#157: Who nose best?
On finding surprising collaborations
Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!
In the fight against climate change, the most effective solutions may come from unexpected collaborations. This week I’ve been learning about our country being world-famous for its conservation dogs! These are dogs trained to detect the many invasive weeds (like Spartina) and even plant pathogens - including the ones that cause kauri dieback. Dogs are also used to pre-check vessels for pests before they head to pest-free islands. And there are also dogs like Katie here who is a rodent detector:
This joyful tale of dog-human conservation collaboration happening all over the world, under our very own noses, reminds me of the diversity in the climate movement. Climate challenges demand similar, unexpected and often joyful alliances. Consider partnerships between artists and scientists creating climate communication projects, or indigenous knowledge holders collaborating with climate scientists to reinstate holistic agricultural practices. In Aotearoa our very own Lawyers for Climate Action is bravely battling high emitters in the courts, while here in our Substack we post memes and dog pictures for climate action. 🐶The climate movement really takes all sorts of skill sets, interests and noses to get us across the line!
What can we do today?
The most clicked link last week was the Energy Competition Task Force submission – see our Wins section for some positive feedback on that!
🐝 5 minutes: Three more days to submit on a lifetime of repairs
Due 11:59pm this Thursday: Last month the Right to Repair Bill made it through its first reading and was referred to the select committee. If you haven’t already, have your voice heard and help get the bill passed by making a submission on Parliament’s website.
Action: Use the Consumer NZ template (in the red section) or Repair Network Aotearoa’s submission guide
Bonus action: This bill is a good reminder that we do have the power to keep our belongings alive instead of participating in the never-ending consumerism. Mark your calendar with upcoming Repair Cafe events near you so you can start collecting the things you want to fix during the free workshops.
🐇 15 minutes: Calling all power companies
As we decarbonise our energy system, it’s critical to ensure that the electricity system doesn’t deepen inequality or leave vulnerable communities behind. Power companies must be held accountable to make sure they are operating with New Zealanders’ best interests in mind. This is why Common Grace Aotearoa is encouraging people to call their retailers to ask if they’re taking steps to minimise energy hardship this winter, especially disconnection fees for when people are already struggling.
Action: Sign up for more instructions here, or just call your retailer now and ask them the questions suggested in this open letter to all power companies.
💃🏽 30+ minutes: Re-tort the bill
A new member’s bill is coming into parliament which would ban suing any company (via tort law) on the grounds of climate change. This would eliminate a huge avenue for legal climate action, especially for holding companies to account when they don’t take action to reduce their emissions.
Action: Urge the MP introducing this bill to withdraw it using our handy email templatePara Kore is running a free online 5 week series in Te Reo on how we can “reduce waste and manaaki Papatūānuku, Ranginui and our atua whānau by moving forward to a zero carbon, zero waste world.”
Action: Register for the series here
In case you missed it!
Closing April 22nd: The Radical Action Grants are open for applications! This group is offering grants of $500-$700 for climate justice and environmental groups that have a project in mind. The projects can be as radical as you desire - they’ve funded leaflet and speaking tour actions in the past, as well as protests. Check out their past recipients here!
Action: Share this grant opportunity with a climate or environmental community in your life
Wins!
The future is rail, indeed! Last October, we shared a petition by The Future Is Rail to ensure that the ageing Cook Strait ferry replacements are rail-enabled. This allows rail, a low-emission, low-congestion, low-pothole alternative to trucks, to move freight between the North and South Islands. Just yesterday, the announcement was made that they would indeed be rail-enabled!
From Rewiring Aotearoa: “Enormous thank you and congratulations to those who submitted on the Energy Competition Task Force consultation. They received over 150 submissions (up from ~20 last time), with about 100 urging bold action for New Zealanders. We were blown away with quantity and quality. This strong message to the regulators will make a difference as we push even harder for them to keep energy bills low and energy emissions trending towards zero.”
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy the Ologies podcast Eco-odorology (science sniffing dogs) about how a dog’s amazing nostrils have the potential to be conservation’s best friend.
See you next week,
Evelyn & the Climate Club team
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Your point about “unexpected alliances” really landed. Feels like we’re finally moving from doomscrolling into something more relational — more participatory. Dogs and artists and elders and engineers, all playing their part. That vision is powerful.