The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
We should definitely be moving away from fossil fuel machines at the big end of town, and the LNG terminal has united almost everyone in opposition on both economic and environmental grounds. But raging against your fossil fuel machines at home and swapping them for better-performing electric options is one of the best ways to reduce your own household emissions.
When Mike Casey was setting up his cherry orchard near Cromwell, he thought all the trees that were being planted would suck up a lot of carbon. That did help, but once he crunched the numbers, he realised he wasn't focusing on the right thing. Instead of capturing carbon with trees, he needed to use machines that just didn't emit it.
That decision to shift way from expensive foreign molecules and instead run his business with cheaper local electrons and electric machines saves him tens of thousands of dollars each year on energy and has slashed the emissions on farm to almost nothing.
Many people still think recycling is the best response to climate change. Others who are more clued up on the science might avoid unnecessary flights, eat less meat or dairy, or choose to travel by foot, bike or public transport. We think a big part of the solution is for more people to electrify their machines, and many New Zealanders are not aware that the biggest emission savings in their own life are often hiding in plain sight - in their driveways, in their hot water cupboards, and in their kitchens.
To illustrate this, we decided to compare those machines with the emissions from something people can relate to: return flights between Queenstown and Auckland. And, over a lifetime, those numbers add up.
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"We've lost the cops!" In our next instalment of Political Power, we managed to get David Seymour, deputy prime minister and leader of the Act Party, behind the wheel of a Zeekr 7x when he was in Queenstown recently. As is often the case when people take a new EV for a spin, there was much chortling as he gave it heaps up the Remarkables ski field road - and, if we take him at his word, we might even see him give Mike Casey's tractor heaps up Parliament steps in the future.
Read moreDownloadEVs are having a moment right now, so how can we get more people driving electric; Tom Selleck sums up how EV owners are feeling right now and staggering analysis shows the sun's prices have been unaffected by decades of geopolitical conflict; Scion goes solar to get off gas, while dairy farmers and homes go with solar and batteries to keep going; Saul Griffith takes his solar-powered scooter to Canberra and starts a fight with regulators; the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge in Hamilton gets some panels donated and will save $17,000 a year; and killing the Friday vibe with new studies on how fossil fuel companies made massive profits after the last energy crisis in 2022 and carbon emissions making our blood boil - perhaps quite literally.
Read moreDownloadAn electrification advocate says the rising price and falling supply of gas may not be a bad thing in the long-term. PwC research —commissioned by Gas Industry Co— has found New Zealand's gas market will need to shrink sharply as domestic supply declines. It warns this could mean business closures, job losses, and higher energy costs.