What is Digg?113 Comments
- openthink, on 11/04/2007, -0/+36great to see some countries really make the commitment. they may end up having to be the examples to countries like the US...in fact they already are models.
- canewediggit, on 10/10/2007, -3/+31there's only one answer - invade and take their wind and water!
- gibler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+21First you have to locate us on a map. Free Hint: we aren't part of Australia.
- lukasm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+20Damn this makes me even more pissed off at the Australian Government; our PM recently set a target of 15% 'clean energy' (might include coal) by 2020. Hopefully getting rid of little Johnny at this years elections might improve things but my cynical side doubts it.
- theblueprint, on 10/15/2007, -1/+18New Zealand has been receiving non-stop shipments of aluminum tubes...
Do I need to tell you what the ***** you can do with an aluminum tube? - scottykempf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17Good on ya, kiwis. The only way to meet a goal is to set one.
- aussieNickuss, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16In Australia......we have the most solar coverage of any country and more than enough "waste/baron" land to build massive fields of solar collectors. Not to mention the relatively thin crust over SA which is the perfect area to tap into our own geothermal sources (which is already happening). Then also, there are the thousands upon thousands of kilometres of coastline to build massive offshore wind farms.
But no, we have one of the largest supplies of coal in the world which makes lots and lots of money for our corporations and pollies. They go on and on about the "clean" coal ***** (I mean, how the hell can coal be clean?), when we have so many natural, renewable and CLEAN sources to tap into. Governments and corps are too afraid of change, because it may mean their profits reduce for a little while. GREEN FTW!! - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16I think this will be the place I go to when the Netherlands starts to drown.
- chase001, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16*The US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Oil Inc.
- Waiting2awake, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13They may have a slight advantage in one area, but I am willing to bet every country has their own little niche that could help out both the country and the planet. So naturally, it won't be done.
BIg ups to NZ! - Istrancis, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14This is exactly the kind of example other countries worldwide need to follow. Renewable energy sources need to be encouraged and pushed toward the public, hard! If there was some kind of tax break offered to the consumer for using renewable energy I could see this really taking off. It's like with the Toyota Prius and the Ford FFV (FlexiFuel Vehicle). Hopefully more countries will stick to initiatives like this.
- benguild, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14Woo, I'm from NZ :P
- gummih, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13I wonder how much it will COST to be dependent on fossil fuels by 2025!
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Now that is a real, courageous leader with vision.
- frednofr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Yeah, water flows downwards, so since NZ is at the bottom of the world, they drown first of course.
- mishsquish, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9I'm originally from Moscow. I have lived in NZ for nearly 7 years. It still amazes me every day how truly untouched this place is. Even cities look.. less imposing.. on the environment.
- cjh24, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9it's not bad, we get cheep, high-quality wool.
i'm sure many populations of people are out numbered by their livestock - eg, chickens? - enivid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9They're joining Iceland's exclusive club!
- nihilite, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9I assume by "cannot" you mean "can, but are too greedy, listless, or stupid to". so i agree.
- gummih, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Iceland is another really interesting example - although a very small population, 99.9% of Iceland's electricity is currently generated from renewable sources (including the electricity for smelting ~2% of the worlds aluminum).
I spite of being this small, Iceland can still contribute, especially in geothermal research - there are ongoing projects that may benefit countries without conventional geothermal areas. Deep drilling may for instance give 50 MW from a single well.
http://conferences-engine.brgm.fr/contributionDisp ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_I ... - Murdats, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Gyms!
think about it, obesity is a problem there right, and you have a lot of people trying to work it off by using treadmills, weights etc.
that is an untapped wealth of kinetic energy right there, add in maybe some school programs and perhaps some finacial incentives so you get the lazier/poorer participating aswell and you have solved two national problems, obesity and energy production, and it barely costs you anything :) - Murphious, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9NZ have a really unfair advantage; they have a crazy amount of geothermal activity which helps out.
Still, good on them for tapping into it! - smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6if every city sets this goal for themselves, each would be tackling a much smaller goal but still achieving the same collective outcome. there's no reason why a larger nation couldn't attempt the same thing as what NZ is doing. the only obstacles are people like you who are opposed to any attempts at environmental reform. it only takes a small effort on the part of each person, but when half the population is against environmental reform, it takes twice the effort from the other half. fighting rearguard reactions is primarily what makes this type of policy change and most progressive reforms difficult. it's not a logistical problem, as we have far more resources per capita than NZ, it's mostly a cultural problem due to a large ignorant population.
- nihilite, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6dont forget the liposuction to biodiesel possibilities.
- Amnesia10, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Australia has a lot of potential to be self sufficient. Nearly all the population live near the coast, so wave energy could be used. As a result of the clear skies and sunny weather solar would be effective. Then there are windmills, Australia has potential.
- Waiting2awake, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5So true. I wish Canada would follow their lead. Good for them.
- Dundasbro, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7So how does it feel to know that sheep outnumber people in your country?
- benguild, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I never really thought about it...
- SimonGray, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Clearly an expert on Kiwi conditions.
/sarcasm - aussieNickuss, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Woo, I'm your evil, polluting neighbor! :P
- gibler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I suggest you study up on geography....free hint: the South Island is quite mountainous.
- benguild, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Oh, please. They look AWESOME!!!11
- codenexus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5OK so I have never ever understood why wind generators are so bad and the comparison with Hydro dams is crazy. I shouldn't have even put those two into the same sentence.
Firstly look at the physical impact on the environment. The footprint is small and it doesn't flood a massive area thus destroying huge regions of land. I've seen one happen and it isn't pretty.
But I'll give you the biggest reason why I like wind power over a hydro dam. Ever tried removing a dam and cleaning up after it breaks because of an earthquake??? (NZ has a few good fault lines running up and down it). A lot freakin harder than a wind generator.
So when I see wind generators I don't see something ugly... I see something that makes me feel much, much happier.
What we honestly need to do though, to keep the "Ewww it looks UGLY!!!" crowd queit (if nothing else), is put wind generators out to sea. There is more consistent wind out there as there is less geographic disturbance. Be creative people and come up with the solution!!! :) - warriorscot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Well the fact that they have a smaller population and area make it difficult in some ways they don't have the same resources larger countries do, for a small country to implement renewable energy can be just as difficult the problems are just a little different. If the US wanted to switch to renewable energy 90-100% it could do it and do it quickly it would just require the reallocation of resources and some hard work but it's more than possible to do it, it wouldn't even be a bad thing and it wouldnt be as difficult as people think the technology exists and is effective, the resources are there it just needs a will to do it.
- known, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5NZ also has pioneered in implementing "Tax Waste, Not Work".
- maiku00, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5wtg New Zealand. You are a shining example for the rest of the world.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Toyota _is_ making an effort. however, you are absolutely right about Ford's PR charade. along with GM, they were both prominent members of the anti-Kyoto-Protocol Global Climate Coalition, whose members have been the primary industry opponents to environmental reform and greenhouse gas reduction. these industry leaders also created most of the pseudo-scientific organizations and "research panels" chaired with industry spokespersons and PR officials posing as authorities on climate change, often with spurious websites spreading FUD and disinformation attempting to manipulate public opinion.
it is quite telling that Ford still has the least fuel-efficient cars, trucks and SUVs in the united states. they have gone back on their promises to increase fuel efficiency and also shut down the successful Think City project in a fashion paralleling GM's cancellation of the EV1--as soon as changes in the California zero-emissions vehicle policy were successfully lobbied by the automotive industry, Ford killed the battery electric and ordered all vehicles to be destroyed. it was only after strong outcry from lessees and activists did Ford return the vehicles to Norway for sale (see, we _can_ make a difference). similar events also happened with a line of electric Ranger pick-up trucks which Ford also discontinued and ordered to be destroyed. Ford was also found by researchers at the University of Massachusetts to be the 7th worst corporate producer of air pollution due to the poor environmental considerations in their vehicle production process.
americans need to stop supporting such unethical companies. they have repeatedly demonstrated that they don't care about the environment despite popular demand for greener vehicles. instead, Ford would rather sponsor spurious studies and insult the intelligence of the american public with FUD campaigns and making repeated efforts to hinder the adoption of better environmental policies using their powerful industry lobbies. - syroncoda, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4hooray! something to be happy about! i like new zealand.
- rotten777, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Get me a job in Auckland. I'm dying to emigrate. :)
- cjh24, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4lol it's ~5 million, give or take a few hundred thousand
- nihilite, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Coal can be clean... it just needs expensive processing and afterburning/filtering which make it much less cost effective than other forms of energy.
- orbaldrugger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Ka Ora! Ka Ora!
- andyboyd, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Yeah, the smart investors will be buying up land a few meter higher than sea level in anticipation of it being the new seafront. ;)
- mlagana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3the kiwis are always on the ball.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3why is it easier? we have more resources per capita than NZ. if you want, you can partition the nation up into blocs of 4.2 million people, the approximate population size of NZ, and set the same goal for each bloc to tackle. but i don't know why that should make a difference.
densely populated coastal regions have access to a variety of natural power sources such as tidal power, solar power, wind power, and undersea geothermic power in some areas. thinly populated regions, such as most of middle america, can easily be supported by wind and solar power installations. and if needed, nuclear power can be used almost anywhere.
this is a problem of getting people behind the effort, not logistics. it's a cultural problem, and it's not being helped by people simply _assuming_ that it can't be done before any attempts are made. - rnwen2750, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3@ nihilite - coal can be clean. But obtaining it is not. MTR is a huge problem in WV and is causing unbelievable damage to the local ecosystem and local populace.
- nihilite, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3nah... we'll just keep bombing random countries until we get it right. eventually, you'll get yours.
- Caliente, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4that's truly fantastic. Cant believe how fossil dependent our grid is compared to our trans-tasman neighbours.
- swhite76, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Kudos to New Zealand, but come on. Comparing NZ to the US is ridiculous. That's not to say the US doesn't need to do more, but with a fraction of the people and geographic area, it's far easier for New Zealand to do this.
- Dundasbro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Johnny will improve it... With the plans of scrapping it the moment he gets back in. Thing is I don't think he will be able to pull it off this time :)
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