For those struggling to wean yourselves off Reddit, someone has made a bot that copies posts from subreddits to Lemmy so you can follow the subreddits from here. I made a post about doing something similar a couple of weeks ago.

They have their own instance at lemmit.online. The r/newzealand is clone is at [email protected].

Most of the communities there aren't showing up in the search here without the full link yet, so go to their list of local communities, open a community you want to subscribe to, then copy the link that looks like [email protected] from the sidebar into the search on Lemmy.nz (or your local instance). If the subreddit you want isn't listed on lemmy.online, you can post a request in [email protected]. It was pretty much instant for me.

These researchers from Canterbury University have come up with an idea that they say can cheaply remove 3 million tonnes of CO₂ from the air each year. And it utilises existing infrastructure.

The TLDR is that geothermal water contains CO₂, and the stations here have systems that capture and dissolve that CO₂ into the water before it's reinjected. This CO₂ rich water is heavier than the surrounding water, so it sinks to the bottom.

The heat from geothermal wells is not replenished at the speed it's taken by the stations, so eventually the water coming out isn't hot enough and new wells need to be drilled.

The scientists are suggesting that instead of simply drilling a new wells, we burn biomass from forestry to heat the warm water up the last bit. The carbon in this fuel has been gathered by the trees, and if it was released into the atmosphere it would be carbon neutral. But if you use the station's existing CO₂ capture and dissolve systems, the carbon goes underground permanently. The operation becomes a carbon sink that also enables the use of geothermal energy that would otherwise be unusable.

They say, "in terms of buying ourselves out of an emissions liability, geothermal carbon removal is one of the cheapest options out there." They compare it with the cost of switching from a petrol to electric car - US$700 for each tonne of CO₂ saved. With the existing infrastructure, they say their plan would remove CO₂ at a cost of about US$55 a tonne.

Their papers and a bunch more evidence and info is linked in the article.

Nature series Our Big Blue Backyard drew one complaint to media watchdog that it should not have given the program a G, or general, classification

[...] In the offending scene, a female dolphin is targeted by a pack of male dolphins that mate with her.

“She’s trapped at the surface, and the males take turns. Once they’ve all mated with her, they leave her alone,” the narrator says, accompanied by underwater footage of the encounter and dramatic music.

The BSA said the footage included “the male dolphins swarming around the female with their genitalia visible, and at one point a male visibly entered the female … accompanied by audio of dolphin cries”.

Other coverage:

• The Telegraph: New Zealand broadcaster reprimanded over ‘brutal’ dolphin mating scene
• RNZ: Drama and tension in dolphin mating documentary scene upset child viewers
• Stuff: Documentary featuring dolphins mating exposed children to potential harm - BSA
• The Spinoff: Nature doco breached BSA guidelines by showing ‘distressing’ dolphin pursuit
• Broadcasting Standards Authority press release: Incorrectly Classified Wildlife Programme Exposed Children To Potential Harm

Sheep numbers in sharp decline as farmers increasingly shift to forestry, fuelled by demand to earn carbon credits

Other coverage

• RNZ: Former prisoners say trauma of solitary confinement will haunt them for life

• The Spinoff: The Bulletin: Corrections ‘a divided organisation with systemic issues’

• 1News: Scathing report on Corrections says prisoners 'collateral damage'

• NZ Herald: Ombudsman calls for fair treatment of prisoners, urgent changes at Corrections

• NZ Herald: Kelvin Davis pushes back on Ombudsman’s damming Corrections report

• RNZ: Corrections needs to urgently fix culture and leadership, chief ombudsman says in new report

• RNZ: 'Utterly frustrated': Prisoners' poor treatment sparks call for change

• Stuff: 'Disconnection at all levels': Ombudsman's scathing review of Corrections

• Office of the Ombudsman press release: Chief Ombudsman Calls For Urgent Reset At Corrections

• Department Of Corrections press release: Corrections Statement On The Ombudsman's Self-initiated Investigation

Also, the Beehive and the National Party put out press releases about rehabilitation just before the Ombudsman's report was released:

• Beehive: Boosting rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners
• National Party: National Will Deliver Rehabilitation To More Prisoners

And the Justice Committee is calling for public submissions on the Corrections Amendment Bill, which "seeks to improve rehabilitation, reintegration and safety outcomes in the corrections system". Submissions close 10 August.

An increasingly crowded field of parties are competing to harness the vestigial energy of the parliamentary occupation.

Former TV presenter turned anti-vaccination campaigner Liz Gunn has launched a new political party, asking people to donate up to $1 million.

The government is following through on a promised ban on new coal boilers, and phasing out existing ones by 2037.

Other changes announced yesterday include new standards requiring councils to factor in climate change in decisions about consents for furnaces that burn fossil fuels.

Currently more than half of the heat used to process raw material - for example in dairy and paper production - comes from burning fossil fuels.

It accounts for 8 percent of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods said the changes would reduce emissions equivalent to the exhaust fumes from 100,000 cars a year. [...]

The ban on installing new coal heating devices kicks in from late next month, with the new nationally consistent standards for councils ready for implementation before the end of the year.

The new standards only cover devices used to generate heat for industrial processes.

Stuff had a related story this morning about the last coke-powered foundry in NZ shutting down.

Took this on my morning walk a couple of days ago

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori!

Greetings of Matariki, the Māori new year!

This month, we've got a bit of a Matariki theme. Matariki festivals are already underway in many parts of the country, and events will continue until around the end of July. A bunch of them are listed on the Matariki.com events page.

The public holiday falls on the 14th this year, with a celebration period of 11-17 July. The 2023 Tangaroa lunar period, when the rising of Matariki is observed, is 10-13 July.

I'm planning on posting up some more Matariki stuff later.

Also, if you've got an idea for next month's banner, leave a comment below.

I want to finally get an icon up for !newzealand , but I want you to decide between these two.

The icon will show up as a circle in some places and a square in others. Both could have some small tweaks if they're chosen.

Vote on the comments. Best score at 10pm Thursday will be the icon.

EDIT: Well that was pretty clear. The kiwi it is. Thanks to @[email protected] for the suggestion.

In an analysis, academics recently found several cases of pro-CCP and pro-NZ-National-Party bias in NZ Chinese-language media. It’s long been known that China interferes in Chinese-language media here.

Interestingly, it appears the CCP and NZ Chinese-language media are currently putting their weight behind National MP Nancy Lu. She was secretly “trained as a candidate” by former National MP Jian Yang, according to a statement made by Yang in 2020. Notably, Yang used to train spies for the People’s Liberation Army before he came to NZ, and left parliament after intelligence agencies flagged him over his relationship with the CCP.

Some positive news about NZ universities. These are the rankings changes according to the Herald:

Other coverage:

• NZ Herald: New Zealand universities climb world ranking table: Auckland University’s ranking highest in 14 years
• Stuff: All eight Kiwi universities climb global rankings
• RNZ: NZ universities rise in rankings
• Otago Daily Times: Otago University climbs in world rankings
• Auckland University: 68th in the world, Auckland leads excellence across the university sector

The results of a new Otago University study comparing the harm caused by different drugs have been released. Here's the breakdown by drug:

This is the original paper in the Journal of Psychopharmacology: The New Zealand drug harms ranking study: A multi-criteria decision analysis

Other coverage:

• 1News: Most harmful drugs in New Zealand ranked
• Daily Mail: The most harmful legal and illegal drugs are revealed in groundbreaking new research - and the results will shock you
• Otago University press release in NZ Doctor: Alcohol causes more harm than meth and other illegal drugs – study

For those who don't know, James Wallace is probably the most important supporter of visual arts in New Zealand. He sexually assaulted three men then tried to bribe one of them to not go to police.

More coverage:

• Stuff: Prominent businessman convicted of sexually abusing three men can now be named
• The Spinoff: Sir James Wallace revealed as ‘prominent businessman’ in sexual assault case
• RNZ: Sir James Wallace revealed as 'prominent businessman' convicted of indecent assault
• 1News: Sir James Wallace convicted of sex crimes against young men
• Newshub: Sir James Wallace named as prominent businessman guilty of indecently assaulting young men
• NBR: Sir James Wallace guilty of sexual assault against three men
• The Spinoff: Who is Sir James Wallace and what was he convicted of? (updated headline)
• The Spinoff: Process to strip James Wallace of knighthood initiated
• Otago Daily Times: Knighted rich-lister convicted of indecent assault finally named
• NBR: PM seeks to strip Sir James Wallace's knighthood
• NZ Herald: Government moves to strip Sir James Wallace of knighthood after being revealed as convicted sex offender, artworks to remain on display at Pah Homestead
• 1News: Govt starts process for stripping Sir James Wallace of knighthood
• NZ Herald: :Sir James Wallace unmasked: The inside story of a rich-lister, arts philanthropist and criminal 🔒
• 1News: Sir James Wallace victim calls for speedy removal of knighthood

I've known who this was for a while and was starting to wonder if name suppression would ever be lifted. It didn't seem to be a well-kept secret.

@[email protected] @[email protected] already posted about this yesterday, but there's been heaps more coverage of this story. This was yesterday:

• Newshub: Government poised to announce major bailout package for universities on brink
• Reuters: New Zealand boosts tertiary funding as universities struggle
• The Spinoff: $128m lifeline for struggling universities to be spread across all institutes
• 1News: 'Throwing money at everything': Uni bail out blamed on Covid response
• The Spinoff: Acting PM teases details of multimillion-dollar university rescue package
• RNZ: Rescue package for universities
• Newshub: Government to throw lifeline to struggling universities, fears 'NZ will be a poorer place' if courses, staff aren't saved
• RNZ: Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni dismisses criticism government isn't funding universities properly
• Star News: Govt poised to help out struggling universities
• RNZ: Government announces extra $128m for cash-strapped universities, tertiary institutions
• Newshub: Government reveals new funding for tertiary education amid concerns of job losses, programmes cut
• Otago Daily Times: Otago University gets $21m bailout
• The Spinoff: $128m lifeline for struggling universities to be spread across all institutes
• Interest.co.nz: An additional $128 million will be invested into the tertiary sector to mitigate current financial problems
• RNZ: Rescue package welcomed by university sector
• NBR: Universities get $128m relief while funding is reviewed
• Stuff: $128 million boost for struggling tertiary sector welcomed
• RNZ: Political parties back extra tertiary education funding
• Interest.co.nz: Comprehensive review of university funding unveiled as government asks them to co-operate more in the wake of a funding grant to help them through crisis
• RNZ: Luxon on university funding

Plus a few press releases:

• The Beehive: Government provides significant extra support to universities and other degree providers
• Tertiary Education Union: Permanent Solutions Needed After Welcome Funding Correction
• Greens: Tertiary Lifeline Buys Time To Get Model Right
• National Party: Bailout Is Band-aid Economics Of Labour’s Making

But by the end of the day yesterday and this morning, stories were coming out saying major job cuts will probably still go ahead:

• RNZ: Major job losses for universities despite govt rescue package
• Newshub: Tertiary sector welcomes Government funding, but too early to say it will save jobs, programmes
• RNZ: Big job losses at Victoria and Otago universities to go ahead despite more government funding
• Stuff: republished on Stuff
• Otago Daily Times: Govt’s bailout won’t rescue troubled university
• RNZ: Uni staff the 'backbone of this country', suffering in proposed cuts - union
• Otago Daily Times: Govt uni bailout likened to a plaster
• Otago Daily Times: Otago Uni cuts still on agenda
• RNZ: Two university Vice-Chancellors calling for cooperation to end funding woes
• The Coversation: Bailout, Band-Aid or back to basics? 3 questions NZ’s university funding review must ask

And last Friday, before the funding was announced, The Spinoff ran a list of which university courses were likely to be dropped

Other coverage:

• The Spinoff: Food banks get $6m funding boost as cost of living continues to bite
• NBR: Petrol and public transport cost to go up for many
• Otago Daily Times: Govt gives $6m boost to food bank providers

And the Greens' press release in response to this: Food Banks Are Not The Solution