New Year's resolution – save money and lifestyle

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs is urging households to become Energy-Wise to reduce their contribution to climate change, thereby preserving the New Zealand environment.

“The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to start practicing Energy-Wise behaviour. Taking practical, everyday steps to conserve energy has the potential to preserve our natural environment and lifestyle while also saving households a great deal of money,” Marian Hobbs said.

Some simple steps include: Turning appliances such as the washing machine, dryer, stereo, TV and microwave off at the wall rather than leaving then on ‘standby’ will decrease power consumption by five per cent; Going easy on hot water by having shorter showers and using cold water when washing clothes. This will reduce your household power consumption by about five per cent; Buy energy efficient appliances. Research shows that if every household could lift the energy efficiency rating of every appliance by just half a star, it would be the same as taking 12,000 cars off the road; If your hot water cylinder is warm to touch, it could be wasting more than 10% of your power bill. Putting a cylinder wrap on will reduce waste and save money; Compost organic waste such as food scraps – it is estimated that forty five percent of the average rubbish bag can be composted and returned to the soil. Regularly maintaining your car – keeping tyres properly inflated, wheels aligned and your engine tuned – can result in 10 – 20 per cent increased fuel efficiency and fewer harmful emissions.

“Climate change has the potential to significantly impact on the lifestyle and natural environment we all love.

“This summer the Climate Change Office has launched a public awareness and education campaign to encourage New Zealanders to decrease their contribution to climate change. Every one of us can take simple steps to achieve this, including being Energy-Wise.

“Taking energy-efficient steps to reducing New Zealand’s climate changing gases will save New Zealand households money, while also preserving our environment for future generations,” she said.

“Now is the time to start.”

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>