Recipe: Vegan strawberry and vanilla ice cream

Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own.  The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! If the latest stats are anything to … Read more

These are the climate angels and deniers standing in our local elections

Josie Adams, Hayden Donnell, and Alice Webb-Liddall read thousands of policy statements to find the people who are most committed to tackling climate change. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. One of the problems with local elections is that voters … Read more

How our emissions trading scheme is changing, and what it means for business

Covering Climate Now: Charging businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions seems simple enough, but in New Zealand, at least, emissions keep on rising. Is the system flawed, or is it how we’re implementing it? The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Economists believe they’ve figured … Read more

Five of the most bizarre public submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill

Covering Climate Now: Earlier this year, the climate change response (zero carbon) bill had its first reading. The public was then invited to submit their takes on it to the government. We assessed a few of the stranger ones. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us … Read more

A burnt-out climate activist on reclaiming the passion – and the fury

Covering Climate Now: Carys Goodwin reflects on giving up, and what convinced her to take up the fight again.  The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Four years ago, while working for the Green Party in parliament, I did a brief stint as the climate … Read more

Finally: A climate change documentary that won’t make you feel like shit

Covering Climate Now: Alex Casey watches 2040, a climate change documentary determined to let the light in.  I’ve seen enough documentaries about climate change to know what I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want Leonardo DiCaprio stroking his goatee on a sheet of ice and saying “folks: it’s bad”. I don’t want Al … Read more

Putting a cork in cow burps (and farts)

Covering Climate Now: Currently, more than a third of all of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from sheep and cattle. There’s no easy solution, but a variety of anti-methane methods are being developed to curb this gaseous issue.  The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us … Read more

Plant power: The Spinoff food section goes vegan (for a week)

Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while).  The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on climate change, … Read more

Why are we fighting so hard to save milk?

While the debate around methane continues to stink up the place, we are ignoring countless different ways to protect our food security in the future, writes climate activist Melanie Vautier.  Agriculture is a huge and important topic in climate mitigation, in adaptation, in our very survival in terms of food supply. I went along to … Read more

It takes more than a month to save the planet

Plastic Free July is over, but Josie Adams is still fighting for the environment. After a month of minimising plastics, emissions and even recyclables, she reflects on what she’s learned. You can read the first three diary entries here, here, and here. July has ended and so has my time as New Zealand’s most formidable … Read more

Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 26

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1  Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury, $35) “Taddeo writes like it’s all brand new. Like she’s high, perfectly high, punching … Read more

So, you’ve declared a climate emergency. Now what?

Six things councils can do right now to make the ’emergency’ worth more than the paper it’s written on. Councils are declaring climate emergencies across the country, but with only a decade to cut carbon emissions in half, it’s time for them to act like this is an emergency. So, what can our cities be … Read more

One thing you can do right now to help end the climate crisis

Eating vegan, buying less plastic and cycling are all useful things you can do for the environment, but not everyone can manage that. Generation Zero’s Alexandra McNeill has something that everyone can do, right now.  Biking to work makes me angry. I’m constantly aware of car drivers, especially when they’re in my lane, or cutting … Read more

The real enemy: Why blaming NGOs for climate inaction is stupid

Out of all of the people responsible for global inaction on climate change, why on earth would you point the finger at environmental NGOs, asks Danyl Mclauchlan. Medical students often succumb to a form of hypochondria called ‘intern’s syndrome’ in which they convince themselves they’re infected with the diseases they’re studying. If they’re tired and … Read more