Tagged: infrastructure

Featured image: New Zealand’s COVID-19 stimulus is a ‘lost opportunity’ to move towards a low-emissions economy

New Zealand’s COVID-19 stimulus is a ‘lost opportunity’ to move towards a low-emissions economy - The Changing Climate

Guest Author • Feb 26, 2021 •

David Hall, Auckland University of Technology and Nina Ives, Auckland University of Technology In every crisis there is opportunity. Even during New Zealand’s strictest COVID-19 lockdown last year, many people felt the pandemic offered a chance to tackle other global crises, especially climate change. The government responded to the pandemic with an extraordinary package of monetary and fiscal … Read More

Featured image: New Zealand wants to build a 100% renewable electricity grid, but massive infrastructure is not the best option

New Zealand wants to build a 100% renewable electricity grid, but massive infrastructure is not the best option - Guest Work

Guest Author • Jul 31, 2020 •

Janet Stephenson, University of Otago A proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half of that provided by hydro power. The … Read More

Featured image: Tech giants are battling it out to supply the global internet – here’s why that’s a problem

Tech giants are battling it out to supply the global internet – here’s why that’s a problem - Guest Work

Guest Author • Apr 23, 2018 •

Claudio Bozzi, Deakin University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The US Federal Communications Commission last month granted Elon Musk’s SpaceX permission to launch 4,425 satellites that will provide affordable high speed broadband internet to consumers. The Starlink network will be accessible in the US and around the world … Read More

Featured image: Opinion: Precious arable land

Opinion: Precious arable land - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Apr 23, 2018 •

I just don’t get the fixation with making sure that nobody builds a house on agricultural land. The government plans to make it harder for councils to approve new homes and lifestyle blocks on productive land near urban areas. A report out today, called Our Land 2018, shows New Zealand’s urban sprawl is eating up some of the … Read More

Featured image: The public has a vital role to play in preventing future cyber attacks

The public has a vital role to play in preventing future cyber attacks - Guest Work

Guest Author • Apr 20, 2018 •

Sandeep Gopalan, Deakin University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Up to 400 Australian organisations may have been snared in a massive hacking incident detailed today. The attack, allegedly engineered by the Russian government, targeted millions of government and private sector machines globally via devices such as routers, … Read More

Featured image: How to solve the ‘monster’ fatberg problem

How to solve the ‘monster’ fatberg problem - Guest Work

Guest Author • Nov 09, 2017 •

By Alison Browne, University of Manchester and Mike Foden, Keele University.  Fatbergs – enormous solid masses of oil, grease, wet wipes and other hygiene products that congeal together to cause major blockages – are wreaking havoc on the sewers of cities around the world. A 130 tonne specimen described as a “monster” recently caused backups … Read More

Featured image: Google Street View – A Useful Research Tool?

Google Street View – A Useful Research Tool? - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Jul 10, 2017 •

Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Amber Pearson, Amanda Rzotkiewicz, A/Prof George Thomson Looking at Google Street View can be highly amusing. If you’ve ever wandered around a neighbourhood with Street View on Google Maps, you’ll have realised that everyone’s faces are blurred. Google is very concerned with privacy, so they’ve implemented an algorithm that finds out which parts of their photos … Read More

Featured image: Cycling and walking in six NZ cities: Where are we at?

Cycling and walking in six NZ cities: Where are we at? - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Sep 04, 2016 •

Dr Caroline Shaw, Dr Marie Russell On-road cycle lane Wellington. Photo credit: Jenny Ombler. Active transport is important for health and sustainability. But no one has previously looked systematically at how NZ cities support cycling and walking. Therefore, a new study has been performed and is now published online. This blog reports its main findings. Walking and cycling for … Read More

Featured image: What social insects can teach us about resilient infrastructure

What social insects can teach us about resilient infrastructure - Guest Work

Guest Author • May 26, 2016 •

By Eliza Middleton, University of Sydney Accidents, natural disasters and random or targeted attacks can cripple human infrastructure. Our transportation networks, supply chains and communication networks are increasing in size and becoming more complex as our populations grow. How do we protect those networks from becoming vulnerable and failing? Social insects may provide some inspiration. Social insects, … Read More

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