Category: New Zealand

Categories
Geoeingeering New Zealand

 August 17, 1989 – Space shields to save the earth…

Thirty four years ago, on this day, August 17, 1989, more silly technofixes got proposed.

A giant and costly space screen to reduce sunlight and the effects of global warming is proposed by a Canterbury University scientist.

**FULL_TEXT Mr Michael Mautner writes in a letter in yesterday’s Washington Post that if atmospheric means of reducing the effects of greenhouse warming fail, “it may be possible to erect a space screen that would reduce the incident sunlight on Earth.”

Anon. 1989. Space shield plan to cut sunlight. New Zealand Herald, 17 August. 

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 353ppm. As of 2023 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was everyone was running around with their pet opinion about the greenhouse effect and “technological solutions”. The prospect of an international climate treaty was rising, and the need therefore for technological fixes was becoming apparent (because Gaia forbid that you do anything about imperialism and consumerism).

What I think we can learn from this is that the dream of controlling the weather and planetary engineering had been around at least since the 1950s as a realistic prospect (see for example all of the effort around weather modification in the 50s and 60s see Jason Fleming’s book for this). 

People always reach for the outlandish and eye-catching because it will get them attention.

What happened next

 We still do not have space mirrors but the idea of solar radiation management from seeding clouds with sulphur still seems to have a life see for example the journal environmental politics and it’s articles about solar geoengineering.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Categories
France New Zealand

: July 10, 1985 – French state commits terrorist act

Thirty seven years ago, on this day, July 10, 1985 French secret service agents planted bombs that led to the sinking of the Greenpeace ship the “Rainbow Warrior”

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

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 346.9ppm. As of 2023 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that the French state was getting pissed off with Greenpeace’s activities around nuclear testing in the Pacific, and thought it would be a good idea to treat a non-state actor like a state and go and blow up its assets. The death came from the photographer wanting to go back on board to get his cameras, against advice.

What I think we can learn from this, and certainly what I learned in 1985, when I was not quite an adult, is that states behave terribly, especially the intelligence services. And if they can’t win the argument, then they resort to, well, blowing shit up.

What happened next: The French intelligence service operatives got caught, sentenced to minimal jail time and then released. Greenpeace didn’t go away – you can judge the strength of an actor by the nature of its enemies, and the lengths to which it is willing to go.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Categories
New Zealand

January 23, 1957 – New Zealand scientist warns about consequences of carbon dioxide build-up  

 

Sixty six years ago, on this day, January 23, 1957, New Zealand scientist Athol Rafter laid out what was ahead of us, at an ANZAAS meeting

“A New Zealand scientist said that if the existing percentage of carbon dioxide gas in the air was doubled, the earth’s temperature would rise enough to melt polar ice caps and flood many major coastal cities.”

and

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 314ppm. As of 2023 it is 419

The context was that with the coming of the ability to do carbon-14 dating, it was obvious that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were indeed climbing (at this point Charles David Keeling’s meticulous measurements at Mauna Loa were still over a year away from starting).  The International Geophysical Year was about to begin, and everyone was rather excited…

What I think we can learn from this

The science of this did not used to be controversial, and people have known for a hella long time…

What happened next

The scientists kept going, with their pesky impact science, measuring the problems caused by production science….

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong?  Do comment on this post.

Categories
Australia Kyoto Protocol New Zealand

August  17, 2002 – Pacific states urge Australia to sign Kyoto Protocol

On this day, August 17, 2002, the fifteen other members of the Pacific Leaders’ Forum urge Australia (led by John Howard) to sign the Kyoto Protocol

[The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 372.03 ppm. Now it is 421ish- but see here for the latest.]

“New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark says Pacific nations will continue to lobby Australia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

The final communique of this year’s Pacific Leaders’ Forum urges countries to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia is the only state of the 16-member Forum not to have agreed to the protocol.”

Pacific states urge Australia to sign Kyoto Protocol. 17 August 2002 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific – Text of report by Radio Australia on 17 August

Why this matters. 

There’s a certain amount of work Penny Wong is going to have to do, yes?

Btw Kyoto was not going to Save The World – see the Veil of Kyoto.article by Howarth and Foxall.

What happened next?

Australia DID in fact ratify the Kyoto Protocol – once Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister. He then refused to do much of anything about setting Australia a real, ambitious target. And it all went very tits up on the domestic front…

Categories
Activism New Zealand

March 15, 2019 – New Zealand school strike launched, called off.

On this day in 2019, three years ago, inspired by Greta Thunberg, school students in New Zealand launched a school strike but had to basically call it off because of the Christchurch mosques massacres.

Thunberg had started her solitary school strikes in 2018 these as a tactic spread very quickly simultaneously with the rise of Extinction Rebellion. 

What’s interesting about the Christchurch killer’s manifesto is it incorporates standard eco-fascist tropes into his justification for the mass murders that he committed

What happened next?

The school strikes came and went . XR rose and fell – up like a rocket down like a stick.

And here we are. 

For the avoidance of confusion – I am not saying do nothing. I’m saying do something different or do the same thing differently. But there’s this utter utter unwillingness to innovate, and a comfort in just keeping on bleating out renditions of “Beasts of England”