The ladder of luxury
Lawns are a symbol of luxury. Yes, really. Can we free ourselves from chasing appearance of luxury to reduce consumption and simplify our lives?
Tag: 2022
Travel dilemmas
Travel is one of the best ways of increasing international understanding AND personally contributing to climate change … what to do?
Power of the People
New Zealand is a country where you can change the course of an election by asking someone a question …
When Things Don’t Work
There’s a world of hidden subsidies out there propping our pleasant first world experience of life
Goodbye traffic lights
New Zealand took a major step in its COVID-19 trajectory this week, removing the traffic light system which (theoretically) controlled behaviour according to numbers of cases of COVID-19. Are we glad to see it go?
Inappropriate Incentives
Having bought an EV which we can charge off our PV panels, for the first time in my life I almost like driving. But is this a good thing?
Excess Profits
When is a profit excess? And should governments step in when they consider excess profit is being made? New Zealand supermarkets are a case in point.
Excessive Complexity
Will our future be dominated by AI because we have created a world more complex than humans can deal with? Farming is one example where bureaucracy is creating a nightmarishly convoluted planning and reporting.
Bloody Masks
To wear a mask or not? It’s still a question in New Zealand in August 2022, as opposed to Britain where masks were abandoned months ago. Social stigma vs disease avoidance, the choice is hard.