| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Bill McKibben | ||||
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Bill McKibben in the lion’s den: 350 ways to tame the Colbert Nation. Brave man — but the plug for October 24th is an effective one. Check here for NZ events…
[H/T to Whoar]
Tag: McKIbben
The first cut is the deepest
This week climate minister Nick Smith and international negotiator Tim Groser start their 2020 emissions target roadshow, ostensibly taking the pulse of the nation on the question of what target New Zealand should commit to in the run-up to Copenhagen in December. Much of the argument will undoubtedly centre around the costs of taking action. The government has already signalled it won’t commit to targets likely to damage the economy, but there is a bigger question to consider — what emissions cuts does the world have to consider in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and how should New Zealand play its part? Any cost to the NZ economy is only a small part of that overall equation, and (arguably) not the most important. I want to examine what “the science†is telling us about a global goal and how we get there, and what that means for New Zealand. The leaflet produced to accompany the consultation process is pretty feeble in this respect, so I make no apologies for going into some detail here.
350 ways to leave a mark
The Wanaka gig went well: a full house in the rather lovely “Crystal Palace” (a tent that thinks it’s a cross between a Victorian pub, a circus big top and a night club), to hear Bill McKibben and yours truly discuss the likely impacts of climate change on NZ and the world. Bill’s afternoon session was excellent, as he described the genesis and growth of 350.org, and the important role it has to play in the run up to the Copenhagen K2 climate meeting — giving the world’s politicians the popular backing to go for steep emissions cuts. This interview with Bill at Yale’s Environment 360 (10 ppm too many…) gives a good flavour of what he covered, but I would urge NZ readers to go and hear him for yourselves. There’s a full list of his talks here at the 350.org.nz site (Christchurch Friday May 1 at 9am, then Wellington in the evening, Raglan and Hamilton over the weekend, and finally Auckland on Monday – full details at the preceding link). It’s a pity we couldn’t get him in front of the ETS Review committee. Now, how do I come with a creative way to underline the 350 message come October 24th…? All suggestions gratefully received, or sign up and organise something yourself.
McKibben in Wanaka
American environmentalist, writer, educator and founder of 350.org Bill McKibben is in New Zealand this month, and will be speaking at Wanaka’s Festival of Colour on Wednesday 29th April. Bill will be on stage for two sessions at the Infinity Crystal Palace, the first of which — at 10-30am on the impacts of global warming — will also feature me: Bill’s covering the big picture, and I’m providing the local colour. It’s an honour to share the stage with Bill, and I’ll be in the audience for his afternoon gig (2-30pm), where he’s going to address how we can deal with the problem. I hope I’ve finished Deep Economy by then…