Sustainability

What are the government's plans for the environment

2009-12-17T13:18:41

The ETS is being renegotiated, the biofuels obligation has been repealed, old-style light bulbs are back … the National-led government has undone a fair bit of environmental legislation in its first few months in charge. We asked Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, what he plans to replace it with. By Nick Smith

We have the technology

2009-12-18T17:25:14

… but tech is only part of the problem. As hybrids, electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered cars arrive in showrooms, the biggest barriers to adoption are infrastructure and politics—and both can be solved with some judicious marketing. Idealog meets a New Zealander who is helping US President Barack Obama with his alternative fuels plans, and another laying the groundwork for our fossil-friendly future. The catch: one is pushing plug-in electric, the other hydrogen. Is there room for both?

Cleaning up a storm

2009-12-21T08:52:50

If you saw students hoofing wheelie bins of water from a roof, you'd probably write it off as another hilarious jape by the underemployed. But back in 1996 when Greg Yeoman, Mike Hannah, Brendan Poole and their co-conspirators were tipping bins, they weren't targeting unsuspecting passersby. They were busy testing the EnviroPod, a storm-water drain filter they had invented.

Looking over the horizon

2009-12-21T08:59:34

Today's 'eco-friendly' designs just delay the inevitable. It's time to plan ahead...

Carbon farming

2009-12-21T09:06:42

Air miles? Bah. Branka Simunovich’s olives are carbon-positive, thank you, and she has the papers to prove it. Andy Kenworthy visits a very ambitious eco-venture

Clean billions

2009-12-21T09:10:26

The shift to a low-emission, low-carbon world is introducing high-value business opportunities.

Real leaders

2009-12-21T09:32:57

Want to be a good boss? Consider stroppy chef Gordon Ramsay your role model.