The Big Questions
What is New Zealand’s Future?
I think we have been asking what the hell is going on for a long time now but it seems we have a new book exploring that question also.
I haven’t read it, so perhaps it’s asking different questions.
There is an interesting list of contributing authors shown on the front cover.
Penguin Books
Writers are: Dame Anne Salmond, Judge Andrew Becroft; Rod Oram; Jacinta Ruru; Felicity Goodyear-Smith; Tim Watkin; Patrick Reynolds; Jarrod Gilbert; Stuart McNaughton; David Brougham, Jarrod Haar & Yumiko Olliver-Gray; Golriz Ghahraman; Theresa Gattung; Peter O’Connor; and Leonie Freeman.
Looking forward to seeing comments on what concerns are expressed by this group of contributors.
Footnote: That’s not my thumb – mine is much better looking than that!
Hopefully the tip of the toungue questions involve humanity on a base level.
Surely it would be to miss the point if happiness and state of mind were not put before ‘the state of the nation”,,
Comment by mama — Sat 4th August 2018 @ 6:37 am
From RNZ this morning. Obviously this question is well advanced in some people’s minds with a review of the Human Rights Act to consider a variety of specified situations well removed from family and child.
Comment by Downunder — Sat 4th August 2018 @ 8:51 am
The United Nations is broke, again.
Not surprising given it’s distance and perhaps failure in its original goals.
The US and Australia have walked away from an agreement we have already signed.
Is our Human Rights Act going to evolve to some dictate on Human Duties?
There may well be some big questions to be answered.
Comment by Evan Myers — Sat 4th August 2018 @ 9:10 am
I can not even believe we have a spokes person for rainbow issues in our government when there are plenty of old issues left unresolved in the likes of the family court.
We need to come back to reality, look at the real issues eating away at society not pick up new issues to please a minority when the majority are screaming out for change…
Housing, Poverty, Family!!!!, Surely with a new Mum in a ‘Normal” relationship at the helm we can get some semblance of rationality with these BIG QUESTIONS!! MAN.
Comment by mama — Sat 4th August 2018 @ 9:54 am
Family Court is more than an unresolved issue.
It’s a political divide where some people view their dispute as Mum Dad and the children, while it operates on the basis of law of the individual.
‘Family’ in its diverse interpretation opens the door to a much larger range of issues perhaps even in a human rights court rather than a ‘family’ court.
Comment by Downunder — Sat 4th August 2018 @ 10:14 am
Here’s a biggy.
I’ve seen that message on this website often enough – will that actually happen?
Comment by Evan Myers — Tue 7th August 2018 @ 8:08 am
This is definitely, a think big project.
And will be a hard decision, to actually do it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/300589778/how-a-shallow-lake-nestled-high-in-the-central-otago-hill-country-could-electrify-the-country
There is some arguments, against the idea.
Electric cars, will charge during low use times.
So ultimately, there may be no low use time.
It’s location, doesn’t solve transmission problems.
Choke points, may already be always at capacity.
If other hydro powers the uphill pump, the ideas flawed.
It is an excellent way, of not actually using water.
And can also help, with drought or irrigation projects.
This is actually best, supporting parts of the network.
If a line in the network, always uses more than 10 MW.
Then any plan works, if it’s less than that.
The main artery of the network, becomes less stressed.
Adding, to peak supply.
Since hydro can be very stable, in its output.
It is better than solar or wind, for supply.
The project can avoid that, by what powers the up hill pump.
You don’t need perfect supply, to drive a pump.
While it’s overall a great battery idea, for variable generation.
For economic reasons, it could still spot price.
As for size, it’s about financial viability.
10 MW with 1/2 a day outputting, is just enough for a business.
The dams, can be much smaller.
You would need 100 more of them, to match this plans scale.
But it’s also, 100 more artificial wetlands.
Comment by DJ Ward — Sat 4th June 2022 @ 8:29 pm
Sometimes honesty is important, about worst case scenarios.
With climate change, we look to our near future.
We might see reality, with a few meters rise.
Large parts of earth, will have new coastlines.
But that’s not the worst, things can literally get out of control.
All of a sudden it’s not two meters, it’s sixty metres.
The temperature rise, evaporates more water.
Itself trapping more heat, and more man made emissions as well.
While we look at the present, and feel safe in the world.
The worlds not paying attention, it’s just reacting.
Humans play god with the results, it’s them that are guilty.
Maybe we already can’t stop, the sixty meters as a result.
Slowly the ocean, rises in height.
Drip by drip, the ice is melting.
Truckload by truckload, our rubbish is added.
Our silt our soil washed away in floods, displaced water.
Our personal little bit of pollution, doesn’t look that bad.
But added up for humans, everything is in cubic kilometres.
Oil and coal, makes cubic kilometres of gases.
Our chemicals and salt piles, dried up lakes and mines.
……………
As an observation, a science argument.
We are very lucky, water is transparent to light.
Otherwise the cloudy day, would be pitch black.
Yet what colour is it, it can be both.
The white cloud, vs the black cloud.
Water must be grey, you see shades of grey.
Comment by DJ Ward — Sun 4th June 2023 @ 11:24 pm
The earth was covered, with a carbon dioxide atmosphere.
In the beginning, it wasn’t the atmosphere of today.
Over hundreds of millions of years, earth ate it all.
Trapped as fossil layers, in the earths crust.
Earth was dying, slowly carbon was being used up.
Eventually there would be so little, plants would die.
Humans interfered in fate, humans can recycle carbon.
Already it’s changed the fate, of all life on a planet.
A big question for humans, is intentionally doing things.
What exactly is the result, what is our result for earth.
What of a superbug, made to eat the Venus atmosphere.
Life that can survive on Mars, making atmosphere.
There is no limits, can humans not do those things.
Earth to me is an enormous object, imagine changing earth.
And we can intentionally decide, to change the atmosphere.
Humans in its infancy just did it not thinking, of outcomes.
The solar system practice, for colonies on planets at other stars.
Comment by DJ Ward — Mon 5th June 2023 @ 1:59 pm
Remember when, it was think big.
We decided to build things, because we needed to.
Railroad’s and riverbanks, dams and power stations.
Most nations for example, could now radically change energy.
There is many proven ways, of making renewable energy.
For example the US military budget, a huge $842 billion.
Or it could be 842, one billion projects on anything.
A billion dollar wind farm, a billion dollar solar project.
A billion dollar water project, a billion dollars of housing.
A billion for new bridges, and a billion for new tunnels.
Imagine those 842 amazing things, all big decisions.
Unlike the military, that literally burns money.
Each one of those things, are business entities.
The government makes it, then starts selling its shareholding.
The project may lose money, but some may gain.
The taxpayer gets the money back, to invest again.
Maybe that’s the problem, in making a great world.
When you are complete, you have nothing left to do.
While the US and China, play games at sea and in air.
All the money is being wasted, nothing is gained.
Yes your warplane, is fantastic.
Your ship big, with the best weapons.
It is truly amazing, what you have made.
But for mankind, it serves no purpose.
Did we all agree in 1918, war is pointless.
Then did it again in 1939, still ignoring reality.
We have boarders, that should be permanent.
And that’s humans flaw, it’s still changing.
From Tibet onwards, 1945 solved nothing.
So there is a solution to ending war, no more changes.
That’s a big decision, that eventually must be made.
You can make a lot of things, with a years worth of war budgets.
Places like South Africa, are desperate for energy supply.
Even the success of the electric car, depends on big energy solutions.
Hey third world, here is a billion dollar modern electrical network.
It’s attached to a geothermal station, newly built for 24/7 supply.
It goes onto the local sharemarket, so everyone owns it.
You can transform a nation, with a single project.
The big question becomes, can we change the world.
With a single year of peace, vs another year playing war.
Comment by DJ Ward — Tue 6th June 2023 @ 9:48 pm
If you put a bug in a Petri dish, it grows to be all the dish.
Humans are the same, we are the planets bug.
No corner of the world is left, without humans.
They grow and grow, infesting the planet.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300906854/prime-minister-to-open-aucklands-new-1-billion-motorway
The big question, is when does it stop.
Because at each step, more land is taken.
Hectare upon hectare, for the new motorway.
Then acres upon acres, for the 3,000 homes.
Because it’s not stopping, much more is to come.
There will be more roads, and thousands more houses.
Land is not endless, it cannot be consumed forever.
What is gained, is lost by something else.
Is all the planet, to become one giant city.
Factory made food, nature extinct to zoos and parks.
The farmland gone, even hills dotted with houses.
Vast cities, with skyscrapers everywhere.
So consumed, even the backyard becomes houses.
Vast networks of roads, cover the earth.
The infestation, slowly covers the land.
The bug cannot be stopped, the dish is nearly full.
Life is experiencing a mass extinction, and humans did it.
Millions of insects, thousands of birds and animals.
The bug fails, it’s so good it destroys its host.
Comment by DJ Ward — Fri 16th June 2023 @ 10:06 am
Even the old men of Ukraine, are volunteering.
Women have fled to safety, the nation at war.
Superpowers test new weapons, nothings now safe.
And no leader, can give a solution.
Russia has millions, of unwilling men to fight war.
Drafting for service, and contracts for criminals.
The battlefield covered, in the dead men of Russia.
What’s a thousand today, or a thousand more tomorrow.
A big question, is how does this end.
How good at war, will each side become.
Will this be, a million dead men.
What price per acre in men, is the land worth.
Can war end like Korea, with a new map.
War pointless, and they decide it’s a draw.
Russia cannot win, it’s made Ukrainians hate them.
Like the US can win war, but couldn’t win the people.
As we speak an old man, lived a good life.
Comment by DJ Ward — Fri 16th June 2023 @ 12:21 pm