Low Carbon Kāpiti Blog

Dr Kirsty Wild, The University of Auckland 15 September 2022

Amongst all the debate about what social changes might stick post Covid, perhaps the most promising development so far seems to be the re-evaluation of how (and indeed if) we want to work.  The campaign for a four-day working week has received a welcome boost. 

The wellbeing benefits of reduced working hours are perhaps obvious, but the environmental benefits are less appreciated.  In general, we need time to learn many of the skills that underlie lower-carbon habits, e.g. vegetarian cooking, or experimenting with commuting using ‘slower’ transport modes like walking, cycling.  But unravelling our long hours work culture also provides important opportunities to break the cycle of extreme work and extreme leisure that encourages leisure flying. 

[Read more…] about Could a shorter working week help us to reduce flying?

One person’s Utopia is another’s Dystopia

By Anthony Britton, 12 September 2022

Dear reader if you’re having a bad day you may find this article hard to read, it was very hard to write without feeling depressed and without hope.

The Covid-19 pandemic, with the misery, suffering and death this has brought all around the world, has served as an unnecessary diversion from the changes we need to make to deal with climate change so that, for many who see the need for change, there is confusion.

Like my 12 year old grandson, who asked me the other day: “Is it true the human race will become extinct soon?” I can’t say how incredibly sad this made me feel for his future, I nearly cried, though I was careful not to put that on him; rather we discussed the possibility of this and how he felt about it.

But no wonder he asks this question, he’s living in a dystopia.

[Read more…] about Being the best you in a dystopia

By Andy McKay, 5 September 2022

Team Leader, Environment & Ecological Services (Te Kaiārahi Rōpū Ratonga Taiao me te Hauropi), Kāpiti Coast District Council

The Kāpiti Coast is blessed with some incredibly beautiful landscapes. From a biodiversity perspective, the jewel in the crown is Kāpiti Island, which provides a guiding light for those of us working in the conservation space on the mainland.

Kāpiti Coast’s Forest and Wetlands

DespiteKāpiti Island historically being farmed, a large proportion of the original forest still remains. Kāpiti Island has been predator free since 1999 and the recovery of the forest flora and fauna is well documented.

Unfortunately, like much of Aotearoa New Zealand, most of our mainland lowland forests were cleared for farming, predominately over the last 200 years.

[Read more…] about Kāpiti Coast Biodiversity

By Jake Roos, 5 September 2022

Kāpiti Coast District Council have opened a survey to get locals’ views on setting a target and plan to reduce the district’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is a tricky business because the district council has a limited degree of influence on emitting activities in the district. Many other local authorities have set plans like this, for example Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington and Lower Hutt Cities. Auckland’s plan has been running the longest (8 years) and their emissions have continued to rise all through this time. However, it is our view better to have a target and plan like this than not have one, especially if we can learn from others’ experiences and put our effort into the right places.

[Read more…] about Shifting to a low carbon Kāpiti survey – have your say

By Paul Callister, David Keat, Robert McLachlan and Jake Roos, 30 August 2022

The proposed NZ Biofuels Obligation will mean fuel suppliers must blend a percentage of biofuel with petrol and diesel from 1 April 2023 or face steep fines. The government wants this biofuel to be sustainably produced in New Zealand, but their own advisors have told them such fuels are only available in very small quantities, and all the biofuel to meet the obligation will need to be imported. Some bodies, such as the Crown Research Institute Scion, have said that wood and waste wood grown in New Zealand could  be made into biofuel that could be used to meet the obligation.  But how realistic is this in the short to medium term? Again, the government’s own advisors have said: not at all. In this blog we examine why.

[Read more…] about Can We Use Wood to Decarbonize New Zealand Transport… or Not?