Posts by Kyle Matthews
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It is actually impossible for an outsider , even another farmer , to understand the intricacies of an individual farm .
That might be true in the whole. But there's plenty of people who can turn up at a bunch of cows crapping on the banks of a stream and say "you need a fence here". If farmers can't fix some of these problems themselves voluntarily, then there's going to have to be some sticks if it's going to be fixed.
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Dr Joy is talking tonight with Land and Water Forum Chair Alastair Bisley and Professor David Hamilton from Waikato University at Good Earth Cafe, Dunedin, from 7.30pm. Attached to the NZ Freshwater Sciences Society conference which was at University of Otago today. Topical.
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For most enough is enough.
Despite hundreds of years of evidence that this isn't actually the case for most?
Yes, if we say to farmers (or any other profession) you can earn twice as much profit per unit, would you like to have the same number of units or half as many, they'll all cut back.
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Capture: Spring is Like a Perhaps Hand, in reply to Nora Leggs,
What building is that top picture Nora?
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Michael Kelly – Prince Philip Professor of Technology, University of Cambridge
From his web page:
Michael Kelly studied Mathematics and Physics to MSc level at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, and completed his PhD in solid state physics at Cambridge in 1974. After a further seven years as post-doc working on the electronic structure of metals and semiconductors, he joined the GEC Hirst Research Centre in 1981. While there he and his team developed two new families of microwave devices that went, and are still, in production with E2V Technologies at Lincoln. From 1992-2002 he was Professor of Physics and Electronics at the University of Surrey, including a term as Head of the School of Electronics and Physical Sciences. During 2003-5, we was the Executive Director of the Cambridge-MIT Institute, an £80M project which brings together academics from Cambridge and MIT to work on research, education and industrial outreach for the benefit of the UK economy.
Here's his recent publications. The closest he seems to get to climate change is knowing a bit about how to design buildings to deal with it, doesn't seem to have published at all on how bad it is (or isn't) or what's causing it.
I do despair.
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So about 500 times cheaper than a certain two hour movie (or is it a three hour movie, I haven't been paying attention?).
Govt spent about $94 million to get the hobbit here, and it's three movies, so it'll be about 8 hours. But yup. And they sacrificed a small portion of our employment laws.
I've been really enjoying a bunch of TV shows that have been turning up on TV this year. 7 Days consistently is good. Nothing Trivial is nice relaxed Sunday night viewing, Tangawai and Billy T shows were both excellent, and I've even enjoyed the bits of NZs got Talent that I haven't fast forwarded through. Media 3 and Backbenchers is coming back. I can probably even forgive them for the GC.
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A large component of NZ’s ranking in that PLoS study is due to the very low Biodiversity score but the Yale study ranks NZ quite highly and rapidy improving on that mark.
According to the NYT, we've slipped from 1st in 2008 to 14th, so I'm not sure how that's an improvement of any speed.
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I for one find it hard to believe that it’s less safe to drink from or swim in the rivers of New Zealand (or some other named environmental disaster areas like Iceland) than it is in most of the countries named as top environmental performers – Central African Republic? Mali? Eritrea? Really?
I haven't visited those countries, but until I do, relying on people who are qualified experts in water quality and their impacts upon the environment and animals in them doesn't seem like an unreasonable choice.
Also it doesn't take long in wandering around NZ outside of conservation areas to find rivers that you shouldn't go near, let alone swim in. Drinking them would be repulsive.
Here's a photo of the Manawatu.
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Claire Browning slams NZ's environmental story on pundit.
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I made an 'against the trend' comment on this at the time saying something along the lines of "what else could he have done"? The PM's got to be a spokesperson for NZ. I understand the validity of criticising him and his government for not doing more to address the problems, but I can't think what else a PM should do when there is criticism of the country in international media other than to to try to counter it (however valid).
I'd be happy with the PM responding to the original BBC interview by saying "yeah, it's a marketing thing, obviously we're not 100% pure, we do have some serious issues, and here's some things we're working on to be better.... [list a couple of the weak as things that National is actually doing], but NZ is still a beautiful country, scenery, fantastic tourism etc and we encourage the world to come experience it".
That to me would be a fair line for a National Party PM who isn't very pro-environment to be taking.
I find his inability in the face of the science to admit that there's a problem frustrating. You can admit that climate change is a problem and not do anything about it, why can't you do that with rivers?
Good on Mike Joy for doing his job, hope the interview goes well Russell.