tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:42:10 +0000climate changesustainable shoppingbusinessNew ZealandWellingtonmusiccommunityenergytransportwasteeventspolicycomedyShoppingFixenergy efficiencypoliticsrecyclingSaturday Sensitivityconsumerismemissionsfoodnatureland usemediaboozeoutdoorsurbanismfilmforestryactivismresearchsportaidbiodiversityconsumerism run amoktvartaviationdesignecologyelectronicsethicsfinancekidsphilanthropywaterecosystem servicesgenetic engineeringpollutionrelaxyouthThis was once a one-stop-shop for a Kiwi flavoured look at the broad concept of sustainability. It was also a place for pre-launch updates on ShoppingFix - a cool sustainable shopping initiative that crashed and burned in Wellington, New Zealandhttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)Blogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-2813500757372525912Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:20:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.489+13:00eventsShoppingFixWellingtonThings are mighty busy right now. So much so that ShoppingFix has taken a back seat.We've hit the pause button so I'll post here on a less regualr basis. In the mean time there are several events to look out for.1. Council elections - Wellington's carbon neutral aspirations will be fleshed out when post election committees are established in November. ShoppingFix is on the story board.2. Carbon http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/09/pause.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-7993757362830564446Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:06:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.634+13:00activismclimate changeenergyI read this article in the Guardian Weekly on the bus home tonight.In it is a truly amazing stat. No, not that China builds two coal fired power plants a week; but that Drax, the huge Yorkshire coal fired plant, produces more CO2 than 103 other nations combined.Someone else in the authors office essentially asked the same question today: can each of our recycling and energy saving measures reallyhttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/09/think-big.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-891809500932369456Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:28:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.710+13:00forestrysustainable shoppingThere's been a bit of flak flying over sustainable logging the last couple of days.Kwila, the Indonesian hardwood is under fire for causing dyslexia a clash with WTO rules if a ban on it's non-sustainable procurement is pursued.Flash outdoor furniture is often kwila but it seems that nobody can guarantee the validity of sustainable timber sourcing. Not least one particular bastion of sprawled http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/08/rough-sawn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-150205601902699001Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:27:00 +00002007-08-13T23:36:21.021+12:00musictransportWellingtonWellington's finest have a new album out October. God knows why I haven't seen this Phoenix Foundation clip before, but it has a quirky little sustainability bent to it.http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/08/caked-in-foundation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-4606496780680299531Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:51:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.835+13:00foodWellingtonWhittakers, our chocolate gurus from up the valley, have come up with the cocoa nib chocolate block.Blatant endorsement, but sorry, I'm in love. There is no better chocolate.What they don't do in terms of fair trade certification, Whittakers certainly make up for in variety, openness, and the cocoa nib.It's a dark little number, not complicated by overt sweetness, and is full of crunchy wee bits http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/08/behold-nib.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-7204324212129520125Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:28:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.924+13:00artcommunitypoliticsWellingtonTwenty years ago parliament legislated for a nuclear free New Zealand.This coming week the Peace Foundation (with the help of my employers) present Nuclear Zephyr at Bats.It's a performance of dance, theatre and music that examines the realities of cross cultural societies. It's a discussion of peace in its cultural, community, moral, and political contexts.The piece will feature art by Jane http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/08/zephyr.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-3767273533984409459Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:53:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:21.943+13:00wasteWellingtonMarjorie was the all knowing trash heap in Fraggle Rock.Wellington City Council's landfill manager took National Radio's Our Changing World on a tour last week. The city's trash heap made for fascinating radio (13 min audio).The great home recycling habit of Wellingtonians is discussed in contrast to what we get up to at work. "Places of work constitute 80% of [the] waste" supply. Most is http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/marjories-word.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-2382636435952553147Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:18:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.107+13:00forestrysustainable shoppingIt was my birthday last week. My folks always send me a card with a thoughtful message of optimism for the coming year.This year the message also alerted me to one on the back...My card was tree-free paper derived from the kenaf plant. It "grows 15 feet in just five months, uses no harmful chemicals in processing and is fully recyclable."Tree Free Greetings of Canada made my card. Yep, my kenaf'shttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/far-kenaf.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-2572196979139530931Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:11:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.263+13:00aidelectronicskidsLast week the green light was given to start production on the $100 Laptop. It's a fascinating non profit project with the aim of enabling learning in developing countries.It's been a contentious path. The concept came out of MIT's Media Lab and was quickly rubbished by Gates et.al.The laptop was actively opposed by Intel who came up with their own version. It threatened to get nasty until they http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/last-week-green-light-was-given-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-4076758243664804746Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:36:00 +00002007-07-19T19:25:00.836+12:00consumerismresearchVanuatu to IcelandA year ago this week I mentioned that Vanuatu was the happiest place on earth. This year the New Economics Foundation have released a European Happy Planet Index. Iceland are on top (c/o The Guardian). "[H]appiness doesn't have to cost the earth."Consumer MushI've been banging on about the growing ethical consumer market for a while now (1,2,3). It's been mostly Kiwi and UK http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/up-to-speed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-521003597489155542Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:47:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.418+13:00climate changeresearchsustainable shoppingwasteEats, shits, and leaves them at the landfill. And that's a good thing according to Kimberley-Clark.If it means that your company sells more disposable nappies then of course it's a good thing.The strange press release claims research has "found that the impact of burying disposable nappies in landfill sites was matched by the energy consumed and greenhouse gases generated by washing reusables or http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/leaving-their-mark.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-3449878343142423819Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:55:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.540+13:00designrecyclingsustainable shoppingIn April I posted about New Zealand's "first wave" of liberation from the plastic bag. Since then you'll have heard that a bunch of supermarkets are ditching the bag.A problem remains though - what happens your mountain of non-recyclable shopping bags. Step up makezine.com who ripped an oldish idea from this great little blog. Make your own messenger bag!Plans and instruction here (1,600kb pdf). http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/07/bags-of-fun.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-153888200433904195Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:07:00 +00002009-01-27T21:28:40.115+13:00recyclingWellingtonJim Small of organic yogurt outfit Cyclops has pretty much single handedly grabbed the recycling industry by the short and curlies.No small number of intelligent yogurt munchers have coerced all five Auckland councils collect "5" or "PP" plastic with curbside recycling.Cyclops have now teamed up with Commonsense Organics to spread the recycling love to Wellington.Here in Wellie all you need to dohttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/one-eyed-monster.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-4665678262911859531Sun, 24 Jun 2007 10:00:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.673+13:00climate changeemissions...more fossil fuel than the US. Now their co2 emissions are the largest of any country on the planet.At the start of June China announced their first climate policy. They did of course warn that "developed powers bear the most blame for the climate crisis" and it won't "sacrifice economic growth".China's relentlessly strong economic growth is of course fuelled by coal, and to a lesser extent by http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/chinese-burn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-1576810752799292627Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:53:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.790+13:00aidOn Thursday we see the shortest day. In the north of course it's longest day. This years solstice also heralds half time for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).In 2000 the UN agreed that a range of sustainable development goals would be reached by 2015. Areas like health, education, and the environment were targeted for improvement.Are we on track? The odds are very long indeed according to http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/short-day-long-odds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-1690350109548588863Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:06:00 +00002007-06-16T19:15:44.920+12:00comedymusicSaturday SensitivityThese guys pricked my attention because they appeared (apparently) on a Spike Milligan show in the 60's.Spike was politically correct long before PC-ness eroded the foundations of British humour. You can almost sense a bit of Milligan in this clip...http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/saturday-sensitivity-spiked.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-2757486909616723153Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:22:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:22.980+13:00consumerism run amokmusicConsumerism run amok hasn't graced the ShoppingFix screen in a while. And this one probably deserves different treatment.Paul McCartney has done so much for music that according to Toronto's NOW Magazine, "whether the music is exciting or relevant to anyone but himself probably isn't a big concern". 41 albums (not incl. Beatles) is enough to make anyone tired.This one star review is here for a http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/consumerism-run-amok-mcalbum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-7107797713248561908Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:59:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.077+13:00climate changeemissionsLast month the Times (UK) went all OTT on the whole carbon footprint thing by pushing a low carbon diet.Our own MoT have come up with something similar in urging better driving practices, but The Times are relentless. They've even produced a carbon diet master plan (210kb pdf). There's some pretty useful facts and figures - for instance the average Brit spits out 10 tonnes of co2 p.a.If you're http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/lets-get-practical.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-7566560372357981137Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:07:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.225+13:00climate changepolicyShoppingFixWellingtonFollowing up on Sundays "...carbon ...breath" post, the Wellington City Council last night agreed to "recommendations that will see the Council and the city embark on a path to carbon neutrality."Over at WellUrban there's a little pre decision context for the Councils' aspiration - including a call "not to be too cynical". Yesterday however, the contents of my mailbox introduced a little cynicismhttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/hyperventilation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-246290056053573437Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:00:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.529+13:00communitysportA fairly tenuous link to sustainability here. But how's this: sustainable communities are happy ones and in South America football and happiness walk hand in hand.So when the exceptionally rational folk around the FIFA board table decided football at altitude is unhealthy, Andean happiness was at stake. Bolivia's populist President Morales has vowed to fight the FIFA ban that's been slapped on http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/altitude-attitude.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-8998285539002605170Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:44:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.662+13:00climate changepolicyurbanismWellingtonIt's hardly the Oxford Union Debate, but Wellington City Council will on Thursday discuss whether they'll aspire to be carbon free.Although it's merely an aspiration, if set it'll place our fair city on a path that brings carbon accountability into all WCC policy. Although council emissions increased more than 8% in the three years to 2006, they've some handy emission reduction initiatives.Kai tohttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-can-smell-carbon-on-your-breath.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-3651966985535668203Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:22:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.803+13:00electronicsenergy efficiencywasteMany who peddle electronics have cleaned up their act. Still, many technology companies have been accused of greenwashing.Saturdays DomPost has a handy green electronics article strangely positioned within the indungence supplement (not online). The article refers to the March review of consumer electronics undertaken by Greenpeace.Little known Lenovo rank 1 and good old Apple have dug in at lasthttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/06/computer-games.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-8234009105268410680Mon, 28 May 2007 11:07:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:23.965+13:00ecologynaturetvYesterday it was Rachel Carson's 100th birthday. Although she died in the early 60's she's often credited with creating and inspiring the modern environmental movement.That is of course a very eurocentric way of looking at "the environment", but Carson's writing emphasised that our urban biased "command and control" attitude towards nature had us up to our elbows in the proverbial.Silent Spring http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/05/in-betweeners.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-4359082223198149156Sun, 20 May 2007 10:03:00 +00002008-12-09T22:51:24.124+13:00businessoutdoorssustainable shoppingI'm wearing the most comfortable shoes in the world. No, really. They're seriously comfy.What I'm about to spell out is a seriously conscious but totally plausible degree of consumer information. This is what we as intelligent consumers should be able to find here in New Zealand.In probably my most explicit carbon sin I tend to buy shoes from REI in the States - maybe once a year. They're air http://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/05/if-shoe-fits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21950805.post-3221918985719544268Thu, 17 May 2007 03:46:00 +00002007-05-18T20:59:36.874+12:00filmNew ZealandtransportMy buddy Dion and a few of his crew are putting together a doco about the demise of rail travel in our beloved Aotearoa.He put out a recent call for "art patrons" to get "Maintrunk Country Road Song" produced with the following teaser:This promises to be train spotting de-freaked (with just enough geek to keep you in your seat). It will no doubt cover many of the issues raised when closure of thehttp://shoppingfix.blogspot.com/2007/05/trains-trains-movie-reels.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mikeymike)2