Joint New Zealand-U.S. project begins harvesting steady Antarctic winds on Ross Island.
Besides the heavy snow, unrelenting wind, and bone-chilling temperatures, what’s the most difficult part of building a wind farm in Antarctica? The lack of daylight in the winter means construction can only take place in the summer months. And with only one supply ship a year, you better not forget any parts.
On Saturday, the $7.4-million Ross Island Wind Farm in Antarctica began feeding electricity at full power for the very first time. The new wind farm can generate up to one megawatt of electricity and will cut diesel use at New Zealand’s Scott Base and the U.S.’ McMurdo Station by 120,000 gallons and reduce carbon dioxide output by 1,370 tons annually, according to New Zealand’s state-owned Meridian Energy, the project’s developers.
Nearly 200 pilot whales stranded on two New Zealand beaches over the weekend. The first incident involved 63 pilot whales stranded on North Island. Rescuers were able to coax 43 of the magnificent creatures back to sea.
What would have been the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wind farm, a $2 billion NZD ($1.4 billion USD) and 630 MW wind farm in New Zealand, is not happening because New Zealand’s Environment Court says that it would ruin the surrounding landscape.
This project would have powered over a million homes and made a huge dent in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is not happening now because of a group of NIMBY activists and the Environment Court’s ruling.
This is a huge blow, in itself, to renewable and wind energy proponents, but it also brings concerns for future wind energy projects.
A donation of three tons of grapes has been converted, via wine, into funds for the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) project to save endangered dolphins endemic to New Zealand.
A Hector’s Dolphin showing the characteristic round dorsal fin.
The Wine
It started with Gemma McGrath who had moved from a job on Whale Watch boats to a barmaid in the small Otago village of Bannockburn which is about as far away from the sea as one can get in New Zealand.
Sirocco, a male Kakapo, is grinning from ear-to-ear as he makes a play for a very unusual partner.
While filming the BBC’s “Last Chance to See” series, filmmaker Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine have a surprising encounter with an amorous Kakapo named Sirocco.
Sirocco, one of just 124 of his kind, appears eager to increase the population of his species - whether or not there’s another Kakapo around.
In the meantime, however, a human head will do just fine.
Icebreaker’s Bodyfit line has long been loved by outdoor enthusiasts, and now children can benefit from the company’s eco-friendly New Zealand wool garments. Icebreaker’s kids’ line features no itch fabric that “smells better, feels better, warms better, and breathes better”. This line is perfect for active sports and everyday use. Beyond great fabric, Icebreaker features two unique features for kids: “baa code” and “re-imagined packaging”.
Have you ever wanted to meet the sheep that was shorn for your clothes? Just enter the “baa code” on your label into the Icebreaker website to meet where your sheep lives.
With most of the things you buy, you’re told little or nothing about how they’re made. Icebreaker is different.
We have a deep commitment to animal welfare, the welfare of the people who work with us, and the environment. And we have nothing to hide.
Your unique Baacode will let you see the living conditions of the high country sheep that produced the merino fibre in your Icebreaker garment, meet the farmers who are custodians of this astonishing landscape, and follow every step of the supply chain. We’re sure you’ll find the experience as inspiring as we do. Enjoy your journey back to the source.
LanzaTech, a small company based in New Zealand, has developed a proprietary microbe that feasts on the carbon monoxide in waste gas from steel mills and converts it to pure ethanol. Last year the company launched a pilot facility at the New Zealand Steel plant near the city of Auckland, and its microbes have been happily churning out ethanol without the need for expensive pre-conditioning to remove contaminants.
LanzaTech has found that the same low-cost technology can be applied to biomass syngas, but the real excitement is in the success of this first-ever attempt to capture and convert steel mill waste gas into a clean, sustainable fuel.
It is estimated that man has been in Oceania for up to 125,000 years. The land was there before man. And for a long time a balance has been found between man and nature. Perhaps that balance was achieved because man and nature were not separate entities, but one and the same. However, in the recent past, that balance has been disturbed by population and consumption. Man became an invader rather than an aboriginal. And with that, habit loss for other species has been a concern. And now life isn’t what it used to be in Oceania.
It is such an invasion, not just by humans, but species of both flora and fauna that threatens aboriginal life in Oceania. A new study, which was published in the international journal Conservation Biology expresses the need for governments to act quickly in order to halt the loss of biodiversity and the extinction of species.
As recently as 1995, there were only 50 known Kakapo still surviving. Relentless hunting by humans, widespread forest clearing, and the introduction of dogs, cats, and rats nearly wiped these friendly, flightless birds off the planet.
Thanks to New Zealand’s Kakapo Recovery Programme’s intensive species management and successful breeding results, the Kakapo (Strigops habroptila) population has now increased to 124 birds.
The program requires intensive monitoring of wild adult birds on Codfish Island and Anchor Island - the only locations of the remaining Kakapo. Hand-raising of some of the chicks has also been necessary, and 17 Kakapo have been hand-raised and returned to the wild.
Kakapo Recovery Plan
The ultimate vision for the species is to have at least 150 adult females. Species management is guided by the Kakapo Recovery Plan to:
Maximize recruitment in the kakapo population
Minimize the loss of genetic diversity in the kakapo population
Secure, restore or maintain sufficient habitat to accommodate the expected increase in the kakapo population
Maintain public awareness and stakeholder support for kakapo conservation
Eyewitnesses at the town of Mahia noticed the woman was at sea with the dolphin, known locally as Moko, for some time late yesterday afternoon, before she began screaming for help.
Speaking about the incident, Juanita Symes the manager of a local bar said, “My uncle Ian was down at the beach getting some salt water and he heard her screaming. He came running into the restaurant and said to me ‘there’s a girl stuck on the buoy and Moko won’t let her come back in.”
“At first I thought he was joking. Then another guy ran in from the beach and said we needed to get help.”
Ever wonder who leads the world in global warming emissions? And by how much? A report released this month by the New Zealand government gives us this information.
Icebreaker’s Bodyfit
