Rabbits as Biofuel in New Zealand?

Rabbits are a major pest in New Zealand where their highest densities are on the tussock grassland of the South Island. Breeding is a year round activity. A female rabbit can produce 25-40 young in a year, and they will become sexually mature at 3-4 months.

Rabbits compete with stock for grazing and will eat grass right down to ground level, seriously damaging the productivity of the pasture.

As in New Zealand, rabbits are not a native species in Sweden and there they are tackling the rabbit problem in a unique way--a Biomal project (with funding from EU). Once culled, the corpses are transported to a processing facility where the animal waste is crushed, ground and incinerated to fuel a heating plant in central Sweden.

Leo Virta, the Managing Director of Konvex, the plant's suppliers, said-- "It is a good system as it solves the problem of dealing with the animal waste and it provides heat".

The question is --would such a project be viable or acceptable in New Zealand? There is an attitude that rabbits are cute, particularly among some animal rights activists, and I agree they are cute. On the other hand, burning them once they are dead (We do it to humans) is not as bad as infecting them with viruses such as RCD (rabbit calicivirus disease) as has been done in the past.

Climate Action Day

On Saturday, October 24, thanks to more than a year of organization by 350.org, and others, citizens have assembled more than 4,000 extraordinary climate actions across nearly every country. Here we look at messages from just three of the many 350 ambassadors who support these actions.


Climate Action Ambassadors

Bianca Jagger

"Climate change is not an isolated environmental issue. It touches every part of our lives: peace, security, human rights, poverty, hunger, health, mass migration, and economics. If we are to preserve the planet for future generations we must reach 350 parts per million--the most important number on earth. Otherwise, we will reach the point of no return."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Climate change is a reality. Life depends on a sustainable environment, with no world there can only be nothing,--no birds, no animals, no trees, no us. That's why getting involved in 350.org is so important--it's an effective way to take action to turn around the climate crisis."

Dr. James Hanson

"If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which life has adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from it's current 385ppm to at most 350ppm."

Gordon Brown's Climate Change Blog.

Hi everybody, It was great to to read the British Prime Minister's recent blog in which he committed to attending the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit on December 12. This summit could well be our last hope for a treaty strong enough to save our planet from irreversible climate catastrophe.

Here is what Gordon Brown had to say.

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our futures. It will affect every individual, every family, every community, every business and every country.
So it is fitting that today people from all over the world are coming together to blog on climate change for Blog Action Day.
In less than two months, politicians will meet in Copenhagen to forge a critical on tackling climate change .
I will go to the talks in December if it means we will get an agreement and I am urging other leaders to join me. But it must be the start of something not the end.
And it is not just about what governments do; we all have to take responsibility to cut emissions from our homes, our cars and our places of work.
Sarah and I are trying to do our bit. In Downing Street, we are composting, recycling, using energy-saving light bulbs and buying locally-sourced and sustainable food whenever possible. It's little things like this which will make a big difference if we all do them.
Like every parent, I want to leave a safe and secure world for my children. And I want to be able to look them in the eye because our generation stood up for their future".