Smart Idea, Dumb Idea

 

Here’s a smart energy idea – build wind turbines at or close to the point of demand for electricity (‘distributed generation’), utilizing brownfield sites:

“Wind turbines will increasingly be built in urban and industrial areas as power firms seek to avoid the planning problems that have blighted some rural generating schemes…”

Here’s a dumb energy idea – fight climate change by chopping down forests to grow biofuel crops:

“Increasing production of biofuels to combat climate change will release between two and nine times more carbon gases over the next 30 years than fossil fuels…”

In Parliament Today

Here is today’s list of oral questions in the NZ House of Representatives. National will continue to attack the Government on the Electoral Finance Bill and the Clare Curran hiring debacle at the Ministry for the Environment. There are also two sustainability and climate change-related questions to listen for:

• Hone Harawira (Maori Party) to the Minister responsible for Climate Change: “Is he happy with the Government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; if so, why?”; and

• Jeanette Fitzsimmons (Green Party) to the Associate Minister of Transport: “Does she expect proposed vehicle exhaust emissions standards to reduce the number of premature deaths from air pollution from vehicle exhausts; if so, how many lives does she expect this rule change could save?”.

Tune in at 2pm.