Bryan Walker

New Opencast Mine Permitted

News today that resource consent has been granted to Perth-based company Bathurst Resources for opencast coal mining on 200 hectares in the Mt Rochfort Conservation Area on Denniston Plateau, northeast of Westport. It will become New Zealand’s second largest opencast coal mine after Solid Energy’s nearby Stockton mine.

The commissioners said that the consent was granted “not without some considerable reservations and anguish” and that they “do not wish to provide any indication that future consents will be granted to undertake further mining in this area.” But the economic benefits easily carried the day:

“The most and almost overwhelming factor that we had to consider is the enormous financial benefit that the mine will bring to the Buller district and the West Coast region.” Continue reading “New Opencast Mine Permitted”

The Power of Non-violent Civil Disobedience

In a post on the Guardian website Bill McKibben reflects on civil disobedience after his stint in jail last weekend. He had thought he might be writing a blog post from jail:

“But frankly, I wasn’t up to it. The police, surprised by how many people turned out on the first day of two weeks of protests at the White House, decided to teach us a lesson. As they told our legal team, they wanted to deter anyone else from coming – and so, with our first crew, they were… kind of harsh.

“We spent three days in D.C.’s Central Cell Block, which is exactly as much fun as it sounds like it might be. You lie on a metal rack with no mattress or bedding and sweat in the high heat; the din is incessant; there’s one baloney sandwich with a cup of water every 12 hours.

“I didn’t have a pencil – they wouldn’t even let me keep my wedding ring – but, more important, I didn’t have the peace of mind to write something. It’s only now, out 12 hours and with a good night’s sleep under my belt, that I’m able to think straight.” Continue reading “The Power of Non-violent Civil Disobedience”

Milliband’s Reading Cheers Monbiot

George Monbiot has a striking piece in the Guardian this week, asking how much of the economic growth of the past 60 years is real and how much an illusion created by levels of borrowing that cannot be sustained. Ireland is his exemplar:

“Go to Ireland and you’ll see that even bricks and mortar are a mirage: the marvels of the new economy, built on debt, stand empty and worthless.”

And it’s not only financial borrowing, but also ecological borrowing:

“…we have inflicted more damage since 1950 to the planet’s living systems than we achieved in the preceding 100,000 years.” Continue reading “Milliband’s Reading Cheers Monbiot”

SOS Roadshow Still Travelling

The last time we reported on the Jim Salinger, Rod Oram and Caroline Saunders roadshow was after their Hamilton visit in July which I attended. They haven’t finished yet, and their itinerary for September to November is posted below. Jim Salinger comments on their visits since they were in Hamilton:

“Since our Bay of Plenty/Waikato tour we have been to a few places in the South Island with great reception. First up was Tasman District and we had an enthusiastic audience of 110 at Siegfried Estate, near Richmond, followed by 60 in Nelson (we were competing with three other events going on concurrently in Nelson!). This was followed the next day by 60
in Masterton. Then the following week we spoke in Timaru to an audience of 160 – our best yet. By the time we have finished the roadshow we will have given 33 presentation presentations throughout New Zealand.”

The Nelson Mail reported their message in terms of the need for cities and businesses to focus on sustainability and innovation in order to survive and combat climate change. It’s an impressive service the three are providing, spreading out across the country and speaking in terms relevant to New Zealand and to the region they are visiting. Continue reading “SOS Roadshow Still Travelling”

Thinking Old-Style Big

A full page feature recently appeared in the Waikato Times in which Press journalist John McCrone interviewed Solid Energy CEO Don Elder on the Southland lignite proposals. It was a thoughtful piece of journalism, and I wish I could provide a link to it but it doesn’t seem to have appeared on the Stuff website. It provided a good overview of the thinking behind Solid Energy’s pursuit of lignite development, along with objections levelled against it. I’ve already written on the question but it’s important enough to keep returning to.

Lignite is big. Briquetting should be under way next year in a factory which has been consented by Environment Southland. Hospitals, commercial greenhouses and Fonterra are expected customers. But that’s just a groundbreaker. On the drawing board is a phase two briquetting plant that will be ten times larger. Continue reading “Thinking Old-Style Big”