I began my journey to a sustainable future envisaging a world of tree-hugging, lentil soup and freedom from reporting fuss. Little did I know that the bureaucrats had got in ahead of me and set up a rules-based order that made tax returns look like a walk to the dairy.
It turns out that the United Nations, Ministry for the Environment, MBIE and agencies like Toitū, the Green Building Council and NABERS, all have stringent requirements for the benchmarking, measurement, auditing and verification of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and carbon footprint.
As I first looked at...
Read more
Part Three of Planet Spratt’s Journey to Sustainability
The tragedy of the commons is an economic problem in which every individual has an incentive to consume a resource, but at the expense of every other individual—with no way to exclude anyone from consuming. Initially it was formulated by asking what would happen if every shepherd, acting in their own self-interest, allowed their flock to graze on the common field. If everybody does act in their apparent own best interest, it results in harmful over-consumption (all the grass is eaten, to the detriment of...
Read more
A Journey to Sustainability with Planet Spratt
Jims Arboretum Legacy
“If a thousand years were to pass in a second what would be left of us?”The Dig – Movie
I read somewhere that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today. Autumn is coming and with the rains will come the opportunity to begin planting out the stream on my property that is so in need of a kind and considerate lover.
It is only five weeks but my efforts to bring my stream back to life have been an inspiration. Not in a, “Gee Dave, you are a great green guy,” kind...
Read more