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Posts Tagged ‘climate change’
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 by Admin
 Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant Last Friday we had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Solray Energy Algae to Bio-Crude Oil plant at the Bromley Waste Water Treatment plant. It was a lovely warm spring day with not much of a smell, thankfully.
SIFT funded the early stage proof of concept mini trials at the Bromley Sewage Treatment plant (run by CCC) over the past three years plus the business case for algae and financial due diligence.
It was a great turn out with lots of cameras, all stakeholders, local iwi Ngai Tahu and local Councillors as well as the Hon. Gerry Brownlee (who is the Minister for Economic Development and the Minster for Energy and Resources), who officially opened the plant.
 Solray Energy's Chris Bathurst with SIFT Board Member Prof. Emeritus Arthur Williamson Chris Bathurst, the brains behind the project, said that it has taken 9 years to get to where they are today. They have successfully made crude oil from algae grown at the ponds (and started a lawn mower for Hon. Gerry Brownlee to use to prove it, see below for photo).
This project is a great example of public-private partnership in action with Solray Energy, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) and the Christchurch City Council working together to make the project a success. Algae to biofuels at this scale is apparently the first in the world. The project uses NIWA’s 5ha demonstration high rate algae pond that gets CO2 pumped into it, which gets trapped and encourages algae to grow. The algae is constantly mixed so it grows in colonies and is then pumped across the road to Solray where it is heated to above 300 degrees celsius in a super critical water reactor (SCWR), which mimics the natural process of turning it into crude oil (very similified explanation!). To remove the algae from the bio-crude oil they use a solvent which is then recycled and the algae residue is used as fertiliser. The bio-crude oil is then separated into petrol (20%), diesel (45%) and bitumen (20%) plus a few others. The whole lifecycle is all on one site making it easier to manage and monitor.
The super critical water reactor (SCWR) is very innovative and inventive. It was designed and built in New Zealand by Solray Energy, which means NZ can reap the benefits of the technology. As well as providing a possible new way to make fuel (instead of using fossil fuels – Hon. Gerry Brownlee stated NZ uses 183,000 barrels of oil equivalent a year) this technology could also allow for small scale carbon capture and localised use of the technology. It is also a cheap and simple way to harvest the algae. NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan happily presented two vials (one of green water algae and the other bio-crude oil) to Hon. Gerry Brownlee to give to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key.
 Algae and Bio-crude oil vials for PM John Key  Hon. Gerry Browlee with the lawnmower & NIWA's John Morgan After getting the lawn mower to start for the cameras and Hon. Gerry Brownlee to mow some scrub on the banks of the pond the opening was formally closed by a karakia from an iwi representative from Ngai Tahu.
You can find more information about our involvement in the project here.
 Bio-crude oil and fuel  Hon. Gerry Brownlee being presented the vials by NIWA's John Morgan  Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant
Tags: algae, bio-crude oil, bitumen, CCC, climate change, community, diesel, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, fuel, petrol, reuse, sewage, Solray Energy, Waste Management, waste water
Posted in Events, SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 by Admin
Radio New Zealand National is somewhat underrated for its level of interesting, informative and on-trend information. This past Saturday This Way Up looked into the amount of food waste that there is each year, where it comes from and what we can do. They state that there are no reliable figures from the Ministry for the Environment for food waste in New Zealand but site a 2003 Australian study that said that 13% of all waste is from food – that’s around $500 per person per year. They go on to say that this ofcourse has a significant impact on the levels of Methane in our landfills which is around 35 times more impactful and damaging than CO2 in the atmosphere.
In 2008, in Christchurch, 23% of our waste is “kitchen” waste which we can assume will be mostly food, that has gone to landfill. That’s 50,000 kg of organics that could have been composted (there are no figures on how much comes from household and how much from producers, manufacturers and retailers).
 Waste by Tristram Stuart This Way Up interviewed Tristram Stuart who wrote the book Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal who talks about how the UK government “raked through 2000 homes” in order to see what was in their rubbish and the impact of food waste from retailers and manufacturers. He also discusses how the UK government carried out an educational campaign on how to reduce their food waste (such as food storage, cooking and using left overs) and it worked saving many hundreds of millions of pounds.
This Way Up then they interviewed both Foodstuffs and Progressive (although Foodstuff didn’t give an interview and stated it “didn’t have any figures on the problem” of food waste from the supermarkets). Progressive state that nationally they are sending 20,000 tonnes of food waste to landfill and that “they are actively monitoring and measuring this”.
Interestingly, Progressive are looking to reduce their carbon footprint by 40% by 2014 on 2006 levels and to reduce their food waste by 1%. Progressive are also rolling out a feedstock programme so that their organic food waste goes to livestock and have given manager’s the opportunity to reduce prices that have gone past their sell by date (nothing is sold that has gone past its used by date and they discuss the health and safety around products that have gone past their used by date but could still be okay to eat and they are looking into a programme that can give this healthy but gone past its used by date to the needy). They are also using better food ordering and waste reporting systems.
This is an interesting insight into food waste in New Zealand and we feel there is a quite a gap in knowledge on our food waste.
 Food Waste that can still by eaten Source: Flickr JBloom
Tags: climate change, CO2, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, food waste, Foodstuffs, kitchen, methane, organics, Progressive, RadioNZ National, This Way Up, Tristram Stuart, waste
Posted in Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 by Admin
 No Impact Man - Colin Beavan No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries he Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan.
After spending the past couple of years following No Impact Man’s (Colin Beavan) blog I was looking forward to reading his book on the year he spent (with his wife and child) living with no impact on the environment. If Colin Beavan and his family can make profound, lasting, positive environmental changes to their lifestyle in order to tackle climate change while living in a ninth floor apartment in the middle of Manhattan then I can certainly make some changes to my life (while I live in the much easier NZ suburbia – where I can grow my own vegetables for instance!).
This book (and the blog) is now a favourite. Beavan discusses what he has done (and is still doing) to live a lower impact life and the decision-making/thought processes he has while doing it. From zero waste to zero carbon transportation to eating only local food from the farmers market to not buying anything new to taking a reusable jar (for coffee) and taking napkins with him to switching off the electricity this book has many ideas (and ideals) we can take away to improve our lives to improve the health of the environment.
Not only does Colin Beavan give the facts of the why and the how but also discusses the social, cultural, political and global issues surrounding climate change and global warming (such as consumption and poverty). Beavan questions why we are all living the way we do and why we have not questioned it before. A cultural shift is required in order to solve the problem and Colin Beavan delved deeply into that new culture and came out the other side with a healthier body, family, life and a much lowered impact on the environment.
It is a must read for anyone who has made the decision to try to make a difference. I ordered mine from the library and had to wait a few weeks due to the number of other people wanting to read it but that’s a good thing. The more people who read it the better. It is an emotive and compelling read that will make you think. But, it also reminds you that you are human and we can make a difference, together (while having fun and laughing – lots of smiles from this book too).
Here’s the NoImpactMan blog and here’s the recently set up NoImpactProject which will help more people to live a no impact life. And hopefully in NZ we will see it soon but there is also a documentary about Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man year – here’s a preview.
Courage, conviction, strength, integrity, heart (and soul), conscious living and determination (with fun thrown in). This is No Impact Man and this is what we all need to hold true to in order to live differently for a better earth. Thank you Colin Beavan. I think I will read the book again!
Change must start today.
Tags: climate change, Colin Beavan, conscious living, consumption, environment, Manhattan, No Impact Man, recycle, reduce, reuse, sustainable living, zero waste
Posted in Other Sustainable Initiatives, Pratical Action, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2009 by Admin
Last Saturday was the International Day of Climate Change Action organised by 350.org. It was a resounding success with 181 countries uniting to promote the safe level of CO2 in our atmosphere – 350ppm. The “most widespread day of environmental action in the earth’s history”. There are over 19,000 photos of actions on Flickr and a great new video that just makes you smile. More and more humans are coming together to improve the health of the planet, to live differently to steer away from dangerous climate change and call for “strong and bold” leadership by our governments (and business leaders) to meet the 350ppm level and develop a fair and binding new global climate agreement.
Here’s a link to the video:
350.org 24/10/09
Here are some great photos from 350.org from around the world:
 Cairo, Egypt  Surfers in Christchurch  Dhaka, Bangladesh  Great Barrier Reef  Hay-on-wye, UK  Inner Mongolia  Maldives  India  Sydney  Wellington, NZ
Tags: 350, action, climate change, CO2
Posted in Events | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by Admin
 Green is Life from Flickr: Neirolf (very busy...) There is a new generation of employees who want to work for companies and organisations that align to their values: sustainable business practices, conscious strategies, positive environmental impact, reduction in carbon emissions and resource use, community and social responsibility practices, meaningful work, flexible, nimble and open to change, innovative and no greenwash. (Coined Generation M by Umair Haque).
Do these types of organisations/employers exist in Canterbury? Can employees green their employers or will they have to move and where to? Where are the truly good organisations that are going to lead Canterbury and New Zealand into a future where the way we live will be completely different to the past few decades? A paradigm shift needs to occur in order for us to reduce our emissions, reduce our waste and live more sustainably but who are the organisations that can help us create the new future? SIFT is definitely one of them.
We would love to know where and who these employers and organisations are? Email us or leave a comment of the organisations you are proud to work for or proud to know and why. Is your employer green and environmental focussed or someone who thinks they are green but aren’t?
Tags: climate change, consumption, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Jobs, SIFT, sustainable employment, sustainable future
Posted in Business & Sustainability | No Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 by Admin
 350.org Saturday is the International Day of Climate Action – raising awareness of taking action to tackle climate change to reduce our CO2 emissions back down to a “safe” limit of 350 parts per million. This is being organised and coordinatted across 170 countries by an organisation called 350.org. Set up by environmentalist and eduacator Bill McKibben Saturday will bring many different group activities to highlight climate change and the number 350 – in New Zealand there are currently 110 activities planned. It is actually more than raising awareness about climate change it is (as the website states) a chance for the public to take a stand and make it known that we have to do everything we can to reduce our emissions to 350ppm to slow global warming and reduce the likelihood of the temperature increasing more than 2 degrees celsius over the next 50-100 years. 350ppm is the safe upper limit for the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.
 Co2 now The current ppm CO2 in our atmosphere (as measured by Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at Moana Loa Observatory in Hawaii (where CO2 has been measured since the mid 1950’s)) is 384.78 ppm and climbing.
Check out 350 Aotearoa for what is happening in your region and how you can get involved. In Christchurch the activities includes Frocks on Bikes in Victoria Square, planting on the Southshore, artwork on New Brighton Pier, Port Hill Greens will be at Victoria Square asking people to reduce their emissions by 10% by 2010, Canterbury surfers will paddle out on the sea to show their support and many others.
Also CO2now.org is a great website for climate change information and how ESRL and NOAA study CO2 – there are also some interesting and informative videos and you can download a CO2 counter for your website or blog like the one above.
Read here for why 350ppm is such an important number.
And here is the wonderfully animated 350.org video.
And here are a range of great photos of what people have done to raise awareness of 350.
Get involved and take a stand today.
Tags: 10:10, 350 Aotearoa, 350.org, Bill McKibben, climate change, environmental sustainability, ESRL, Frocks on Bikes, NOAA
Posted in Events | No Comments »
Monday, October 12th, 2009 by Admin
Here is a guest blog post from MiniMonos – all about our favourite environmentalist Melissa Clark-Reynolds and her new project MiniMonos.
An Inconvenient Truth for Canterbury kids.
 Melissa Clark-Reynolds Watching Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ in a Christchurch movie theatre changed the course of Melissa Clark-Reynolds’ life and led to the creation of MiniMonos, a virtual world for good green kids.
Prior to this, Melissa already had a string of entrepreneurial successes. She established Fusion, a health and safety and ACC consultancy which became New Zealand’s largest private accident compensation insurer. Melissa was the General Manager of Fusion and sold her interest in the Alliance to Southern Cross Healthcare. She had also successfully turned around and scaled previously struggling technology companies.
Deeply moved while watching An Inconvenient Truth, Melissa decided to contact ex-US Vice President Al Gore to offer her help. Having absolutely no idea how she was going to get his attention, she contacted everyone she knew, trusting that somehow six degrees of separation would prevail. After a huge amount of persistence, she remembered that her friend’s husband worked for Mr Gore. Incredibly, when she reached out for an introduction to husband, she found out that her friend was actually Executive Director of The Climate Project, a network of 2,500 climate awareness ambassadors, all personally trained by Mr Gore. In 2007, Melissa became one of only two New Zealanders to be trained to present The Inconvenient Truth, and paved the way for more Kiwi presenters to be trained earlier this year.
 Melissa Clark-Reynolds and Al Gore To date, Melissa’s favourite presentations have been in Geraldine and Lawrence – both organised by the rural communities there. One Geraldine farmer, David Musgrave, approached Melissa after her presentation and was inspired to become a Climate Project Ambassador himself, being selected and trained by Al Gore in Melbourne in July this year.
Melissa’s environmental activism is reflected in her virtual world, MiniMonos (”Little Monkeys” in Spanish). Says Melissa: “We wanted to create a world so that children could have a place of their own, a place that allows them to explore and grow without constant pressure to buy stuff. We also wanted them to have a place that embodies core values like sustainability and generosity, without turning those values into a boring lecture.”
Melissa foresees that global warming will create big issues for Canterbury – especially for its water supply. NIWA predicts that the effects on Canterbury will cause our region to become hotter and drier, which has implications for our dairy industry here. “We have to get really serious about energy use. What if the snow and rainfall doesn’t keep coming to Central and Eastern sides of South Island and mostly falls on the West Coast? This will have a huge impact on energy generation from the hydro lakes. Long term predictions for continued snowfall at Mt Hutt don’t look so good.”
 Melissa Clark Reynolds & Daughter Grace Melissa praises Christchurch initiatives like investigating liquid fuels production and their by-products from the Bromley sewage ponds. “I think ECan (Environment Canterbury) is one of the best Regional Councils in the country, with one of the toughest jobs. They invited me, last month, to talk about implications for Canterbury of climate change – way cool! – the first Regional Council in the country to do so!”
Christchurch City has a Climate Change Change Coordinator, and a real commitment to public transport. Says Melissa: “People need to help their elected officials (i.e. at CCC and ECan) to keep climate change front of mind. If we don’t act sustainably, all the cool stuff we take for granted will be damaged beyond belief. I love the Southern Alps, the lakes and rivers, swimming at Corsair Bay, skiing at Mt Hutt, paddling at Lake Hood. Do we want them there for future generations or do we want to tell our children how Canterbury use to be?”
We’d love you to become part of the MiniMonos community and exlpore MiniMonos Island as it’s being developed – it’s free. Each person who gives MiniMonos feedback in October will give back to a child in need.
Tags: Al Gore, algae biofuel, An Inconvenient Truth, CCC, climate change, consumption, ECan, environmental sustainability, Melissa Clark-Reynolds, sustainable, The Climate Project
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009 by Admin
Finally, after a few technical difficulties and a bit of a YouTube learning curve we have been able to load our little video interview of the Sift Styrofoam Meat and Vegetable Tray Recycling Competition winner Paul Ryan. Have a look and let us know what you think. Feel free to rate it too!
Sift and Paul Ryan on YouTube
Tags: climate change, community, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Jobs, linda norris, meat trays, SIFT, styrofoam, waste
Posted in SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
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