Please sign ;w;

I dont want more of our planet destroyed, I may be young but I want to become old, on a planet that I can die happily on, not some deserted, toxic and filthy waste land. Im not great when it comes to this stuff but it'll be heavily appreciated if any of you sign this.

*slides you money* I heard you were three seconds from a treatise on David Lange and Mururoa and the Rainbow Warrior?

BY POPULAR DEMAND (ok you and like three other people asked)...

The core fact that you gotta know if you want to talk about New Zealand and nuclear weapons is that campaigning for nuclear disarmament and maintaining a legal nuclear-free zone in our territorial waters has been the core of our independent foreign policy as a country for nearly forty years, since the mid-1980s. This developed over the 60s and 70s from a popular groundswell of anti-nuclear sentiment focused around continued atmospheric nuclear testing in the Pacific by France as well as visits from nuclear-powered (and potentially nuclear-armed) American warships. It evolved into government action; left-wing governments took France to court to demand an end to testing and sent naval frigates to the nuclear test area to protest with Government ministers on board.

This was crystallised in 1985 when a photographer was killed in the state-sponsored terrorist bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship conducting protests at the French nuclear test site of Mururoa. The bombing was carried out by French spies who were decorated when they returned to France (after France promised they would be jailed) and led to a prolonged diplomatic rift between New Zealand and France. The subsequent passing of nuclear-free legislation in 1987, banning nuclear-powered or armed ships visiting our waters, led to New Zealand's suspension from the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, and the United States) military alliance. David Lange, the Prime Minister at the time, opined famously that "The only thing worse than being incinerated by your enemies, is being incinerated by your friends." The ban still has such wide bipartisan support that it's simply not on the table now for even our right-wing parties; infamously, in the early 2000s one Leader of the Opposition told an American congressional delegation that the ban would be 'gone by lunchtime' if he became Prime Minister. This wasn't the DIRECT cause of his eventual toppling but it certainly didn't help. Nobody else has gone near it since.

I am, however, excrutiatingly aware that while our nuclear-free stance is viewed internally by New Zealanders as central to our national identity - there's a well-known song and it was even controversially used this year in a beer ad as a signifier of national pride - nobody else remembers. Particularly the Americans and the French. Seared into my brain is Scott Brown (yes that one) arriving here as the new US Ambassador in 2016 and going on the radio to talk earnestly about how Kiwis didn't realise that nuclear fallout wasn't restricted by national borders, c.f. North Korea, as if anti-nuclear campaigning wasn't...well...see all of the above. READ YOUR GODDAMN BRIEFING PACKETS ON THE PLANE, SCOTT, IT'S A FOURTEEN-HOUR FLIGHT.

So what does that mean for the Locked Tomb books?

As the linked article about the beer ad notes, anti-nuclear protesting has been a site not only of national identity formation but specifically Indigenous protest in the Pacific. It is Pasifika peoples who have borne the brunt of nuclear testing and much of the early anti-nuclear movement in Aotearoa was led by Māori and Pasifika, and closely tied to the anti-apartheid movement which focused on the removal or restriction of Māori and Pasifika rugby players on tours to apartheid South Africa.

In Nona the Ninth, it becomes clear that John (a Māori man) and G- (whose ethnicity is not specified but 'reads' as most likely Māori or Pasifika in context), as well as their friends, blackmailed the US government for a suitcase nuke and eventually used it to bomb Melbourne, with John then causing nuclear armageddon around the world. This is, uh, emphatically not the same thing as "Twitch streamers [John & co] nuking New Zealand", as chill as I generally am with the eliding of detail for joke posts. This is a Māori man from and in New Zealand nuking first Australia and then the rest of the world.

This is, obviously, if you're coming from the historical context, hugely transgressive in a way I can only describe as a...horror of agency? The horror of saying, what if we were willing to do the thing that we identify ourselves as a nation as being against under all circumstances? What if instead of standing nobly against nuclear weapons, for reasons of moral indefensibility, we were the ones to pull the trigger? What if our culture and our people survived the apocalypse because one of us started it, instead of us surviving by virtue of being so small, so on the edge of the world, so carelessly left off world maps?

And as to why it matters that it's Melbourne - New Zealand has a...complicated relationship with Australia that's hard to directly parallel to anywhere else (it's sort of like Canada and the US but also not like Canada and the US in any way that Canadians or Americans ever interpret that statement in my experience). In particular, there is huge anxiety in Australia about New Zealand as a source of non-white (and specifically Māori and Pasifika) emigration to Australia. Australian immigration policy, while technically retaining free movement between the two nations, has grown more and more restrictive over the last twenty years. Right now the central point of conflict is a policy of deporting mostly Māori and Pasifika New Zealand-born prisoners back to New Zealand on completion of their sentences, regardless of how old they were when they came to Australia, resulting in a large body of traumatised people with zero community ties being dumped back here and - no surprises! - frequently turning to crime. There's A Lot Going On There. Added to which the Christchurch mosque shooter deliberately travelled here from Australia to carry out his terrorism. And yet also, hundreds of thousands of us live there and many more have relatives and friends there.

And Melbourne? Melbourne is like....the cool Australian city, if you're a New Zealander. Sydney is too big (the same population as our whole country!) and too...everything, Brisbane and the Gold Coast are tropical and so kinda weird, Adelaide and Perth? we don't know them, but Melbourne is aspirational. Melbourne is the kind of city Wellington and Auckland would like to be when they grow up, maybe. They have laneways and culture and a working tram system. But it's also a very...white kind of cool. The kind enjoyed by rich Pākehā who can afford to go on weekend shopping holidays there.

So yeah. John and G- and the crew nuke Melbourne and it's a nexus of all these tensions old and new, of who we think we are as people and as a nation, of how we relate to Australia which is our friend and nearest neighbour and our rival and our scapegoat (because they're the really racist ones, aren't they? If we say that loud enough, does it drown out the sounds of our own sins?)

It's a fantasy of power and a horror of it at the same time. I hope someone right now is writing a monograph on this, there's so much to dig into. But it deserves to be framed as what it is, as a response from a Kiwi author to our own history and identity. It deserves to be understood in context.

https://maps.greenpeace.org/maps/aotearoa/know-your-nitrate/

Greenpeace has dropped a really interesting nitrate contamination map of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In the previous post I introduced Greenpeace. These are some wins from June posted on their website.

- Hyundai Construction Equipment commits to help stopping illegal mining in the Amazon

Greenpeace East Asia released the Stop the Excavators report in April of this year, calling to heavy machinery manufacturers to take measures that prevent their equipment being used illegally, in ways that cause violations of human rights.

This exposé revealed that Hyundai Construction Equipment is apparently the favoured brand used in illegal mining in Indigenous Lands in the Amazon.

Hyundai has now announced a series of measures to protect the forest, and will act to prevent this in the future.

- ReconAfrica suspends oil drilling in Okavango Delta

The Canadian oil company ReconAfrica has stopped drilling in Namibia’s Okavango Delta, after it was faced with lawsuits and environmental concerns. For now, the drillings have only been suspended, but this is a step in the right direction, proving that people power can work wonders.

In 2019, ReconAfrica announced fracking in some of Africa's most sensitive (both in terms of water supplies and as livelihoods for the communities in the area) environmental areas. Namibian youth climate activists, indigenous, environmental and human rights groups have been working since then to prevent this from happening.

- ASEAN steps up commitment to end forced labour and human trafficking practices of migrant fishers

In May 2023, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders officially adopted the first ASEAN Declaration on Migrant Fishers Protection in history. This declaration follows many years of active campaigning by human rights advocates and civil society organizations. The campaign aims to push stronger policies to protect Southeast Asian migrants working in fisheries and their rights.

This declaration emphasised that protecting and fulfilling the rights of migrant fishers is an entire migration cycle (recruitment, placement, and repatriation), and so is a shared responsibility among the ASEAN states.

- Local fishers and civil society join forces to reforest mangroves in Senegal

The local community in the traditional fishing town Joal in Senegal started reforesting mangroves in a show of what direct action is really about.

Joal is located near mangrove forests, that are essential breeding grounds for many fish species, and are vital therefore for the fishing communities in those areas. They also store more carbon than tropical forests, and are capable of curbing climate impacts such as floods.

- Dutch creative agencies choose to no longer work with fossil fuel companies

23+ creative agencies in The Netherlands put together a Fossil No Deal, stating that they will stop working with fossil companies and no longer encourage fossil passenger transport. They call it verdrag verantwoord verleiden, a treaty for responsible seduction.

- Thailand applies new PM2.5 ambient standard

In the beginning of June, the new PM2.5 ambient standard was officially applied in Thailand. 

The new standard is now 15 μg/m3 for the annual standard and 37.5 μg/m3 for 24-hour standard, which is in keeping with the revised WHO air quality guidelines. This is a big step in the right direction to help reduce PM2.5 and solve air pollution in the country.

Greenpeace Thailand is still not at rest, though, and are continuing to fight to get the PM2.5 at its source, that is from the industries.

- In New Zealand, FSC abandons plans for ‘GE learning’ process

Greenpeace Aotearoa and other environmental organizations have been pressuring the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme to abandon its plans for a ‘Genetic Engineering (GE) learning’ process.

The long-standing principle of not certifying GE trees came under threat  after pressure from FSC certified plantation  company Suzano from Brazil that has a subsidiary doing GE eucalyptus tree research trials (for glyphosate resistance). 

- Citizens say yes to net zero emissions in Switzerland

 Swiss citizens have voted in favour of a new law to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The new climate law, which was initiated seven years ago, passed a referendum with about 59% of the voters.

Net zero is now enshrined in the “federal law on climate protection, innovation and strengthening energy security“.

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see, news from your own countries, or if you'd like to add anything or share.

I'm also here to listen, my DMs and Asks are always open :)

Love you all, and see you next time, be safe!

Say no to oil exploration in Aotearoa New Zealand

The new National/Act/NZ First coalition government has promised to remove the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration. This could have horrific impacts on our marine environment and the species that live there, including but not limited to:

Oil spills, which smother and kill marine life

Total destruction of poorly-studied seabed habitats

Degradation of endangered species habitats - including the rarest dolphin subspecies in the world, the Maui dolphin

Noise which will disturb echolocation and communication of cetaceans

We can take action to try and stop this. If you live in NZ, write to your local MP (can find their contact details here: Members of Parliament - New Zealand Parliament (www.parliament.nz)) or the new ministers for Conservation (Tama Potaka), Oceans and Fisheries (Shane Jones) and Climate (Simon Watts). Let them know politely but firmly that you do not support this legislation change. There are also several petitions/open letters that are currently open:

Green Party of Aotearoa petition: https://action.greens.org.nz/saveoilandgasban

Greenpeace open letter: https://greenpeace.nz/resist-oil-exploration

via ig greenpeace aotearoa

On this day, 10 July 1985, the French intelligence service blew up the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, in Aotearoa/New Zealand killing Fernando Pereira, a photographer. The ship was headed to protest against French nuclear testing. France initially denied responsibility but NZ police arrested two of its agents and charged them with murder. Eventually they were sentenced to 10 years' prison for manslaughter, but the French government freed them after just two years. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2030987507086389/?type=3

There was a political debate a couple years ago about how their were too many cows and they’re destroying the enviroment through unsustainable intensive farming practices that lives soil dead and infertile and poisons rivers. https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/press-release/more-than-half-of-nzers-say-too-many-cows-greenpeace-poll/

Anyway, that is to say, in this house we support the meat wall

So Shell, (the company that helped fund apartheid), evil megacorporation wt a history of human rights abuses and excessive pollution (even considering their livelyhood is based in oil, often they can't even be assed to at least take precautions) is suing Greenpeace for peaceful protests. Now even if you disagree with Greenpeace's tactics, Shell's reaction is quite worrying.

"But these aggressive legal tactics, the huge sums of money and attempts to block the right to protest pose a massive threat."

"It’s part of a growing trend by powerful corporations and governments to crush peaceful protest – using draconian laws or intimidation lawsuits like this. It seeks to silence the people most impacted by the climate crisis. This threatens the global fight for climate justice."

Module 3 Relational Summary

This week the lecture discussed solar cities and how important it is when discussing climate change. Culhane mentioned Australia becoming one of the leaders in the movement around 2007. As programs have continued, Australia has been able to test different sustainable models for electricity use. For instance, over one million solar panels in the Western Downs Green Power Hub (Over One Million Solar Panels Powering Australia's Largest Solar Farm, 2023). The most eye-opening part about the farm is that it can power about 235,000 homes. The power that the sun provides us is truly amazing and can create a multitude of opportunities like providing jobs and clean sources of energy. My classmate James Fernandez discussed how not only is Australia a successful story of viability in solar technology but so is Israel. In addition, Megan Blair mentioned that the benefits of solar can boost poorer communities and help the environmental quality.

Another topic that was mentioned in the lecture was nuclear energy. Nuclear energy was first brought up to me when I learned about Chernobyl. When I heard the implications and aftermath of the four reactors exploding, I was shocked that nuclear energy had such a strong impact on the planet. Not only did the explosion affect the city but also caused radioactive rainfall in Ireland (Lindahl & Young, 2019). Radiation sickness can cause a variety of health issues. People who were diagnosed with acute radiation syndrome had a variety of symptoms like bone marrow syndrome, and gastrointestinal syndrome (Lanese, 2019). When you hear horror stories this causes the public to not want nuclear energy due to the implications that could happen if there are defects in the system. Natalie McGinniss mentioned how dangerous nuclear energy could be and that finding other safe alternatives should be prioritized.

In addition, another discussion Culhane mentioned was solar ACs. This drew my eye because they could be very useful in helping offset electrical prices and cut your carbon footprint. Air conditioner use is around 6 percent of all electricity in the United States with an annual cost of $29 billion to homeowners (Energy Saver, n.d.). By using solar air conditioners you can offset carbon emissions and reduce energy demand as conventional AC systems overload electricity grids specifically in the summer. I have had my AC break multiple times or freeze and even had to buy a brand new unit for our house. Sometimes when it becomes super hot the system freezes over and causes the AC unit not to work. I feel like having a solar AC system could be very beneficial for people in Florida as it is always sunny.

References

Energy Saver. (n.d.). Air Conditioning. Department of Energy. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/air-conditioning

Lanese, N. (2019, July 16). The Real Chernobyl: Q&A With a Radiation Exposure Expert. UCSF. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/07/414976/real-chernobyl-qa-radiation-exposure-expert

Lindahl, R., & Young, N. (2019, September 13). 15 Things You Didn't Know About Chernobyl. Greenpeace. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-chernobyl/

Over one million solar panels powering Australia's largest solar farm. (2023, April 5). Media Statements. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/97526

Greenpeace targets Fonterra HQ in climate protest Are you interested in this story? Download the Balanced News Summary app to read more! Link in our bio. For breaking news and updates follow @balancednewssummaryapp or visit our website https://balancednewssummary.com/ #BalancedNewsSummary #Aotearoa #Auckland #Becurious #Breakingnews #Cybernews #Differentangle #Differentperspective #Differentview #Digitalnews #Educateyourself #Factsoftheday #Insidestory #Intheknow #Newspaper #Newsportal #Newzealand #Newzealandlife #Purenewzealand #Seethingsdifferently #Stayupdated #Themoreyouknow #Truefacts #Truthseekers

RNZ Pacific 1309 10 Nov 2022

7390Khz 1258 10 NOV 2022 - RNZ PACIFIC (NEW ZEALAND) in ENGLISH from RANGITAIKI. SINPO = 55344. English, @1258z s/on w/bellbird int. until pips and news @1300z anchored by Lydia Lewis. Fiji's Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, has instructed the Police not to lay any charges against National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad. Prasad had been interviewed by police but released on bail to appear in court on November 15 pending the filing of charges, which were not laid. Police were acting on a complaint from a woman who alleged Prasad had indecently annoyed her on two separate occasions earlier this year. Speaking at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, Tuvalu's Prime Minister Kausea Natano said, "the warming seas are starting to swallow our lands, inch by inch. But the world's addiction to oil, gas, and coal can't sink our dreams under the waves. We, therefore, unite with a hundred Nobel Peace Prize laureates and thousands of scientists worldwide and urge leaders to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a just transition away from fossil fuels." A leading expert on climate refugees says the world needs to come to grips with the issue to avoid chaos at countries' borders. Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis told the COP27 UN climate conference in Egypt overnight that rich countries must slash climate emissions or eventually face dealing with potentially tens of millions of climate refugees. Palau has raised the issue of its prized jellyfish and the economic impact of losing millions of them, during talks at Cop27 in Egypt. The country's president, Surangel Whipps Jr, said extreme heat has killed more than 30 million of the animals in Jellyfish Lake. Whipps said this was the third known event after it also happened in 1997 and 2017, and each time the jellyfish disappeared for two years. He said Palau was at risk of losing a critical component of its tourism industry, further decimating its economy. Snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake is a popular activity for tourists to Palau. Greenpeace New Zealand is asking people of the Pacific to share their views on deep-sea mining in a new online survey translated into nine Pacific languages. Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining campaigner James Hita said the movement to halt deep sea mining is strong and growing. Concerns were raised over the dumping of tailings waste from the Wafi Golpu mine in Papua New Guinea. US/Japan war games in the east china sea as an answer to Chinese aggression. Sports. @1309z "Pacific Waves" anchored by Koroi Hawkins. Backyard fence antenna, Etón e1XM. 100kW, beamAz 35°, bearing 240°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 12912KM from transmitter at Rangitaiki. Local time: 0658.

Ukraine Peace Flotilla On Its Way With Call To Freeze Oligarch Assets

Ukraine Peace Flotilla On Its Way With Call To Freeze Oligarch Assets

The “Ukraine Peace Flotilla” set sail from Auckland this morning with “No War” banners flying. Before sailing, Greenpeace Aotearoa programme director Niamh O’Flynn said: “Today we depart Tamaki Makaurau for Helena Bay in the far north. We sail to join the peace flotilla heading to the luxury retreat of Alexander Abramov, and there we will renew our call for sanctions against the billionaire…

View On WordPress

Hello! Seeing as my birthday season is creeping up on us, I thought I would put together a list of organizations and charities I would encourage you to support rather than buying me a gift (although, as always, there is no pressure to do/give anything). Since I’ve downsized into a smaller room, I don’t have much room for gifts or flowers etc, so this year especially, cards are very welcome!

I’m still not sure about how donating internationally works, so feel free to substitute a similar local initiative or charity. The charities below are organized roughly by country, and the names of each charity are links to their sites. Thank you!

Canada

Share Her Journey: A new addition to the list, TIFF’s Share Her Journey is an initiative supporting female filmmakers, who are still shockingly underrepresented in the industry. They fund workshops, film projects, and help to promote female voices.

Tentree: Tentree is a sustainable clothing manufacturer that also sells carbon credits, starting at $4 CAD. They offer a number of credit options, like offsetting the carbon from flights, and neutralizing the carbon output from habits like binge-watching or a daily avocado toast. So for my birthday, how about neutralizing the long showers I’ve taken this year? Just as a heads up, Tentree has recently launched a subscription service, so make sure that you’re only purchasing the one off, not the subscription.

New Zealand

Greenpeace: Founded in Vancouver in the 1970s (on West 4th Avenue, a stone’s throw from where I’m currently living), Greenpeace is an environmental group that focuses on policy level change, and was one of the key players behind New Zealand’s plastic bag ban. Greenpeace Aotearoa is linked, but a Google search will take you to whichever national site suits you best.

Project Jonah: Project Jonah provides training on how to un-strand whales to members of the public, and hosts infrastructure that allows information about strandings to be acted on quickly, saving whales and dolphins in the process.

Other /  International 

The Cousteau Society: Another new addition to the list, the Cousteau Society is run by Jacques Cousteau’s surviving relatives, and strives to save vulnerable marine environments through education, advocacy, and funding initiatives around the world, like their program to save the Vaquita, the world’s smallest dolphin (on the header image!). 

The Wikimedia Foundation: Best known for Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation is an organization that works to ensure knowledge is accessible to all. Enormous in scope, it is one of the most ambitious and meaningful projects in human history: allowing anyone to learn about anything, free of charge.

The SPCA: With a number of branches around the world, the SPCA rehabilitates animals from dangerous living situations, matching pets and owners to create lifelong partnerships for animals in need of love. NZ SPCA linked, but other branches are available with a quick Google search.

week 2: monday 26 april (ANZAC break)

website wireframe

Here are my initial wireframes for the mobile version of my website. The menu is a classic hamburger dropdown list that links to the four pages: the landing home page, the about page, a page with diy mask templates and instructions, and a shop page that lists sellers of eco-friendly masks.

I also created wireframe pages to indicate to the user that they are being taken to either a downloadable file or an external link.

I also wrote my text to go on my website's home page and about page:

home

Face masks have become a necessity in our day-to-day world, since COVID-19 changed our lives and efforts to contain it became a priority. However, an increase in the use of disposable face masks is causing negative impacts on our planet, without proper information on how to use them in an environmentally conscious way. As Jenny Yeh reports in her article for Greenpeace, "Undoubtedly, face masks are now an environmental, as well as social, phenomenon." Masks can save lives, but alternatives to single-use face masks will be key in maintaining the health of everyone, including our planet.

Mindfulmasks is here to offer some of those alternatives, and raise awareness of these issues. We’re here to show that we don’t have to sacrifice the planet’s health to protect our own.

about

Face coverings have become a part of our daily lives, and have become a requirement in many places around the world. But even before they were strongly enforced, disposable masks were littering our streets, landfills, and oceans. In an effort to get face coverings to as many people as possible, disposable face masks were sold in bulk as the most accessible containment of the virus. But despite this, guidance was not given on how to properly dispose of these masks, or resources for alternatives to these disposable masks. As lockdowns lift and in-person events resume, the consumption rate of single-use face masks will increase rapidly. This is why use of reusable, washable, and eco- friendly face masks is more important now than ever.

Mindfulmasks is here to raise awareness of these issues and provide information to reduce the amount of face-mask waste in the world. We provide DIY mask instructions to make masks of your own fabric scraps, and tips to follow so you can care for your mask and avoid adding to earth’s mask pollution. Thank you for considering alternatives to single-use masks. Have a browse around our website for resources and more information.

Parker, Laura. “How to Stop Discarded Face Masks from Polluting the Planet.” National Geographic, 15 Apr. 2021, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-to-stop-discarded-face-masks-from-polluting-the-planet

Parkinson, Justin. “Coronavirus: Disposable Masks ‘Causing Enormous Plastic Waste.’” BBC News, 13 Sept. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54057799

Young, Nick. “How to Make a Reusable Covid Mask and Avoid Plastic Pollution.” Greenpeace Aotearoa, 7 Aug. 2020, www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/how-to-make-an-upcycled-reusable-fabric-covid-mask-and-avoid-plastic-pollution

Yeh, Jenny. “Where Did 5,500 Tonnes of Discarded Face Masks End Up?” Greenpeace International, 14 Aug. 2020, www.greenpeace.org/international/story/44629/where-did-5500-tonnes-of-discarded-face-masks-end-up

On this day, 10 July 1985, the French intelligence service blew up the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, in Aotearoa/New Zealand killing Fernando Pereira, a photographer. The ship was headed to protest against French nuclear testing. France initially denied responsibility but NZ police arrested two of its agents and charged them with murder. Eventually they were sentenced to 10 years' prison for manslaughter, but the French government freed them after just two years. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1758048751046934/?type=3