Cheap and fast: Fletchers 100,000 new KiwiBuild homes
The KiwiBuild idea, Fletchers and the capacity issue, yet alone any sustainability.
Adapting to Climate Change in New Zealand
As part of the process of writing my latest board report for carboNZero, I researched latest development at government level regarding climate change action in New Zealand. I had some high hopes into the government after all those years of national at the reigns and no action in that regard whatsoever.
Doing the right thing while keeping powered up
Most portable or mobile devices need power and that is provided by batteries in some form – either rechargeable or non-rechargeable, built-in or replaceable.
All of those batteries have their advantages and disadvantages, some last longer than others, some are cheaper in the long-run, some need more attention than others i.e. charging or replacing.
Whatever the battery, it will need to be replaced at some stage
How France is stealing a march on sustainability
Emmanuel Macron has signalled readiness to push French leadership on climate even more aggressively to protect the agreement that bears the name of the French capital. He appointed the celebrity environmentalist Nicolas Hulot as his number three.
How Sweden wants to make repairing things cheaper
Sweden’s government wants to give people tax breaks on repairing everything from shoes to washing machines as part of a new green drive to help the environment by making the country less wasteful. Have you ever been upset about a product being designed to fail with no chance of repairing it? The proposal by the ruling…
Crickhowell: Welsh town moves ‘offshore’ to avoid tax on local business
When independent traders in a small Welsh town discovered the loopholes used by multinational giants to avoid paying UK tax, they didn’t just get mad. Now local businesses in Crickhowell are turning the tables on the likes of Google and Starbucks by employing the same accountancy practices used by the world’s biggest companies, to move their entire town “offshore”.
Establishing a feed-in tariff for electricity | TOKO Petitions
I sometimes do not agree with what Greenpeace are trying to do, like the one below: We petition the NZ Government to establish a feed-in tariff which power companies must pay for surplus power fed into the national grid by people with photo-voltaic panels or other generation using grid-tied inverters. The tarriff should be approximately…
Australia: Tackling housing unaffordability: a 10-point national plan
Looks like Australia is having similar problems as New Zealand is facing. The widening cracks in Australia’s housing system can no longer be concealed. The extraordinary recent debate has laid bare both the depth of public concern and the vacuum of coherent policy to promote housing affordability. The community is clamouring for leadership and change.
Is NZ ready for $10b of Chinese cash about to drop on property market?
The Productivity commission did a report in 2012 and outlined many issues, actually a very interesting report to read. Another updated draft report was just released two weeks ago and contains pretty much the same findings. Yet again I note that the issues have not changed in 3 years, are well documented and yet not addressed.
Ingo @ Green Living Show: Smarter House Design – Affordable And Sustainable Homes For New Zealand
I will be presenting at the Green Living Show 2015 at the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Room 3, 10:30 am on Sunday 28 June. The subject will be: “Smarter House Design – Affordable And Sustainable Homes For New Zealand”.Executive Summary: Land and resources become scarcer and more expensive, energy usage hikes while greenhouse gas emission continues to rise.…