Green Party Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has congratulated BP for its investment in solar power. However she cautioned that the annual global savings in greenhouse gases represent just 41/2 hours petrol use in New Zealand cars alone.

BP today opened New Zealand's first solar powered petrol station, next to Auckland's southern motorway. Solar cells on the roof of the station will run the lights and petrol pumps, meeting a third of the station's electricity needs.

"Solar energy is a sunrise industry which needs substantial investment to bring the price down and establish it as a commercial reality," Jeanette Fitzsimons said. "BP's investment is welcome and will bring the solar future a small step closer."

BP is hoping to save 3,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide with the opening of two hundred "plug in the sun" service stations in ten countries.

However Ms Fitzsimons said this was just a drop in the bucket compared to emissions from petrol fuelling the growing number of cars.

"New Zealand's motorcars alone put out 3,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every 41/2 hours. Or to put it another way, this global saving is negated by growth in petrol sales in New Zealand alone every 40 days.

"As well as exciting new developments in solar energy, we must develop policies to reduce our dependence on cars and to use them more efficiently. Better land use planning and public transport for Auckland would be a great start," Ms Fitzsimons said.

ENDS

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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>>