Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are the main driving force of climate change, and all economic sectors need to internalize their costs. Food systems (including land use, production, refrigeration, food processing) account for a quarter of global GHG emissions. Agricultural exports in Asia-Pacific account for 18% of total exports, twice as …
New Zealand expects to allocate up to 1 million emissions permits to forestry owners by next month, a fraction of the 8 million set aside for issuance this year to the sector, the government said on Thursday. This is the first time any country in the Asia-Pacific has issued national …
New Zealand will better its target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol because of drought and reassessment of its forests, a government report said on Wednesday. The country was now expected to produce around 9.6 million tonnes less of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases than allowed …
Legally-embattled Facebook has found an unexpected ally in a New Zealand judge. Wellington High Court judge David Glendall has approved the use of the social-networking site to serve court papers. Glendall approved the serving of legal papers on Craig Axe, who is alleged to have taken NZ $ 241,000 (US …
Environment: Removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere could help combat climate change. Will it really work? Preventing catastrophic climate change, most people agree, will mean reducing the level of man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. That, in turn, will require the widespread use of
Geoscientists claim to have discovered an entire ocean that was destroyed 20 to 50 million years ago when its sea floor sank some 1,100km into the earth between Australia and New Zealand. An international team has reconstructed the cataclysm which took place when the tectonic plate underlying the ocean
Water quality trading is gaining traction in a number of watersheds around the world. It is a market-based approach that works alongside water quality regulation to improve water quality, providing flexibility in how regulations are met and potentially lowering regulatory compliance and abatement costs. The research identified 57 water quality …
There are two forms of power. One is real power that can be translated into actual work typically measured in watts. Another is reactive power that is consumed by a device but does not produce any useful work. The sum of both forms of power is the power supplied by …
A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower aircraft emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said. One engine of a Boeing 747-400 was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard …
Cows, sheep and goats may seem like innocent victims of humanity's appetite for meat, but when it comes to climate change they have a dark secret. Forget cars, planes or even power stations, some of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters wander idly across rolling pastures chewing the cud, oblivious …
New Zealand is at risk of a second year of drought in some regions, with a warmer-than-normal summer and below-average rainfall forecast, climate scientists said on Friday. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said much of the country, including key farming regions, would have above normal temperatures …
Problems associated with implanting animal organs in humans had seemed insurmountable, but new research could soon bring about the first clinical trials.
Air New Zealand and Boeing have set Dec. 3 as the date for a test flight powered partially by biofuel, the companies said. An Air New Zealand 747-400 jetliner leaving from Auckland will burn, in one of its four engines, a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and fuel made from …
A city of brittle stars off the coast of New Zealand, an Antarctic expressway where octopuses ride along in a flow of extra salty water and a carpet of tiny crustaceans on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor are among the wonders discovered by researchers compiling a massive census of …
New Zealand's emissions scheme faces a turbulent road before it starts in 2009, bedevilled by hundreds of last-minute amendments, fierce criticism from industry and a national election within less than a month. But one of the country's top carbon traders and advisers says the scheme will get off the ground, …
What do a small Italian village, a community of millionaires in Oregon and a town in Austria have in common? Nearly all of their electricity needs are supplied by renewable energy. They are by no means the only ones. A growing number of communities are working towards using only electricity …
Many countries are exploring various alternatives to reduce fuel consumption and preserve air quality in urban areas. There is a variety of attractive measures, such as promoting public transit and bicycle use, deploying congestion pricing or fuel taxes, etc, which have been proven successful in the past. Another measure is …
Companiese that advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers may not get as much bang for their buck as they - or their critics - assume. Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of drugs is only permitted in the US and New Zealand and has long been controversial. Both proponents and opponents assume the …
There is mounting evidence that climate change is triggering a shrinking and thinning of many glaciers world-wide which may eventually put at risk water supplies for hundreds of millions
For most people, the nuclear energy issue is much like the story of the six blind men and the elephant: different pieces, but no coherent overall picture. For some, it
