NZ kicks off worldwide series of events in fight against climate change

There's also the small issue of the military defense of oil fields. I wonder how many people really support conflicts like the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
New Zealands role in these sorts of things seems to be minimal. We sit in the back row of class, stirring with a small spoon, but at least we are seen to be doing our bit.
America is a staunchly Christian nation, in God they trust. But how do they behave as a nation, and is it in New Zealanders interest to sheepishly do the same?
O yes, we must protect our interests, interests that just happen to be in other peoples countries, say nothing of the colateral damage...
My objection to the politics of big oil is the force that comes with it. It is no, Ma and Pa Clampet operation, but I buy into it, each time I make a fuel purchase, and some faceless family fifteen thousand miles away has a laser guided bomb flatten their house and traumatise the neighbours...
Religion seems a big part of it. The associated politics of some faiths can become all consuming to its devotees, and the fervent zeal that accompanies their efforts to do right by their creator on the political battlefeild leaves it strewn with bodies and tears on both sides.
Even with all the publicity about the potential changes that may come to pass in our natural environment, one of the first things National did was to mothball progress on a large domestic ethanol plant project.
What drives a decision like that in our current situation and climate?
The more I observe the more I conclude that National is the American party. You know, the dream we buy into on our tele screens each night, hoping for a similar security and happiness. But do our friends in the US have the peace they seek? Are Americans safe to walk their streets?
Having been there and seen a family perched on a traffic island with the father holding a sign, "I'll work for food", well I am not convinced.
Politics is entangled in our daily lives. Hidden in all we think, do, and say.

Great Story, and clear coverage. The only thing I would say is that the events were standing FOR action on climate change, and action and policy that would get us back to 350, not action AGAINST climate change. Otherwise, good to see our media covering stories such as these.

Hi Alan, you make good points, although I still feel it is worthwhile supporting cleaner fuel technology, for co2 is not the only product coming from the tale pipe of your average vehicle running petrochemicals as fuel.
Whether or not climate change is influenced by man's activities on our planet or not, biofuel has positive environmental benefits because burning ethanol only produces co2 and water as bi-products going into our environment as far as I am aware.
It seems to me that burning fossil fuels such as oil is akin to burning huge quantities of stored "concentratred death"
or the enormous deposits of organic matter that has been sunk and turned into toxic black sludge.
I think the world demands something like 80 million barrels of crude every day, and the across the board effects of the practise we are forced into must have some negative measurable affect on our lives and environment over time.
This is not propaganda to me, it just seems more like common sense, and a behaviour we should start to take more control and responsibility over as consumers.
Annon doesn't seem too bothered about what fuel he uses, just that he be left to play with his machines and have a good time.
Brazil has a biofuel economy where very little oil is consumed by the locals. I think they source their energy needs from sugarcane crops, and all their vehicles are set to comply with certain biofuel standards.
The idea of hybrid style vehicles at first blush seems to hold some promise, yet it relies on producing a whole new fleet of vehicles and associated factory plant, and my question is: from where will the electric energy be sourced to power the fleet?
If it is a case of building nuclear power stations to help run our nations trucks and cars then I think one would find broad opposition to that in this country and other places around the world. Plug-in cars? Ah, no thanks.
Don't really know much about the carbon trading scheme to comment. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

New Zealand has had it own resources and enough time to have a system of its own fuel from natural resources that are renewable, however successive governments have not bothered to encourage fuel self suffiency, as the oil companies would loose too much money, right now the New Zealand economy is held to ransom by overpriced oil, where the price is set via buying ans selling on the New York Stock exchange. We have been capable with the networks already set up an the growing space to convert various different plants into fuel, this just has not been encouraged so we now have to put up with climate change and global warming propaganda which I do not suscribe to.

Science is about demonstrable theory's and facts not some common political compromise. No the Antarctic has not melted faster than in any other time, Just another fallacy. Yes I drive a SUV and its powers thru the gas, buts that's because its either towing my 30 mtr speed boat or my trailer full of Motocross and quad bikes.. all paid for. I love NZ so much outdoors to scream around in. Love this web site http://www.350reasons.org.

Its a Joke that the reporter would have a straight face when reporting this BS. Who let the nutters out, Sorry, I mean the disillusioned pot smoking twits who want to defend powerful money manipulators who want to enforce a new wold order to tax the air we breath.

This is a joke right. The most important issue of our times and I can only count about 40 people in that picture.

Cont. Of course hemp is not the only plant that can be used to make biofuel. With modern technology virtually any biomass can be turned into usable fuel. Recently scientists have come up with methods to turn products like milk whey, pine trees, pond scum and municipal waste into fuels like ethanol and methanol, that's clean burning modern racing car fuel...
Imagine mowing your lawn, trimming your trees and hedge, loading the rubbish onto a trailor, and taking it to the biofuel plant to sell to them, or exchange for fuel? Imagine collectives of local farmers running similar plants for their communities fuel needs? Imagine saving oil for use in products that there is no other way of producing them?
Hemp can also be used to make plastic products, paints and varnishes, printing inks, lubricants, and even healthy food in the form of hempseed.
There is no law against growing commercial hemp crops in New Zealand, though a license is required. Pity is that industry has been a little slow on the uptake, probably because consumers have been largely kept in the dark and don't realise the power they have to influence the path big business chooses to take in search of the consumer dollar.
New Zealand is an agricultural nation. We have plenty of land to grow crops that can be turned into fuel without using land better suited to food crops, which is an argument commonly put up in the way of utilising biofuel technology.
Biofuel would also fit neatly into the system of distribution we already use, tanks, tankers, fuel stations... This makes use of not only the cars and trucks we already possess, but also the infrastructure keeping the whole machine going.
Fossil fuel is dirty and out dated technology. It is encouraging to see Mobil stations including an in part biofuel component in their high octane fuel product. The ethanol this fuel contains improves combustion, power, fuel economy and the health of the environment. Well done Mobil. May others soon get the message...

If I could change just one thing about the world it would be to introduce the resource of hemp into its rightful place in the world economy.
Hemp technology was dropped in the mud in the 1930's in USA when a special tax on the raw material made it cost prohibitive to grow and sell. Interestingly, the tax was dropped during WWII when traditional fibre supply routes to the US where interrupted and farmers were again temporarily encouraged to grow hemp for the US war effort.
Hemp has the longest and strongest fibres of any natural fibre available. Plants grow in a dense mass, like a stand of tall bamboo canes up to 5 metres tall.
Hemp fibre has had a valuable place in certain civilisations for thousands of years but economic business heavyweights have done their best to nearly completely eliminate the crop as much as the can from the world ecomony because they wish to deal in oil, cotton and trees.
Hemp crops can be used to make paper, superior paper that can be recycled more times than paper made from trees. Cotton crops are hard on the environment and the inclusion of hemp fibre into many textiles would help cut down on cotton's impact on the environment and produce harder wearing textiles.
Hemp crops can be used for biofuels, and biofuels hold a great deal of potential to help heal the damage caused by burning fossil fuels.
When the world learns to grow plants as a source of fuel, we will have got to the point where people understand what the positive benefits are. The main one is that biofuels introduce no additional CO2 into the atmosphere in the way fossil fuel use does. When we burn fuels made from crops like hemp, the CO2 produced during combustion will be soaked up when the next fuel crop is grown.
The sun produces the energy to grow the crop. The sunlight is beamed to us everyday for free, when will we start to realise this and capitalise on it?
Hemp hurds can produce methanol and ethanol perfect for petrol cars, and hempseed oil for diesel engines.

How many scientists? Well, at least the 2,500+ attendeees at the international scientific congress on climate change in Copenhagen in Masrch 2009. Check out the summary report from the congress at www.climatecongress.ku.dk that they are putting forward for the politicians to consider at Copenhagen. n the scientific world the argument has long been won - expected changes in climate (eg arctic melt) are happening much faster than predicetd even 2 years ago. Cjeck out the Nobel prize-winners symposium and many other sites. I know who'd Id rather believe - a big bunch of people who figure this stuff out for a living or a tiny bunch of people who dont know much about the climate but are scared of losing their SUVs!