Where New Zealand falls down with it's "green" image is in urban areas. It is only green because of it's sparse population. Houses are under insulated and there are no central heating systems. Most houses have wood fired stoves as their primary source of heat. And oil filled electric radiators as their secondary. I sometimes wonder, insulation aside, whether the electric rads aren't actually greener than an oil/ gas fired central heating system given that they only heat the rooms that are occupied (rather than the whole house) and 65% of kiwi electricity comes from renewable resources.
This is our wood pile. We bought it a couple of months ago, when it looked like it was getting cold, then the weather changed it's mind and we're only just starting to get into it. And we are past mid-winter! Hooray. The sun still shines most days and it's warm enough to bake you in a sunroom, and make working outdoors comfortable. It rises at 7am and sets at 5pm. Hardly a winter at all. Until the wind moves around to the south!