Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Sep 4

You can listen here to my last audio piece for Morning Report.
Heartfelt thanks to Tui Warmenhoven for sharing her story, and the excellent Belinda Storey www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Ageing bridges must be replaced to withstand next big cyclone

Thirty-nine bridges on the state highway network are already older than 100 - by 2030, that number will be 260.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Robert McLachlan @robertmclachlan.bsky.social · Aug 26

I talked to @eloisegibson.bsky.social about universal Road User Charges. Govt says (a) carbon charge, ETS will sort it; (b) cutting petrol carbon charge from $450/t to $50/t -> negligible effect. They can't both be true, I don't think either of them are true. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

$200 extra to drive a RAV4: Will RUC changes help or hurt the climate?

Universal road user charges are proposed to start in 2027, changing the way drivers of the country's more than 3 million petrol vehicles contribute to the cost of roads.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Catherine Woulfe @catherinewoulfe.bsky.social · Aug 24

Completely stoked that this miracle of a snail found Giselle Clarkson, a person who a) would never squish it and b) knew all about left-spirals and c) deeply deserved a Ned in her life.

New Zealand Geographic @nzgeo.bsky.social · Aug 24

A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...

Let's find a mate for Ned

One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?

www.nzgeo.com

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 21

Well played, my eternal frenemy @marcdaalder.bsky.social

The climate reading public is in good hands.

Marc Daalder @marcdaalder.bsky.social · Aug 21

1. It is a gigantic loss to climate journalism in NZ. You are unrivalled!

2. What a great gain at EECA, so good to have you still in the fight.

3. Can you just have all your pending OIAs forwarded to me?

4. I'll be OIAing everything you do at EECA.

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thank you, I will also miss scientists but hope to find me some in my new job 😉

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thank you friend. Time for a break, and the next person will smash it, I'm sure.

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 21

The climate advice they didn't want you to see.

[finally, six days before I finish up, I get to use that headline formula 😅]

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Officials warn of damage to diplomatic relations in secret climate change memo

Officials raise concerns on government's climate change stance in mistakenly released advice.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · Aug 19

years ago, an outlet used this image (or something very close to it) on an article I wrote on steel decarbonisation, and someone replied "THE FORBIDDEN HALOUMI" and weirdly my brain hasn't let me ever forget it

a thick rectangular orange sheet of hot molten steel, a sort of slab, with smoke rising off it

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

Nawwww! These kids ❤️❤️💕

Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · Aug 18

Massive news, and mixed feelings I'm sure! Huge thanks for your tenacious, transformative mahi bringing things we needed to know into the light, and your climate reporting especially.

This will always and forever be my fave, for so many reasons. Thank you! 🥰 interactives.stuff.co.nz/2022/09/kids...

Shaking up the school run

Kids don’t ride bikes to school in the same numbers as they used to. Parents are the problem – and the solution.

interactives.stuff.co.nz

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

I can't wait to see what the next generation of NZ climate journalists do! Please support them.

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

After 5 years exclusively covering climate, my soul needs a break from writing about but not solving the crisis, so I'm hoping to do some solving for a while....

I'll be working with Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority from September, helping in energy, electricity and saving us all money.

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

Some news...

I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.

It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.

The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

John Morales @johnmoralestv.bsky.social · Aug 18

And now the attribution analysis results: climate change strengthened #Erin ’s peak intensity by about 9 mph 📈, resulting in it becoming a Category 5️⃣ storm. If not for human-caused climate change, Erin would have been a Category 4 storm at its peak. www.climatecentral.org/tropical-cyc...

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

Honestly I wouldn't want to do that myself so I salute you!

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

@kirstyjohnston.bsky.social patiently going through the list of climate policies repealed, and what's still standing.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

How Jacinda Ardern’s ‘groundbreaking’ climate law has become ‘a shell’

The Zero Carbon Act promised to lock climate ambition into law. But with key policies repealed, delayed or watered down, the once 'world-leading' legislation has become a husk of its former self.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 18

Mary Argue doing the good mahi for RNZ on science funding cuts....

Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️‍🌈 @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · Aug 18

Here's the thing, we already were amongst the lowest levels of funding for research in the developed world. And these cuts & reprioritisations make this even worse.

You can't determine immediate economic implications from a lot, if not most, research. So, these decisions misunderstand science.

Juliet Gerrard @julietgerrard.bsky.social · Aug 18

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Juliet Gerrard @julietgerrard.bsky.social · Aug 18

Data on the cuts to the Marsden Fund reported by RNZ this morning

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · Aug 14

A NYT comment: “Humans ate organic, whole foods for millennia. They got plenty of exercise, lived without plastics. Until the mid-1800s, life expectancy at birth was 39. Food may be good medicine, but it’s not a panacea. Medical advances—like vaccines—have doubled the human lifespan, not superfoods”

There’s Money to Be Made From ‘MAHA.’ Food Companies Want In.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Marc Daalder @marcdaalder.bsky.social · Aug 13

Paywall now lifted: My special report this morning is about how we spent generations strangling our rivers to make room for our homes and farms, only to find we've ended up supercharging their flows.

What do we do when we realise we've built a society in a riverbed?
newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/13/l...

We strangled our rivers; now they're fighting back

Special report: We forced NZ's braided rivers into tiny channels so we could build our homes and farms in their riverbeds – now we're seeing the consequences. Marc Daalder investigates.

newsroom.co.nz

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 14

Here's me having a wee chitchat with Ingrid about it on Morning Report

Agriculture excluded from compulsory ETS reporting www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Agriculture excluded from compulsory ETS reporting

Three of the country's biggest greenhouse gas emitters no longer have to reveal how much planet-heating gas they produce each year. Climate Change correspondent Eloise Gibson filed this report.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 14

Agricultural companies never had to pay for their methane emissions in NZ, but they used to be required to report the totals to the EPA.

No longer.

For some companies, it was the only way to get even a crude estimate.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Three of New Zealand's biggest emitters no longer have to reveal their climate impact

It comes after the government ended compulsory reporting for the farming sector.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Eloise Gibson @eloisegibson.bsky.social · Aug 12

"My message to conservatives both in Australia and abroad is when it comes to taking action on climate change, if you do it in an economically rational way there is also a political dividend to be gained."

- Australia's Matt Kean,noting NZ's target is "largely static"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Australia could be about to leapfrog NZ on climate targets

A conservative Australian politician turned climate leader has told New Zealand ministers it is in their interests to do more on climate change.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

Kirsty Johnston @kirstyjohnston.bsky.social · Aug 11

"Without significantly investing in alternative modes, and then investing the revenue in frequent buses, protected bike lanes, or better train services, this isn't a congestion charge, it's just a tax on those who can't afford it” - Tim Welch

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution

Congestion charges can lower emissions and travel times by putting cordons around the central city and spending the revenue on public transport, but proposals for Auckland could end up doing neither.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Eloise Gibson

RNZ News Feeds @rnzrss.bsky.social · Aug 10

Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution

Congestion charges can lower emissions and travel times by putting cordons around the central city and spending the revenue on public transport, but proposals for Auckland could end up doing neither.

www.rnz.co.nz

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