Categories
politics

Vote sustainably

Sustainable Lens Election Special Special [ 58:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Over the past four weeks the Sustainable Lens team has hosted four political forums. Fifteen candidates have spent eight hours exploring the issues of the election through the lens of sustainability. While most get it, some are a very long way from understanding a holistic view of sustainability.

We have distilled the four shows down to this one-hour super special. Even after the election we believe it will be useful as a resource. It clearly reflects differing understandings across the political spectrum, both the issues we face, and the approaches to solving them.

Dunedin South: Joanne Hayes (National), Warren Voight (Democrats for Social Credit), Clare Curran (Labour), Shane Gallagher (Greens).

Dunedin List: Alex Kruize, Victor Billot.

Te Tai Tonga: Rāhui Kātene (Maori), Dora Roimata Langsbury (Greens), Rino Tirikatene (Labour), James Gluck (representing Clinton Dearlove – Mana).

Dunedin North: Metiria Turei (Greens), Pete George (United Future), Guy McCallum (ACT), Michael Woodhouse (National), David Clark (Labour).

The election specials were produced by Samuel Mann and Otago Access Radio’s Lesley Paris. We extend our heartfelt thanks to sound engineer Geoff Barkman, and our hosts and sponsors Otago Polytechnic.

Categories
politics

Dunedin North

SustainableLens Dunedin North

Sustainable Lens Dunedin North Election Forum 17/11/11 Part 1 [ 59:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Sustainable Lens Dunedin North Election Forum 17/11/11 Part 2 [ 55:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

What is a sustainable economy? Candidates for Dunedin North discussed the basis of their party’s positions, as well as their personal thoughts on economics, growth and the environment. The Sustainable Lens on Radio forum format allowed the candidates space to be able to expound their philosophies as well as give specific policy examples on fishing, transport, climate change and extractive industries in the South. The evening was a great opportunity to see where the differences between the parties lie.

Candidates (from left) Metiria Turei (Greens), Pete George (United Future), Guy McCallum (ACT), Michael Woodhouse (National), David Clark (Labour), (Greens Dunedin South candidate Shane Gallagher was back-up for Metiria).

Hosts: Anton Angelo and Samuel Mann

Sound: Geoff Barkman and Louise Gizzie.

Producers: Samuel Mann and Lesley Paris

Categories
politics

Dunedin list

Sustainable Lens List Election Forum 10/11/11 Part 1 [ 59:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Sustainable Lens List Election Forum 10/11/11 Part 2 [ 55:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Alliance (Victor Billot) the Greens (Alex Kruize) represent the the hard end of the spectrum with their own policies. A rare chance to hear some supporters of the minor parties discuss politics – these are the non-spin doctored party faithful: those who really believe. This discussion was a fascinating insight to what makes their policies tick: what underlies their policies for economic and environmental sustainability.

Candidates (from left) Alex Kruize, Victor Billot. (Labour apologised at the last minute, ACT promised but didn’t show. National were invited but chose not to be represented).

Hosts: Anton Angelo and Samuel Mann

Producers: Samuel Mann and Lesley Paris

Sound: Geoff Barkman

Categories
maori politics

Te Tai Tonga

Sustainable Lens Te Tai Tonga forum. From left: Rāhui Kātene (Maori), Dora Roimata Langsbury (Greens), Rino Tirikatene (Labour), James Gluck (representing Clinton Dearlove - Mana)

Sustainable Lens Te Tai Tonga Election Forum 3/11/11 Part 1 [ 59:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Sustainable Lens Te Tai Tonga Election Forum 3/11/11 Part 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Sustainable Lens Dunedin South Election Forum, 3rd November 2011

The Sustainable Lens team hosted a discussion with candidates for New Zealand’s largest electorate, Te Tai Tonga. Topics covered included jobs, education, Te Reo, Maori management of Maori resources, and of course, the environment, with robust criticism and defense of the performance of the incumbent Maori Party over the last three years. The atmosphere was congenial, but that didn’t stop people from disagreeing with each other!

Candidates (from left in image above): Rāhui Kātene (Maori), Dora Roimata Langsbury (Greens), Rino Tirikatene (Labour), James Gluck (representing Clinton Dearlove – Mana)

Hosts: Anton Angelo, Khyla Russell, Samuel Mann

Producer: Samuel Mann and Lesley Paris

Sound: Geoff Barkman

Categories
politics

Dunedin South

 

SustainableLens Dunedin South Election Forum, 27th October 2011 Part 1 [ 59:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
SustainableLens Dunedin South Election Forum, 27th October 2011 Part 2 [ 53:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In what panellists, audience and candidates described as a successful and enlightening discussion, Sustainable Lens on Radio’s first Election Forum ranged from the global to the very local. Dunedin South’s challenges are of course unique, but the electorate straddles urban poor, suburban wealthy and rural populations. This gave the candidates scope to discuss sustainability and growth, from their own personal perspectives.

The Sustainable Lens Dunedin South Election Forum, 27th October 2011

 

Candidates (from right in image above):  Joanne Hayes (National), Warren Voight (Democrats for Social Credit), Clare Curran (Labour), Shane Gallagher (Greens).

Hosts: Anton Angelo and Samuel Mann

Producer: Samuel Mann and Lesley Paris

Sound: Geoff Barkman

Categories
education

Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson [ 59:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Otago Polytechnic’s Mark Jackson mixes positive changes with insights on why it is important for an educational institution to take a lead in a creating a sustainable future. Reducing paper use, closed loops and supply chains are practical expression of personal principles, peaking societal wealth and timeframes as externalities.

Mark is responsible for Sustainable Operations at Otago Polytechnic. He is also an active member of Sustainable Dunedin City. We talk about how the polytechnic is working to close loops and seize opportunities for improvement. This reduces the institution’s own impact, drives change in the supply change, and links to educational initiatives.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: “what if externalised costs could be quantified and assigned? What if we could get to the point where the lowest-priced T-shirt was also the one doing the least harm to the planet and society? This is asked by Yvon Chouinard and others in the Harvard Business Review recently. Sam reviews their paper (read more>).

Categories
green party politics

Gareth Hughes MP

Gareth Hughes, Green MP on Sustainablelens.org [ 58:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Gareth Hughes is the Green Party’s spokesperson on climate change, housing, ICT, libraries and archives, oceans, transport, and youth. After growing up in Gisborne, Gareth studied religious studies, history and politics at Victoria University of Wellington. He worked for Greenpeace in Australia and New Zealand from 2000–2005, and then worked for the Green Party on climate change issues.

Instead of a summary, imagine this is a wordcloud of our discussion: (that would be cool, I should make one)…
roads, driving, mainstream choices, farebox ratio, subsidy of roading transport, telecommuting.
non-violent direct action, social media, activism, poverty, not living in a stratified society,
compromising positions, politics not being a dirty world but integral to making a real change,
richer New Zealand, biological politics, open transparent politics, rational debate, open government, farming, RMA reforms, ETS, community decision making, ecologically concious decision making, aquaculture, rivers, mmp, oil drilling, charter principles, not being the annoying guy, maturing, transformation, connect construct contribute, quality accommodation, capital gains, economic growth, steady state.

Shane’s number of the week: 2 million kilometre square hole in the ozone over the Arctic.

Sam’s joined up thinking: Deep Ecology: The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life have value in themselves (synonyms: intrinsic value, inherent worth). These values are independent of the usefulness of the non-human world for human purposes. (read more).

Categories
labour politics

Audacious goal to close gaps

Dr David Clark - Labour candidate for Dunedin North on SustainableLens [ 58:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr David Clark is the Labour candidate for Dunedin North. He tells us his main driver is to address the gap between rich and poor. David says the Government’s energy strategy is a “huge leap backwards”, linite mining is “a rubbish idea”, and that vested interests “pretend” the energy market actually works. He has an audacious goal for Dunedin North – thriving on a weightless economy, and for the country to have a society we all want to live in. We explore his pathway to being a candidate: a socially active family; German degree; theology degree; Presbyterian minister; PhD (Christian existentialism of Helmut Rex); Treasury (really); and Head of College at Selwyn.

Shane’s number of the week: 100 – that is the number of Maui dolphins that are left in New Zealand waters – Maui dolphins are a sub-species of Hectors dolphins of which there are only 7000 left and they are at risk of extinction unless we take urgent action.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Sam was attending to the security alarm that inexplicably went off. We played some music instead.

Categories
education

Dr Kerry Shephard and Mary Furnari

Kerry Shephard and Mary Furnari are from Otago University HEDC. Kerry and Mary are investigating university teachers’ perceptions of Education for Sustainability. They tell us about the card sorting methodology they’re using (Q methodology to be precise) whereby participants sort 50 statements about education for sustainability – how they do this is then used to identify groups of teachers. We talk about teaching as a transformative experience, about the role of values, and whether advocating for sustainability in teaching is the right thing to do.

Shane’s number of the week: 70. Seventy is number of islands of the Orkneys who are aiming for 100% renewable energy by 2020. This is a perfect example of leadership from the government promoting global leadership in innovation, revitalising communities and making best use of human and physical resources.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Sam talks with Sam Sharp, one of the organisers of the 350 Dunedin Festival.

Dr Kerry Shephard and Mary Furnari - Education for Sustainability [ 59:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Categories
agriculture behaviour change landscape

Dr Janet Stephenson

 

Janet Stephenson - Centre for Sustainability [ 59:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Janet Stephenson is from Otago University CSAFE.  Janet explores the passions of landscape, the importance and difficulty of behaviour change, the role of the power of influence, and how prosumers are leading the way with visions for energy futures.  With Jacinta Ruru and Mick Abbot, Janet has recently co-edited “Making our Place: Exploring land-use tensions in Aotearoa New Zealand”.

 

Shane’s number of the week:   68.    68% of the biggest 500 companies in the world are taking action on climate change as part of their business strategy.  This information comes from the 10th Annual Carbon Disclosure Project, and compares with the figure of 48% last year.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Planning is well underway for the Sustainable Lens Election Focus.

Categories
art landscape

Bridie Lonie

 

Bridie Lonie - Art and Nature [ 58:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Radio meets pictures as Bridie Lonie walks us through a trail of art and nature.  Bridie Lonie is from Otago Polytechnic’s School of Art where she researches the relationships between art and social issues.

Here’s some of the ground we covered:

Edward Hick’s Peaceable Kingdom
Komar and Melamid’s Most Wanted
Grizzly Man
Public Smog

Shane’s number of the week: 500 metres is how far away honey bees have to be away from Genetically Modified crops, and the honey contain no traces of pollen from GM  for the honey to be classed as food according to a recent European Union ruling.

Sam’s joined-joined-up-thinking: Intergenerational equity is the cornerstone of sustainability but it is being eroded by use of the term to support municipal borrowing (read on>>>).

Categories
green party politics

Dr Russel Norman MP

Dr Russel Norman [ 50:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr Russel Norman is the Green Party’s male Co-leader. In this interview we talk about the potential for a green economy. Russel says the green economy is good for business, but maybe not all business – there are sectors of our economy that are deeply unsustainable. We need to find ways to overcome barriers to a cultural transformation.

We ask if he feel like he is pushing uphill? Do other parties in parliament get it? Russel has great insights on why things happen that seem to fly in the face of rational thought. The obsession with motorways comes from a perception that we have to catch up with the rest of the world – even if everyone else has moved onto rail. Structural changes are needed – rail and ports have to make a profit but roads are a loss making service – in effect a massive subsidy for trucking companies.

Note: this interview was recorded earlier in the week before the Government released the New Zealand Energy Strategy and the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy. The Greens describe the strategies as a “missed opportunity“.

Categories
conservation biology

Dr Phil Bishop

Dr Phil Bishop [ 59:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr Phil Bishop was recently appointed Chief Scientist for the world’s frogs. In this interview he tells us how frogs outlasted the dinosaurs but are in real trouble now. He tells us how a mild mannered Dunedin herpetologist was transformed into one of the world’s leading conservation biologists. We talk about valuing species, habitat destruction, chytrid fungus, and how NZ’s Archie’s frog is considered the most important frog of all. As an added bonus we hear about belly-flopping frogs and the problem with Kermit.

Shane’s number of the week: 50. Fifty out of 204 conflicts in the last decade were triggered in part by El Nino. The risk of such conflict is less in developed nations, which is put down to having systems that can better absorb shocks. Shane asks what this foretells for a climate changed world with an increase in extreme weather.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: This week Sam is taking the Live Below the Line Challenge. He is spending only $2.25 per day on food to raise awareness of extreme poverty. He is hungry.

Categories
landscape tourism

Dr Anna Thompson

Anna Thompson [ 59:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is a rollicking session that has something for everyone: growing up in a National Park; working as park interpreter; renaissance art; visitor surveys; gardening Mt Cook; wilding pines; 1080; the greening of the McKenzie; valuing landscape; the corporatisation of landscape; wicked spirals of land-use; the outdoors; and the future of tourism.

Anna Thompson is co-director for the Centre for Recreation Research in the Otago University Department of Tourism. Her PhD (1998-2004) examined the management of visitors’ experiences of cultural values for landscapes in New Zealand, with a focus on integrating cultural values within interpretation. The research investigated issues relating to natural and cultural heritage management, cultural tourism and visitor interpretation in New Zealand. She has been a visiting researcher at the University of Stavanger (Norway) in 2006. Anna sits on the NZ Mountain Safety Council National Research Committee and is a director of Te Ana Whakairo (Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Centre Trust).

Anna has published in the fields of eco tourism, adventure tourism, entrepreneurship and visitor interpretation. Her other research interests include: wilderness recreation planning, sustainable SMTEs and destinations, cultural landscapes and the history of alpine and polar region recreation. From 1999 to 2002 Anna worked alongside Professor James Higham on a nationwide FRST funded project investigating Ecotourism in New Zealand: profiling visitors to New Zealand ecotourism operations. Recent external funded work includes conducting three surveys and qualitative research for the Department of Conservation in the Hakatere, Ahuriri and Ruataniwha Conservation Parks. Most recently she has led a SPARC funded project – ‘Family preferences, experiences and benefits associated with outdoor in Aotearoa’.

Shane’s number of the week: 4.3 is how many people get killed worldwide by sharks each year (average 2001-2010). Meanwhile 100,000,000 sharks are killed by humans.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Next week Sam is taking the Live Below the Line Challenge. He will be spending only $2.25 per day on food to raise awareness of extreme poverty.

Categories
education transition towns

Dr Maureen Howard

 

 

Maureen Howard [ 58:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Originally from Northern Ireland, Maureen Howard has lived in Dunedin for the last 17 years. She has a BSc Hons in Psychology from University of Ulster and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Otago. She has been employed in a variety of work including research, teaching, consulting, administration and environmental campaign work. Since 2006 she has been contracted by the Dunedin City Council to run courses, workshops and talks in sustainable living and to provide support for sustainable living skill-sharing within Dunedin’s communities.

Maureen tells us that education for sustainability is important to many councils in NZ who also run courses through the Sustainable Living Programme. The Dunedin City Council also has a Safe and Sustainable Travel Coordinator, a Sustainability Advisor and staff engaged in waste minimisation. They support Enviroschools and encourage activities like water conservation, composting, cloth nappies, cycling and walking routes, and insulation retrofitting through their website, leaflets and workshops. The courses Maureen runs, along with workshops and talks on sustainable living help to bring this and other sustainability information together for interested people in the community. She tells us about role of communities in working towards a better future, one with more diversity, more resilience and greater productivity.

In her spare time Maureen is an active member of Transition Valley 473 and Sustainable Dunedin City Society.

Shane’s number of the week:  1,200 square kilometers is the size of the oil slick in China’s Bohai Sea. If oil companies can’t clean up this mess in one of the world’s most powerful countries, what hope is there of getting it right in New Zealand given our much smaller economy, tiny military and much more technically challenging drilling conditions?

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Ray Anderson, who died this week, changed the nature of business (more>>>)

Categories
business education

Dr Barry Law

Barry Law [ 55:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Barry Law is Sustainability Director at The Shannon Company. There he helps companies and other organisations combine sustainability with social change through innovation in business practice. With a focus on moving beyond why to how, Barry has developed tools such as Sustainable Practice 360. Barry has much previous experience in Education for Sustainability. He is also an advisor to Otago Polytechnic.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Moving beyond recycling.

Categories
labour politics

Clare Curran MP

Clare Curran [ 58:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Clare Curran is the MP for Dunedin South. She tells us that Labour has a core set of values that sees the people and the planet as intertwined.

An important part of her value set is the role of strong communities – geographical and communities of interest. How a country relates to communities determines what sort of country it is – looking at us as a set of businesses is a very dehumanising approach as it looks at work only in terms of how much profit it makes rather than the value of the interaction in your whole life. This whole life approach isn’t about business, it’s about how we live.

In addition to food, shelter, education and health she includes access to the internet as an essential service. The internet is seen as an enormous leveller but she points to 100,000 homes in NZ where kids don’t have access to a computer – their ability to participate in society as children is already compromised. She fears an entrenching of the digital divide – “digital apartheid” in its effect – determining access by wealth could be one of the worst decisions of the next 50 years. If the kids without computers get to high school without reliable access then their futures are seriously compromised. She describes collective responses to this challenge.

The role and responsibilities of big business, both state owned and commercial sector – and the different implications of monopolies within them. The state owned monopolies are there for a purpose because as a society we’ve decided that either the sector isn’t big enough to support competing interests or it has an essential nature. She says TVNZ isn’t a public broadcaster any more.

In a wide ranging interview we talk about: weightless exports; the prospects for open transparent government; investing in rail and increasing emphasis on public transport; procurement policies that account for long term effects, labour cost and environmental effects; open source. We discuss the digital copyright act. In an advance on a policy annoucement Clare tells us that Labour will not only repeal the termination clause, but review the whole fraught are of intellectual property with a view to enable access rather than prevent it.

Clare is the Labour Party spokesperson for Broadcasting, Communications and Information Technology. She trained as a journalist and has worked for companies such as Social Change Media, and Essential Media Communications. She has served on the board of Greenpeace.

Shane’s number of the week: 9.1% is the rise in the cost of living for a solo parent according the Salvation Army’s low income CPI.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: 550 mostly students filled the St David’s St lecture theatre for Generation Zero‘s “Cheer Up Bob” event. Professor Bob Lloyd gave a depressing lecture (peak oil has happened; it is linked with climate change which is already having impacts; coal is rampant but it too will peak; the underlying problem is an irrational obsession with growth). Jeanette Fitzsimons responded via Skype with an inspiring message of hope and positive action.

Categories
climate change politics

Bridget O’Leary and Louis Chambers

Bridget O'Leary and Louis Chambers - Generation Zero [ 57:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bridget O’Leary and Louis Chambers tell us how Generation Zero will be the generation to oversee the transformation to a zero carbon world. This positively focussed youth movement aims to see zero net carbon emissions by 2050. With their positive and informed approach they have us convinced – politicians take note of this spirited youth voice – they’re coming to an election near you.

Shane’s number of the week:130,000 tonnes of palm oil imported into Australia every year.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Dr John C. Thomas is a senior researcher at IBM where he helps lead the people side of the Smarter Cities programme. Sam talked with John about the potential for pattern languages in sustainability (entire interview with John>>).

We liked the term “youth washing” which Anton stumbled upon in this interview. While it is not new (see here), we think it has legs.