This New Zealand Life

Copenhagen in crisis: fast for climate justice

Following a call from 350.org, I will be fasting on Thursday 17th December for 24 hours

Despite massive mobilizations this year, world leaders are still caving to powerful special interests.

The targets on the Copenhagen negotiating table right now don't get us back to 350 -- in fact, they put the world on track to hit a devastating 770ppm by century's end -- literally a scorched earth scenario.

I will be fasting on Thursday 17th December for 24 hours (starting right now in fact).

Please support the global call for a life saving 350 level of CO2 in the atmosphere by registering your support at the following link.

Even consider fasting.

http://action.350.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup

UK Guardian slams NZ's green image

Prize for the most shameless two fingers to the global community goes to New Zealand

The news of NZ's measly environmental credentials is reaching the outside world.

Raise petrol prices to stop needless deaths

Petrol is one of the few things that is cheaper in New Zealand than in Europe

News Roundup: Could premature death and destruction be halved with European style petrol taxes. Here's one day's motoring headlines.

Pineapple lump epiphany

Lump the taste from wikicommons

Comment: If you spend any length of time in New Zealand it won't take you long to come across the fabled sweets that have a reputation out of all proportion to their generally tasteless, odourless and - let's face it - sweet-less character.

A nation of pyromaniacs

Comment: Few activities give a red-blooded male more pleasure than lighting a fire. But when your fingers are blue from cold you begin to wonder if there isn't a better way of keeping warm.

Living with Wellington's fearful secret

Wellington CBD from Mount Victoria. Photograph: wikicommons

THE capital of New Zealand straddles a violent crack in the earth's crust that is overdue for a seismic shift. Hundreds of buildings in Wellington's central business district could be destroyed, and thousands may die. So how do residents live with the risks?

Disturbing side to New Zealand motorists

EUROPEAN drivers in New Zealand often complain about the standard of driving evident on the roads, but nothing can prepare you for a reported incident in Rotorua this week.

Many excuses are made: the rural drunk, the narrowness of the roads, the single-lane gravel routes through winding valleys.

Kiwis at medium risk of death from natural disaster: UN

THE harzardous geology of New Zealand does not make it a highly dangerous country in which to live according to a new report from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

The Mortality Risk Index (MRI) report is the product of a massive database which underpins the Global Assessment Report: Risk and Poverty in a Changing Climate, a landmark document launched in Bahrain last month by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Blog roundup: Leaping bulls, motel madness and lazy Wellingtonians

I think you’ll get a sense of the rain forest in late afternoon. Everywhere is soaked but the plants are loving it

The last couple of weeks have seen some interesting blog posts starting with The Domestic Executive's beautiful photos - a few too many dogs for some I might suggest, but some great images.

Earthquake preparation is life and death - The Brunt's big move

Its easy to forget that New Zealand forms part of the pacific ring of fire. It lies on the active boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates and is one of the most seismically active places in the world. North of Wellington there are a number of active and potentially active volcanoes in the Taupo volcanic zone.

Ten facts about speeding in New Zealand

POLICE have been forced to waive speeding tickets because new digital speed cameras are innacurate, but how much does speed contribute to fatalities on New Zealand roads?

A police spokesman told the Dominion Post that the new mobile cameras, introduced nationally in January, were wrongly recording the speeds of larger vehicles. Some tickets were issued for twice the vehicles' true speeds.

As a result, police have stopped processing infringement notices for high-sided trucks and buses and have waived at least 133 tickets after complaints, including 10 proven cases of inaccurate readings.

Swine Flu reaches Wellington (unconfirmed)

AS most of the newspapers around the globe are reporting on the trail of swine flu from its Mexican origins (allegedly), so the Kiwi papers are watching the virus arrive on NZ1 (from LA to Auckland) and continue its journey through the country.

It seems that school trips are to blame. The virus arrived first in Auckland with a party of students coming home from Mexico.