Robert Hickson • Oct 19, 2021 •
A critical debate about Covid-19 vaccines is when does protection wane, by how much, why, and what does this mean for controlling the pandemic and the impacts of infections. Depending on the studies or headlines you read it can be confusing. Some report declining vaccine effectiveness, and others don’t. Some report a lot, and others a little. Like most things … Read More
Robert Hickson • Mar 16, 2020 •
Futures folk like animal metaphors for uncertainties. “Black swans” is a favourite one, and currently doing the rounds with opinions about COVID-19. The term “black swan”, popularised by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2007 book of the similar name, refers to unanticipated events with big impacts. However, COVID-19 and other epi- or pandemics aren’t black swans. They … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Jul 09, 2014 •
Late last week, New Zealand’s far right ACT party was pleased to let the media know that its leader, Jamie Whyte, had won the “prestigious Institute of Economic Affairs’ Seldon1 Award” — an award given to IEA fellows by the IEA for work published by the IEA. Whyte is an IEA fellow, which may (or […] … Read More
Michael Edmonds • Nov 17, 2013 •
One of the challenges with science communication is communicating uncertainty, something that is at the core of science but which produces some confusion and frustration for the wider public who prefer definitive answers to life’s questions. However, this morning as I read the book “Cells to Civilizations – the principles of change that shape life” by Enrico Coen, it occurred … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Jun 07, 2013 •
Kicking off the afternoon sessions on the first day of this year’s NZ CCC conference, Professor Barry Smit of the University of Guelph in Canada launched his keynote — titled From theory to practice, from impacts to adaptation (abstract) — with a rousing climate version of Let It Be. I caught up with him during [...] … Read More
Waiology • Nov 20, 2012 •
By Daniel Collins Last week, the Land and Water Forum released its third and final report on water management in New Zealand. It is a substantial piece of collaborative work with 67 recommendations. Number 29 is that allocation limits be set by taking into account “any flow and water level fluctuations caused by seasonal or other climate variations”. While … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Mar 09, 2012 •
This a guest post by Stephan Lewandowsky, the Winthrop Professor and Australian Professorial Fellow at the School of Psychology at the University of Western Australia. The article originally appeared at Shaping Tomorrow’s World. The Australian Future fund is tasked with delivering high risk-adjusted returns on public funds, such as the Australian Government’s budget surpluses, in [...] … Read More
Robert Hickson • Feb 10, 2012 •
Earlier this week I went to hear Prof John Benington from Warwick University give Treasury’s Guest Lecture. His topic was ‘Leadership, Governance and Public Value in an Age of Austerity‘. Not as dry as you may think. One of the issue’s he highlighted was what he called a “Copernican” revolution in society, driven by economic, environmental, … Read More