The Greenies figure that if NZ becomes carbon neutral, then we've done our bit to save the planet. That other countries will follow suit based on our sterling example. It is of course, total rubbish.
Christ Trotter has his usual rant in the Friday DomPost. He fumes that Helen Clark has lost a marketing opportunity to support the Happy Valley anti-coal mine protesters, by (naturally) flying in on a gas guzzling helicopter and giving a talk that is more about politics than action. And Chris calls for our electricity output to be seriously curtailed with the typical voice of a lefty who makes demands to cut electricity and then gets annoyed when the poor have their electricity cut:
Regular power outages would put the elderly and sick in grave danger during the coldest winter months, and businesses would struggle with irregular and costly supplies. And all through this, NIMBY and Greenie protest groups would be doing their best to blow away wind farms, damn the hydro schemes and nuke the nuclear option.
If we go as environmental as the Greens desire, NZ better be prepared for more pain.
And I am left wondering if reducing our emissions is a good goal. Thinking globally, is there a case where NZ can produce more beef, more fruit and vegetables, more wool product and even mine more coal and do it in such a way that we can supply other countries that would inevitably do the same, but with far less efficiency and with a far worse impact on the environment than if they bought from NZ?
Perhaps our target shouldn't be tied to a simplistic number based on the population and economy of 1990, but to targets that beat the world performing comparable processes - even with the food miles quotient included.
Christ Trotter has his usual rant in the Friday DomPost. He fumes that Helen Clark has lost a marketing opportunity to support the Happy Valley anti-coal mine protesters, by (naturally) flying in on a gas guzzling helicopter and giving a talk that is more about politics than action. And Chris calls for our electricity output to be seriously curtailed with the typical voice of a lefty who makes demands to cut electricity and then gets annoyed when the poor have their electricity cut:
It is neither ethical nor moral to tear up and pollute the wild and beautiful places of this earth, or contribute to the potentially fatal heating of its atmosphereWhilst these people congratulate themselves on having hatched the perfect plan to save the environment, they fail to acknowledge the reality: it would mean the unpaid electricity bills by people on low incomes would be for amounts that would perhaps be ten times higher than the present cost - and little has been said of the 60% increase in energy prices since Labour gained power.
Regular power outages would put the elderly and sick in grave danger during the coldest winter months, and businesses would struggle with irregular and costly supplies. And all through this, NIMBY and Greenie protest groups would be doing their best to blow away wind farms, damn the hydro schemes and nuke the nuclear option.
If we go as environmental as the Greens desire, NZ better be prepared for more pain.
And I am left wondering if reducing our emissions is a good goal. Thinking globally, is there a case where NZ can produce more beef, more fruit and vegetables, more wool product and even mine more coal and do it in such a way that we can supply other countries that would inevitably do the same, but with far less efficiency and with a far worse impact on the environment than if they bought from NZ?
Perhaps our target shouldn't be tied to a simplistic number based on the population and economy of 1990, but to targets that beat the world performing comparable processes - even with the food miles quotient included.
... and after carbon-neutral we will be coerced to be nitrogen-neutral... then what? Oxygen-neutral?
ReplyDeleteWhat about solar-energy neutral? For all the solar energy that falls on the land we should remain neutral and strive to reflect it all back...