The Bushfire Crisis Is a Wake-Up Call We Can’t Afford to Ignore
A British MP described the Australian bushfire crisis as a “wake-up call for the world” on global warming, but the Australian government is still asleep at the wheel.
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Yes, Australia Has Always Had Bushfires: But 2019 Is Like Nothing We’ve Seen Before
Record drought in Australia attributed to accelerating climate change has contributed to a continent-scale emergency that has burned through more than 5m hectares and alarmed scientists, doctors and firefighters.
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Climate Crisis to Drive All Future New Zealand Government Policies
New Zealand is stepping up its efforts to stop global warming. All new government decisions will be made with the climate change crisis in mind.
Read More Prime Ministers Urged to Take 30 Day Challenge to Help Climate Crisis
Four member organisations of the Vegan World Alliance are challenging the leaders of their countries to try vegan for a month, starting on 1 November, World Vegan Day. They want their leaders to commit to a low carbon way of life and to educate their government and the public about the huge negative impact animal agriculture has on the environment.
Read More Jacinda Ardern Says Economic Growth Is Pointless If People Aren’t Thriving
New Zealand’s new well-being budget focuses on mental health and poverty reduction.
Read More More Bad News for Glyphosate
The Glyphosate controversy continues making news around the world and in Australia. The latest news being that the German Government has recently announced that it will phase out all uses for Glyphosate by 2023.
Read More Animal Agriculture Is Major Driver of Australia’s Faunal Extinction Crisis
In a submission to an Australian government inquiry into Australia’s faunal extinction crisis, Vegan Australia urged the government to move towards a vegan agricultural system to help save koalas and many other threatened species.
Read More Communities Know What’s Good for Them When It Comes to Transport
Designing transport projects to help free up traffic is a flawed approach if done in isolation or prioritisation to the safe and active movement of people.
Read More Australia Will Ban Domestic Trade of Ivory and Rhino Horns in Massive Win for Biodiversity
Australia has announced it will ban the domestic trade of ivory and rhino horn, a decision that could help halt illegal global poaching and save the treasured animals for future generations.
Read More Using Public Transport Makes Us Nicer People
Whenever I travel, I always feel like I’ve had a true experience of the city or town I’m in after I’ve used the public transport. It feels so inclusive.
Read More Climate Q&A: Will We Be Less Healthy Because of Climate Change?
Some of the negative health effects of climate change are already upon us, but it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a huge opportunity for better health through well designed action to reduce our emissions and by adapting to the changes we are facing.
Read More Melbourne Joins Dozens of Councils Across Australia in Declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’
The Future Melbourne Committee moved in favor of a motion Wednesday which states that climate change and mass species extinction “pose serious risks to the people of Melbourne” and should, therefore, be treated as an emergency.
Read More New Zealand’s Ardern Says Plight of Pacific Islanders Should Spur Climate Action
Climate change is having a real impact on Pacific islanders and that should spur countries to greater action to tackle the problem, New Zealand Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.
Read More Climate emergency declared by Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Bay of Plenty is the latest New Zealand region to declare a climate emergency. Bay of Plenty Regional councillors agreed to declare a climate emergency and work with the community on transitioning to a low carbon future and adapting to our changing climate at a council meeting yesterday.
Read More Sydney Declares Climate Emergency, Joining Fast-Growing Global Movement
Sydney, which is the most populous city in Australia, already has an ambitious climate action plan. The government is on track to get 100% of its electricity through renewable sources by 2024, six years ahead of its initial target, and it aims to fully eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
Read More The Difference Passive Solar Heating Can Make to a Home
By taking advantage of passive solar gain (orienting our homes towards the sun among other strategies), we can save money, be healthier, and have less impact on the environment.
Read More James Cameron and Peter Jackson to Build Vegan Meat Factories in New Zealand
James Cameron and Peter Jackson are bringing vegan protein to New Zealand in an effort to reduce the country’s greenhouse gases generated by its livestock production.
Read More Opening Our Hearts and Minds Across the Cultural Divide
After attending my first formal Maori meeting (hui), I took home a new perspective on a culture I thought I already knew. Turns out I know very little but would love to learn more and I’ll become a better person for it. This experience for me has brought to life a mantra I already believe in—‘Treat others the way you want to be treated yourself’, I just understand it better now.
Read More What’s the Measure of Success for Good Urban Form?
What’s the measure of success of good urban form? For me, it’s equity. This looks like all members of the community enjoying access to safe, reliable and affordable transport that connects them within the community and to amenities. It’s housing that doesn’t have labels like ‘social’ and ‘affordable’ – everyone gets to live in a space that benefits their wellbeing. It’s also when the intrinsic value of nature is incorporated into our spaces, not built out.
Read More Extinction Emergency – We Need Action Right Now to Save New Zealand Dolphins
Human activities are pushing some marine species towards extinction, including some of the smallest dolphins in the world. Collectively known as New Zealand dolphins, Hector’s and Māui dolphins live only around the coast of New Zealand and they are dying in fishing nets at a rate that will see them extinct if we don’t change our behaviour around them and remove the destructive fishing nets from their home.
Read More Striking for System Change, Not Climate Change
Students have been striking all over New Zealand. Much has been said about the rights and wrongs of them skipping school to march the streets. From my experience, these students understand more about the problem and solutions we’re facing than many of the adults making decisions on their behalf. I spoke to a few of them at the strike to get their thoughts on what the government should be doing to take action against climate change and what they were doing individually.
Read More Māori Approach to Mental Health Offers Empowering Alternative to Western Psychiatry
A new article explores Mahi a Atua, an affirming, indigenous Māori healing practice which stands in contrast to the Western psychiatric methods typically promoted by the Movement for Global Mental Health.
Read More Water Bottling – The New ‘Gold Rush’ Industry
I oppose the expansion of the Otakiri Water Bottling Plant in the Eastern Bay of Plenty (New Zealand) for a number of reasons, but it’s got me thinking about equity of resources and what that means from a humanitarian perspective. At some stage, unless we experience a massive global sustainability shift, water will become the most precious resource we have. We will need it and so will others.
Read More The Zero Carbon Bill Through the Eyes of an Everyday Activist
The Zero Carbon Bill was released by the New Zealand Government on the 8th May, 2019 and everyone has an opinion on it. Will it be any good for us, the biodiversity we cherish and the planet? The jury is definitely out on that one as scientists, academics, economists, politicians and everyday activists like me try to figure out what it will mean. Its intention is to get New Zealand on a pathway of no more than 1.5C warming, in a way which includes all sectors.
Read More Environment Canterbury Applauded for Declaring Region-Wide ‘Climate Emergency’
Canterbury’s move into a state of “climate emergency” was met with rapturous applause from those who encouraged Environment Canterbury (ECan) to be the first council in the country to make the declaration.
Read More New Zealand’s First-Ever Budget for ‘Well-Being’ Will Focus on Poverty and Mental Health
New Zealand is set to become the first country to account for “well-being” in its annual budget, which will roll out May 30. The inaugural budget allocation will focus on addressing child poverty, domestic violence, and mental health, according to Grant Robertson, New Zealand’s finance minister.
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