Vegan saving the world by Susan Grimsdell
We’re hearing every day that we need to stop eating meat as one important step towards preventing catastrophic climate change. But even as the people who promote vegan diets speak up, rainforest is being cleared at a rate equivalent to the area of a million soccer fields every year or nearly 2,000 hectares every single day, day after day, and it’s not stopping any time soon. Beefeaters rule The trees are being cut down to clear the land so that crops can be planted to feed cattle, so that we can kill… Read More
The golden past by Susan Grimsdell
It seems to be a human tendency to look back on the way we were in the past somewhat fondly, through rose-tinted glasses in fact. A variation on the age-old “things were better in my day!” can be heard wherever and whenever a group of oldies gets together. This enhancement of memories of how good we were compared to how ghastly the current generation is, has been going on since the beginning of recorded history. Back in the day In the 8th century BC Hesiod said: “I see no hope for the… Read More
Aunt Sally or violence condoned by Susan Grimsdell
A crossword puzzle clue led me to discover a 17th century game still played in pubs in England. A model of the head of an old woman is put on a metal spike and players throw battens or sticks at it. The object is to knock the head off the spike. In France the game is called jeu de massacre (game of carnage), in England it’s known as Aunt Sally. With the blessing of the PM In 2011 the inaugural Aunt Sally Singles World Championship took place in West Oxfordshire, with the… Read More
My dream parliament by Susan Grimsdell
Sometimes we have to dream. My dream is that members of parliament would show up in the House with one purpose in mind: to work out a way to make New Zealand a better country. Bad behaviour By that I mean all of them, not divided into parties who in reality spend most of their time and energy trying to tear down each others’ ideas and make fools of one another. Anyone who has listened to Parliament Live comes away shocked at the stupid level of so-called “debate”. They’re like school kids,… Read More
Climate change in action by Susan Grimsdell
A survey of how kids get to school found that of the sample number of approximately 800,000 young people, about 580,000 get there by car, 450,000 of those driving themselves, which means they were unlikely to be able to take a passenger. About 100,000 took a public bus or train and just over 100,000 caught a school bus. Action not words I was interested in these numbers when I thought about the kids’ recent climate change march. “What do we want? Climate change action. When do we want it? NOW!” I’m all… Read More
