James Shaw – a New Direction for the Greens?
On Saturday the Greens elected a new co-leader. The winner was James Shaw, a relative newcomer to parliament and national politics. But who is he? Before this election few had ever heard of him. James Shaw grew up in Wellington and completed an MSc in sustainability and business leadership in London in 2005. He continued […]
Dairy Millionaires and the “Monster that hit Vanuatu”
Dairy has been the fastest growing sector of the NZ economy in the last 20 years, making millions for a handful of farmers but also methane – a climate change gas. Vanuatu has just been smashed by Cyclone Pam. These things are connected. Vanuatu president Baldwin Lonsdale has described Cyclone Pam as “the monster that […]
Victory! Patricia Grace Stops the Government Taking Maori Land
The government has been defeated by the author Patricia Grace in the Environment Court and, seeing the writing on the wall, the government will not appeal. Patricia Grace owns part of a block of Maori Freehold Land in Waikanae that was once in a Maori village and is full of significance. The government tried to […]
Banners on the Beach with Oil Free Otago
As Anadarko’s drilling ship lurks some 60km off Otago’s coast, hundreds flocked, flags flying, to Oil Free Otago’s “Banners on the Beach”. As I approached St Clair beach, walking through one of Dunedin’s more yuppyish suburbs, the only sign of a protest I saw was an airplane trailing a banner that read “pro gas for […]
40,000 march against nuclear power in Tokyo
40 00 people took to the streets to protest against nuclear plants and Prime Minister Abe in Tokyo on October 13. Kenji Kunitomi from the Japan Revolutionary Communist League prepared this report for Socialist Review. Right-wing nationalist Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claims radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactor is perfectly under control at his […]
Forestry bosses have blood on their hands
13 forestry workers have died in work related accidents in the past 3 years, 30 in the last 6 years. Just to put this in perspective the death rate in the UK forestry industry is 10.4 per 100,000 workers and in NZ 343 per 100,000. Some bosses blame workers drug use and call for increased drug […]
How the 1 Percent conjured a monster storm
Chris Williams, author of Ecology and Socialism: Solutions to Capitalist Ecological Crisis, examines the man-made factors contributing to the disaster of Hurricane Sandy. “If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections, and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that […]
Capitalism, the Environment, and Socialism
It’s apparent to everyone today that the world is going through an ecological crisis. Wilderness is disappearing fast as whole ecosystems – from forests to grasslands to marshlands – are becoming endangered. For the past two centuries, factories have spewed forth pollution into the atmosphere, poisoning the very air we breathe while lakes, rivers and […]
“Overpopulation” is not to blame for the ecological crisis
Overpopulation is a common theme when discussing environmental destruction. It’s undoubtedly true that since the 1960s an ecological crisis has emerged causing loss of biodiversity, plunging fish stocks, deforestation, and dangerous climate change. Coincidentally since this time the global population has doubled. It might seem logical therefore to link the two. The idea that ‘overpopulation’ is to blame for […]
The Rena Oil Spill: One Year On
Friday the 5th of October marked one year since the container ship MV Rena struck an artificial reef off the coast of Tauranga as it headed into port, triggering New Zealand’s worst ever environmental disaster. The clean-up that followed took months, and is still not complete: the Rena remains grounded on the Astrolabe Reef and […]
