Imagine my relief.

Lyndon Devantier and Catherine Cheung are ocean scientists and activists living on the side of Mount Taranaki, just down the road from Parihaka.

They came to Taranaki in 2009 and became aware of the deep roots the region has in oil and gas extraction.

They also live in the place where non violent resistance was born.

http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/334/title/pacifist-of-parihaka-te-whiti-o-rongomai

 

Lyndon and Catherine and now deep into the biggest fight you could have in Taranaki, and they will be involved in the Climate Summit alongside Oil free Wellington and a raft of other activists in the next couple of weeks.

I say this all the time – I was overwhelmed by the courage and warmth of my guests. When you are ready to enter this fray you will find yourself in finest company there is. Thank you again, Lyndon and Catherine, for your time, and see you again soon.

Sunday the 25th 10 to 5 at the Dowse in Lower Hutt for information on moving on from Oil and Gas this weekend.

02:09 - Lyndon's story - discovering the extraction in the energy province

08:14 - Catherine's story - joining Climate Justice Taranaki and learning about fracking in NZ

12:09 - Taranaki's deep investments in fossil fuels and dairy.

14:20 - Food security and self reliance.

16:46 - Models and current trends in ocean temperatures

17:42 - Picking the right trees

20:04 - Motunui - Gas to gasoline.

21:19 - The methanol industry, fracking, fugitive emissions and urea

22:43 - Gas as a transition fuel and other myths

24:60 - Intergenerational Inequity

25:56 - Adam Smith and protecting the common people from the industrialists

26:46 - Separation of powers lost and secret meetings with the oil industry

28:27 - Taranaki regional council monitoring reports and consents to discharges contaminants into air and rivers

31:45 - Recent drought and climate change affects on the farm

37:30 - Key pieces of legislation that prevent us considering climate change

39:44 - Lawyers and the Pacific Ocean Climate Change conference

41:44 - The other activists - Gen Zero and 350

42:37 - The need for policy and legislation changes to reflect reality

43:43 - Government agencies participating in the search for minable methane clathrate - the smoking gun of mass extinction

48:24 - Climate rally in Wellington

52:14 - Industry, denial and muddying the waters

54:17 - GeoEngineering proposals and particulates from burning fuels - the double curse

58:02 - Growing awareness, district council to join global convenant

59:32 - Local governments now having to deal with consequences

01:01:46 - What would you most like to see happen now

01:02:34 - Taranaki Energy watch taking council to Environment Court - needing financial support

01:07:15 - Petroleum conference - saying no to more block offers

01:08:24 - EPA currently going after Mike Joy

01:11:46 - Legislation change required to stop these groups from being hamstrung

01:13:39 - Onshore drilling and mining - landowners learning they can lock the gate

01:19:46 - Many climate change skeptics now quietly rescinding their views

01:21:06 - Last thoughts - come to the rally - get involved.

This episode was recorded in Okato, New Zealand.

Next episode I hope to talk with Amanda Thomas, lecturer at the school of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria university. We’ll be taking a look at activism and violence, looking at a paper she co-authored about a 350.org event in Dunedin – we’ll also be discussi...

James Barber is a member of Oil Free Wellington, an activist group trying to prevent oil exploration in New Zealand. Naomi Klein has pointed out in her book ‘This Changes Everything’ that humans can’t afford to burn the fuels already discovered. In the 80s we had nuclear arms proliferation, where Soviets and Americans together posessed enough destructive force to destroy us multiple times – the same is now true of fossil fuel reserves. And yet the exploration continues.

James joined me for a talk and to tell everyone about the rally for climate justice in Wellington during March the 26th and 27th. This will form a blockade at the oil and gas industry’s annual business conference.

This episode was a lesson for me on the principles and duties of civil disobedience – a tradition going back to H D Thoreau and beyond. The more we talk about New Zealand’s nuclear free moment the closer, it seems, we’ll come back to this point.

I’m at the Pacific Climate Conference here in Wellington this week, meeting and talking to lots of people involved in the problem. I’m not sure who I’ll be talking to next episode, but it will likely be someone I meet this week.

http://oilfreewellington.org.nz/rally-for-climate-justice-blockade-the-oil-summit/

http://www.rallyforclimatejustice.nz

02:15 Origins and Goals – Climate Justice and systemic problems

04:00 Oil Summit

10:50 Genesis of Oil Free Wellington

12:20 Activism events from the past

18:20 Statoil Chevron complete surveyr

20:14 People’s flotilla, the Anadarko amendment and laws tested by Russell Norman and Greenpeace. More drilling expected this year

22:20 Questions about personal risks

24:20 Lengthy court processes

25:30 Uncharted territories and the CO2 graph

27:25 Farmers and coastal property owners now getting warning signs

28:30 Economic pressures on a farming operation, Industrial dairying and capital investment

30:14 350’s divestment strategies and revolutions in energy, food and transport

31:45 The industrial processes to create milk

35:25 Industrial processes that use livestock

36:00 Monocultures and 8 billion people

37:40 How do keep the world we have without adding to climate change

38:15 Returning to life in the 70s

41:50 Being more positive – making the world a better place. Working with unions.

45:10 Chosing the see the world as a resource

46:10 Indigenous peoples and consuming the world

49:00 Food deserts and enforced options of capitalism

52:20 Locallised services

54:10 Razor blades in trucks passing on the road

55:22 Counting cars in space

58:20 Sci fi and the absurd, bitcoin

1:04:00 Global networks of capitalism

1:05:00 Parenthood, life during a crisis and finding a tribe

1:06:00 Nauru and Holloway Road.

1:10:20 Tribes of climate activism – Paradise built in Hell

1:13:40 Sci fi ad

1:16:00 Blockadia and disparate communities

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Changes_Everything

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience

http://www.perfectdayfoods.com

https://grist.org/article/bitcoin-could-cost-us-our-clean-energy-future/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/books/21book.html

James Barber is a member of Oil Free Wellington, an activist group trying to prevent oil exploration in New Zealand. Naomi Klein has pointed out in her book ‘This Changes Everything’ that humans can’t afford to burn the fuels already discovered. In the 80s we had nuclear arms proliferation, where Soviets and Americans together posessed enough destructive force to destroy us multiple times – the same is now true of fossil fuel reserves. And yet the exploration continues.

James joined me for a talk and to tell everyone about the rally for climate justice in Wellington during March the 26th and 27th. This will form a blockade at the oil and gas industry’s annual business conference.

This episode was a lesson for me on the principles and duties of civil disobedience – a tradition going back to H D Thoreau and beyond. The more we talk about New Zealand’s nuclear free moment the closer, it seems, we’ll come back to this point.

I’m at the Pacific Climate Conference here in Wellington this week, meeting and talking to lots of people involved in the problem. I’m not sure who I’ll be talking to next episode, but it will likely be someone I meet this week.

http://oilfreewellington.org.nz/rally-for-climate-justice-blockade-the-oil-summit/

http://www.rallyforclimatejustice.nz

02:15 Origins and Goals – Climate Justice and systemic problems

04:00 Oil Summit

10:50 Genesis of Oil Free Wellington

12:20 Activism events from the past

18:20 Statoil Chevron complete surveyr

20:14 People’s flotilla, the Anadarko amendment and laws tested by Russell Norman and Greenpeace. More drilling expected this year

22:20 Questions about personal risks

24:20 Lengthy court processes

25:30 Uncharted territories and the CO2 graph

27:25 Farmers and coastal property owners now getting warning signs

28:30 Economic pressures on a farming operation, Industrial dairying and capital investment

30:14 350’s divestment strategies and revolutions in energy, food and transport

31:45 The industrial processes to create milk

35:25 Industrial processes that use livestock

36:00 Monocultures and 8 billion people

37:40 How do keep the world we have without adding to climate change

38:15 Returning to life in the 70s

41:50 Being more positive – making the world a better place. Working with unions.

45:10 Chosing the see the world as a resource

46:10 Indigenous peoples and consuming the world

49:00 Food deserts and enforced options of capitalism

52:20 Locallised services

54:10 Razor blades in trucks passing on the road

55:22 Counting cars in space

58:20 Sci fi and the absurd, bitcoin

1:04:00 Global networks of capitalism

1:05:00 Parenthood, life during a crisis and finding a tribe

1:06:00 Nauru and Holloway Road.

1:10:20 Tribes of climate activism – Paradise built in Hell

1:13:40 Sci fi ad

1:16:00 Blockadia and disparate communities

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Changes_Everything

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience

http://www.perfectdayfoods.com

https://grist.org/article/bitcoin-could-cost-us-our-clean-energy-future/

Aaron Packard of 350 Aotearoa joined me for this episode. He is part of the global 350.org movement dedicated to climate action.

We talked about his work in the pacific, the new government, and the power of funds divestment.

I mentioned a bit from Vox about nuclear power – here’s a link to their video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poPLSgbSO6k

02:20 Aaron and Gecko, Launch of 350 2008

07:00 Cook Islands - another white guy with another idea.

11:40 Waiting for a government that takes climate change seriously.

14:00 James Renwick Connecting news events to climate change

18:20 Water crisis in Cape Town

22:05 Combining action across a variety of groups - collaborate and amplify

24:30 Joining 350

26:50 Relaunch of fossil free campaign, churchs and universities divesting

28:30 Providing tools to start campaigns

30:30 You nuclear moment

34:15 Government since the election

39:35 Previous government and hoax conspiracies

40:15 Climate hawks and nuclear power (see the Vox piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poPLSgbSO6k)

42:00 Decoalonisation - dirty coal from China to Africa

45:50 Blockadia in Australia's largest coal port with the Pacific Climate Warriors

53:25 Where are people at - the way humans expand

58:30 Opening up to the way different cultures relate to the earth

1:00:04 Stages of grief and addiction

1:08:00 Getting the 10% - sparking an unstoppable energy revolution

1:13:30 Education

1:16:50 Talking with sceptics

1:18:00 Katherine Hayhoe - getting people to talk about climate change

Aaron Packard of 350 Aotearoa joined me for this episode. He is part of the global 350.org movement dedicated to climate action.

We talked about his work in the pacific, the new government, and the power of funds divestment.

I mentioned a bit from Vox about nuclear power – here’s a link to their video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poPLSgbSO6k

02:20 Aaron and Gecko, Launch of 350 2008

07:00 Cook Islands - another white guy with another idea.

11:40 Waiting for a government that takes climate change seriously.

14:00 James Renwick Connecting news events to climate change

18:20 Water crisis in Cape Town

22:05 Combining action across a variety of groups - collaborate and amplify

24:30 Joining 350

26:50 Relaunch of fossil free campaign, churchs and universities divesting

28:30 Providing tools to start campaigns

30:30 You nuclear moment

34:15 Government since the election

39:35 Previous government and hoax conspiracies

40:15 Climate hawks and nuclear power (see the Vox piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poPLSgbSO6k)

42:00 Decoalonisation - dirty coal from China to Africa

45:50 Blockadia in Australia's largest coal port with the Pacific Climate Warriors

53:25 Where are people at - the way humans expand

58:30 Opening up to the way different cultures relate to the earth

1:00:04 Stages of grief and addiction

1:08:00 Getting the 10% - sparking an unstoppable energy revolution

1:13:30 Education

1:16:50 Talking with sceptics

1:18:00 Katherine Hayhoe - getting people to talk about climate change

This was to be an article in the SpinOff – we’ve since decide to create something shorter for them – probably next week. In the meantime I decided to publish this on the blog – it took a while to create and has some useful ideas in it.

This is a text-to-speech episode – I know that’s not for everyone – still the following episode with Aaron from 350 Aotearoa is only a week or so away. No robots in that one.

This was to be an article in the SpinOff – we’ve since decide to create something shorter for them – probably next week. In the meantime I decided to publish this on the blog – it took a while to create and has some useful ideas in it.

This is a text-to-speech episode – I know that’s not for everyone – still the following episode with Aaron from 350 Aotearoa is only a week or so away. No robots in that one.

Tim Jones of CANA joined us for a chat about the state of coal in NZ. There’s more than you think and there are more mines in the plans.

Here are some moments from the talk. Use these timestamps to find them:

5:10 What is CANA? A bit about the end of Solid Energy.

8:20 Some of the things that prevent a mining project from going ahead.

9:10 The aims of CANA

9:50 CANA’s aims and its relationship to other organisations.

11:30 Coal as the leader of subset technologies.

12:50 The different types of coal.

13:40 Dairy and Coal.

16:00 Steel and Coal

17:50 Conservation Land and the picture since the 2017 election.

19:30 The Te Kuha coal mine.

21:55 The Nuclear Free Moment.

24:20 Personal action and Collective actin.

25:50 Putting a price on Carbon, recalculations, real costs and finding alternatives.

27:50 A bit more on the Nuclear free moment.

29:50 Understanding the global emergency.

32:10 The disarming calm of climate scientists.

34:00 Exxon and sowing seeds of doubt.

35:40 Mainstream Media presenting climate as two equal discussions

36:50 Younger people getting involved in activism

37:20 Climate Voter initiative

38:20 Generation Zero

38:55 Bipartisan support for a climate commission

40:30 The climate denier fade-away

43:00 Generational differences

44:00 Incandescent light bulbs and Brexit

44:50 National – Farmers doing politics.

46:00 1972 election

46:47 Sense of identity

50:12 Coal and jobs

51:00 NZFirst – regional development

53:00 Zero Carbon Act, manifestos an dgetting two sides talking.

Tying together multiple groups and activities

57:00 Rethinking two revolutions

60:48 The number of cows and our dependence on a single industry. The economics of increasing stocking levels.

1:04:30 ECan. Seven Rivers Walking.

1:06:40 Synthetic milk.

1:10:10 Sefton Derby’s book ‘The ground between’

1:13:30 Expecting guidelines from the government and not getting them. The coal industries’ path to consent.

1:20:40 Visiting the industry

1:22:15 What a resource hearing actually looks like

1:27:10 The current global emergency.

1:31:10 Last questions – what will it take to stop us from burning coal

1:35:25 Changing boilers and the climate change exemption in the RMA

1:38:10 Who and what in government is currently working on this

1:41:05 Lobby groups and getting a mandate

Tim Jones of CANA joined us for a chat about the state of coal in NZ. There’s more than you think and there are more mines in the plans.

Here are some moments from the talk. Use these timestamps to find them:

5:10 What is CANA? A bit about the end of Solid Energy.

8:20 Some of the things that prevent a mining project from going ahead.

9:10 The aims of CANA

9:50 CANA’s aims and its relationship to other organisations.

11:30 Coal as the leader of subset technologies.

12:50 The different types of coal.

13:40 Dairy and Coal.

16:00 Steel and Coal

17:50 Conservation Land and the picture since the 2017 election.

19:30 The Te Kuha coal mine.

21:55 The Nuclear Free Moment.

24:20 Personal action and Collective actin.

25:50 Putting a price on Carbon, recalculations, real costs and finding alternatives.

27:50 A bit more on the Nuclear free moment.

29:50 Understanding the global emergency.

32:10 The disarming calm of climate scientists.

34:00 Exxon and sowing seeds of doubt.

35:40 Mainstream Media presenting climate as two equal discussions

36:50 Younger people getting involved in activism

37:20 Climate Voter initiative

38:20 Generation Zero

38:55 Bipartisan support for a climate commission

40:30 The climate denier fade-away

43:00 Generational differences

44:00 Incandescent light bulbs and Brexit

44:50 National – Farmers doing politics.

46:00 1972 election

46:47 Sense of identity

50:12 Coal and jobs

51:00 NZFirst – regional development

53:00 Zero Carbon Act, manifestos an dgetting two sides talking.

Tying together multiple groups and activities

57:00 Rethinking two revolutions

60:48 The number of cows and our dependence on a single industry. The economics of increasing stocking levels.

1:04:30 ECan. Seven Rivers Walking.

1:06:40 Synthetic milk.

1:10:10 Sefton Derby’s book ‘The ground between’

1:13:30 Expecting guidelines from the government and not getting them. The coal industries’ path to consent.

1:20:40 Visiting the industry

1:22:15 What a resource hearing actually looks like

1:27:10 The current global emergency.

1:31:10 Last questions – what will it take to stop us from burning coal

1:35:25 Changing boilers and the climate change exemption in the RMA

1:38:10 Who and what in government is currently working on this

1:41:05 Lobby groups and getting a mandate

The ground has been changing around us so quickly in the last few weeks that its been impossible to keep up. As Tim Moreton pointed out, this issue sticks to everything it touches. I took a break from the normal interview format to share some of the happenings and to come up with a bit of a position.

The five uneasy pieces in this episode are me reading the blog posts in that order.

Uneasy piece 1: The eyes and the ears

Uneasy piece 2: Over our dead species.

Uneasy Piece 3: The requirements of chaos

Uneasy piece 4: Its time that you love.

Uneasy Piece 5: The reading list.