its commitment to sustainability. "Our time is up and we need to really demonstrate that we're doing something."

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March 2, 2010

Brainfood - Can you imagine the next 60 years?

Chapter 8, gives you a taste of this lecture, otherwise the entire show can be viewed below.

Dr Chris Luebkeman, Director for Global Foresight and Innovation, Arup Group and Visiting Professor at UNSW, on life in 2070.

Can you imagine the next 60 years?

If you look back over all the predictions of the future, and he presents a wealth of mind boggling slides about where we were 60 years ago, what we see is fiction.

The future is fiction, and what we see is, you're never wrong, and you're never quite right. "What I prefer to do, is not write the fiction of tomorrow, but rather to talk about the 'Plausible futures'" says Chris. 

He speaks of colliding "Tunnels" of increasing demand for reducing resources. He speaks about the planet's carrying capacity and after covering the drivers that are impacting on the present and increasingly in the future. Then goes on to describe four plausible futures. I'll leave you to watch it, rather than let you in on the heart of this powerful, and clearly presented talk in the full programme chapter by chapter.

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March 1, 2010

Waiheke CSA update

Pete went to the Waiheke Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) meeting last night and gave this short report over a coffee this afternoon. The CSA been going for three months, and the subscribers are committed to keeping it going, knowing that together they are building an important aspect of a resilient Waiheke food system.

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March 1, 2010

The Transition Towns Totnes Nut Tree project

This was one of the early Transition Towns projects that kicked off this global movement back in 2006.

A short history of the project: As part of the Transition Town Totnes initiative, 'The Nut Tree project' has, for the last 3 years, been planting nut and edible fruiting trees in public spaces in and around Totnes. These have included the Town Cemetery, the Town Arboretum, communal spaces within housing estates owned by Tor Homes, along an open space by the river bank and around playing fields. This winter (December 2009 March 2010) tree planting will take place on most of the above mentioned sites, as well on the Sharpham Estate, in a field about 1 mile from Totnes open to the community through public footpaths.

Local schools, estates and landowners are being approached to identify other potential sites for further planting over the next few years, hoping to have at least 500 fruit and nut trees in and around Totnes within 10 years of starting this project in 2007.

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March 1, 2010

The Transition Towns Totnes Nut Tree project

This was one of the early Transition Towns projects that kicked off this global movement back in 2006.

A short history of the project: As part of the Transition Town Totnes initiative, 'The Nut Tree project' has, for the last 3 years, been planting nut and edible fruiting trees in public spaces in and around Totnes. These have included the Town Cemetery, the Town Arboretum, communal spaces within housing estates owned by Tor Homes, along an open space by the river bank and around playing fields. This winter (December 2009 March 2010) tree planting will take place on most of the above mentioned sites, as well on the Sharpham Estate, in a field about 1 mile from Totnes open to the community through public footpaths.

Local schools, estates and landowners are being approached to identify other potential sites for further planting over the next few years, hoping to have at least 500 fruit and nut trees in and around Totnes within 10 years of starting this project in 2007.

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February 27, 2010

Are the Tsunami Warnings and actions over dramatic?

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While we were waiting for the Tsunami to pass this morning, I asked John if he thought this warning was real. We had a similar warning to stay off the beaches just a few months ago and never saw a ripple enter the bay here. And today the police shut down our local store for three hours, and again, not a ripple was seen. If we keep this up, no one is going to believe the warnings. The question we might ask, is: What is the "probability" of a big wave, rather than stop everything just because it's "possible".

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Many Kiwis ignore tsunami warnings

People heading to the beach to watch the tsunami are crazy, says the coastguard. Coastguard Northern Region duty officer John Cowan, said today people heading to the beach should turn around and head the other way.

The tsunami warning for the east coast had little effect on many people on Auckland's North Shore who continued to head to the beach and head to sea in their boats. Two women having coffee on Milford Beach said they had a good vantage point and another woman about to head out on a walk to Takapuna Beach said she had her flippers. However, Mr Cowan said the warning should be heeded and people should head to high ground.

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February 27, 2010

Wise Cicada "Gift Economy" Cafe opens in Newmarket - Video

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A great turnout, fun day, and a celebration of this establishment, after years of co-creating with some awesomely creative people. I'm delighted I could make it, and take this brief video record of the opening.

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A team of us are right now in the process of co-creating a vegan/vegetarian/raw food cafe running totally on gift economy! The cafe is contained within a natural health food store named Wise Cicada which also includes Goodeys Bookstore and a Naturopathic healing clinic all under the one roof. 

Our intention with this project is to create a light hearted gathering space that is a living model of a different way to do business where the focus is on mutual support and resource, rather than purely on profit. Our intention is also to give people a chance to play with the gift economy in a whole different setting - a cafe right in the middle of Newmarket! So when you come to this cafe you will choose the monetary amount you would like to give with great love from your abundance for the food and drink that will be been lovingly made for you.  

Filed under  //   Collaboration   Economics   Food  

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February 21, 2010

Robin Hood Tax - the answer to all our woes - a humourous reality check?

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I love the humour in this, and the pointedness with which it shows up the extremes of the financial elite.
http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/


Filed under  //   Humour   Money  

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February 21, 2010

Our children are less healthy and dying younger



 

Let's hope this makes it to the big screen.

Filed under  //   Challenges   Creativity   Food  

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February 21, 2010

Checking sources, to judge the accuracy of the "Climate" and any other news

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The Internet was abuzz with a quote from Professor Phil Jones that there has been no global warming since 1995.

But is that what he actually said? 

Once again, we need to go to the source -- Jones's own words -- rather than Internet gossip based on an interpretation of what he said. If we check the primary source, it's a very different story. In fact, Jones and his team did detect warming since 1995. In this video the maker goes to the source, and finds out why the tabloid press got things so wrong.

The examples of "statistical significance" in this video were put together with the help of a statistician. The speaker is a geologist, not a statistician, so if any statisticians out there think the examples are inadequate or need refining, please let him know.

Link to Daily Mail story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

Link to transcript of BBC interview:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8511670.stm

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My friend and scientist had this to say about this video...

Brilliant!!!

This is one of the best summaries I’ve seen of the danger of scientific reporting by the press and the explanation of statistical significance was  superb.

What the Mail has done is typical misunderstanding and it is why most scientists refuse to talk to the press. This is often interpreted by pressure groups as threats by the global agro-pharma-energy industrial complex to silence dissent – it’s not. Most scientists won’t talk to the press unless they see the copy first and the press refuses to let them see the copy so the interview is refused and that is then reported in a way to make it look like silencing from the powers that be.

Filed under  //   Climate Change   Media  

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