This week's news in brief
Home » Blog » Sophie Barclay » This week's news in briefThis week's news rounds up the harbour bridge pedestrian crossing, Earthrace disappointment over biofuels, and painting roofs white to stop global warming ....
Criminals Rod Oram and David Slack storm the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Photo by Gnat @ Flickr
'Storming' the bridge
Last Sunday’s Harbour Bridge protest in Auckland saw thousands of cyclists and walkers cross the Auckland Harbour Bridge to mark its 50th anniversary and protest the lack of cycle lanes and walkways on the Harbour Bridge
The protest, led by Get Across, evolved out of the New Zealand Transport Authority's refusal to allow a public walk over the bridge, citing traffic disruption as the main reason. The authority has stated that the protest has not changed its views on the issue. Get Across may soon mount another protest.
Several lanes of the motorway were closed to motorists, and some were locked in standstill traffic for around two hours. More info here ...
Earthrace saves whales
Pete Bethune and his biofuel-powered boat Earthrace could become a part of Sea Shepherd’s whale battling flock. Bethune and his environmentally friendly trimaran have been promoting sustainable biofuel for the last three years, after setting a new record for an around-the-world race.
Bethune says the scrapping of Labour’s biofuels bill by National was incredibly disappointing. "It kind of made me wonder if what you do even matters," he says.
"At the moment, New Zealand is the only country in the OECD that doesn't have biofuel available to consumers. For biofuels to be viable they've got to be compulsory … Governments need to show a bit of backbone and spine and ours have been a bit backwards in that area."
Bethune and his boat have plans to become part of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, to help reduce whaling. More info here ...
Stop the sewage
A land-based sewage system could help reduce the pollution of the Tukituki River in Hawke’s Bay.
The river, fed by sewage discharge from oxidation ponds in Waipawa and Waipukurau, is severely polluted and the new scheme hopes to stop the pollution, and save ratepayers money.
The Hawke’s Bay Regional council has also embarked on a five-year programme to build wetlands that will soak up farm run-off and further halt pollution. More info here ...
Obama likes White roofs
According to Steven Chu, Nobel Prize winning scientist and new US Secretary of Energy, painting our roofs white could help save the planet!
Adding a lick of white paint would reduce global warming by increasing the albedo (reflectability) of the roof, and sending sunlight back into the atmosphere. It would also conserve energy.
Painting roofs and pavements white or light coloured would be the equivalent of removing all cars off the road for 11 years. More info here ... or see the story from the first-ever Good: 'Science will save us ... right?'
