water Archive

• 

  Does contaminated water make you sick to your stomach? - by frog

  
  
  
  As you know, I am a frog of many talents, and one of the things I like to do in my down time is read specialist medical journals about inflammatory bowel diseases. No really. See, I know a number of people with Crohn’s Disease – a debilitating condition causing chronic inflammation of the intestine – [...] read more
  June 10, 2010 11:00 am - 12 Comments
• 

  Erosion of environmental representation at ECan - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  And so it begins… Forest and Bird revealed yesterday that the first local committee set up under the new ECan structure to consider the future of the Hurunui and Waiau river catchments was unlikely to have any members representing environmental concerns. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but with the Government’s not-so-hidden agenda for [...] read more
  June 1, 2010 4:45 pm - 17 Comments
• 

  Water and democracy - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  Every New Zealander should be worried about Rodney Hide’s latest bill on local government — which will allow our water supplies [DOC] to be controlled and managed by private companies for 35 years, and will force Councils to focus only on ill-defined ‘core business’ [DOC] (which excludes, amongst other things, the environment).’ Multinational corporations are [...] read more
  May 5, 2010 6:40 pm - 18 Comments
• 

  Podcast: Carter, conflicts, and Canterbury - by frog

  
  
  
  Cantabrians are fired up about legislation passed under urgency last month which sacked their regional councillors and circumvented the established process for Water Conservation Orders on Canterbury Rivers. Amidst the furore an interesting set of circumstances has come to light around Agriculture Minister David Carter. Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman revealed in Parliament that Carter [...] read more
  April 21, 2010 3:37 pm - 3 Comments
• 

  Environment groups line up to slag government on water conservation - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems the Environment Minister is getting short on friends… read more
  April 4, 2010 10:11 am - 11 Comments
• 

  Save your rivers, eat a New Zealand apple? - by frog

  
  
  
  Most people these days are used to thinking about the “carbon footprint” of consumer goods, and know about the concept of “food miles”. But have you ever thought about the “virtual water content” of your food? I hadn’t, so found this story in New Zealand Farmers Weekly quite fascinating. Apparently, about 6.5 litres of water [...] read more
  March 24, 2010 2:34 pm - 25 Comments
• 

  An update on Russel’s dirty rivers tour - by frog

  
  
  
  Russel is rafting and kayaking down some of our most polluted lowland rivers this summer, as a fun and unusual way to draw attention to the water pollution problems in our own backyard. Click here for detailed reports and photos from each trip. Plus check out media coverage of Russel on the Manawatu, the Hutt, [...] read more
  March 5, 2010 1:45 pm - 14 Comments
• 

  Water battles in the Manawatu - by frog

  
  
  
  Yesterday I accompanied Russel to the Horizons Regional Council hearings on the water quality section of their proposed One Plan . Horizons, who manage natural resources in the Manawatu and Whanganui region, have proposed a really innovative way of dealing with complex issues around water, land use, heritage, biodiversity, coasts, and air quality – stick [...] read more
  March 4, 2010 5:28 pm - 13 Comments
• 

  Herd homes vs cubicles like home vs prison - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Have you ever felt that after a long day inside a building you just have to get out and feel the sun and breathe some air? I guess not being able to do that is one  of the punishments the prison system imposes on offenders. But even they get an hour or so out in [...] read more
  December 9, 2009 3:35 pm - 11 Comments
• 

  Good Farm Stories and the polluted Manawatu - by frog

  
  
  
  As Jeanette previewed yesterday, the Greens’ Good Farm Stories website has been launched today. You can find it here: www.goodfarmstories.org.nz. There’s a wealth of material, so grab a cup of tea and enjoy! read more
  November 26, 2009 12:43 pm - 7 Comments
• 

  Mokihinui – Brownlee’s burp - by frog

  
  
  
  So this week our Minister of Mining and Damming (aka Energy and Resources) let slip that the Mokihinui hydro-dam “would not go ahead”. Does he know something or was it just his ‘opinion’? Whatever the brain-burp was, he was ill-advised to say it but it’d be nice to think that there may be Moki fans in Government – perhaps they are closet readers of the 1400-fan facebook page! read more
  November 5, 2009 10:16 pm - 28 Comments
• 

  Vote for a sustainable ocean: buy the best fish - by frog

  
  
  
  Forest and Bird has issued an update of its popular, and very useful, Best Fish Guide. The guide takes into account the state of fish stocks, the amount of seabird, marine mammal and non-target fish bycatch, the damage done to marine habitats and other ecological effects caused by the fishing to decide on its rating. [...] read more
  November 3, 2009 10:02 am - 9 Comments
• 

  Think our native forests were safe? Think again. - by frog

  
  
  
  “Agricultural intensification over the past 10 years has led to the highest rate of native vegetation loss since European colonisation.” Landcare Research Annual Report read more
  November 2, 2009 11:29 am - 18 Comments
• 

  Green Oral Question for today - by frog

  
  
  
  In Parliament today, the Green Party’s Questions for Oral Answer (number 3) is from Russel Norman to the Minister of Finance, Bill English: Does he stand by his statement that “water assets will not be privatised as a result of the restructuring” of local government; and if so, how does he reconcile it with Cabinet’s [...] read more
  October 29, 2009 11:42 am - 30 Comments
• 

  Love Wild Rivers? Give them your support - by frog

  
  
  
  Cool. Today a new campaign has been launched for one of New Zealand’s most iconic features – our Wild Rivers. It’s great to see diverse groups – tree-huggers, deer-stalkers, bird-watchers, knobbly-kneed trampers, sharp-edged climbers, risky rafters, kool-kat kayakers, and angelic anglers – representing “over 100,000 New Zealanders” and united in seeking to protect wild rivers [...] read more
  October 28, 2009 12:37 pm - 3 Comments
• 

  Chalking Nick in Nelson - by frog

  
  
  
  Chalking the opinion of many on the streets of Nelson this morning and challenging Nick Smith, who welcomed Schedule 4 thus: “This Bill at long last puts some pegs in the sand in some very significant areas of New Zealand and says to the mining industries of New Zealand: “These are no-go areas.”…” read more
  October 27, 2009 2:31 pm - 7 Comments
• 

  Mohaka needs you! - by frog

  
  
  
  The Dompost on Saturday reported that a debate about landuse and water quality is deepening in the Hawkes Bay. The Mohaka River has a Water Conservation Order on it. However its quality is declining. One tributary comes from the volcanic plateau where land has been converted from forests to industrial-sized dairy farms. read more
  September 21, 2009 3:30 pm - 11 Comments
• 

  Green Streets for Our Cities? - by frog

  
  
  
  The North Shore Times reports that a new trial of permeable paving in Birkdale has been highly successful, decreasing storm water run-off by up to 75 per cent. The run off also had a much lower content of harmful metals like copper and zinc.  Stormwater contamination is something Auckland has a bit of a problem [...] read more
  September 16, 2009 12:14 pm - 1 Comment
• 

  Sober Sunday reading - by frog

  
  
  
  Kim Knight at the Sunday Star Times provides welcome investigative journalism today in a story and major feature on the origin of the massive amount of palm kernel expeller (PKE) that New Zealand imports for supplementary feed on dairy farms. She writes: It looks like Armageddon. It’s just a palm plantation. Palm oil is a [...] read more
  August 23, 2009 10:32 am - 57 Comments
• 

  River-As-Drain No Longer Acceptable, or Exceptional - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Kawerau pulp and paper mill should not be granted consents to pollute the Tarawera River — known locally as “The Black Drain” — for another thirty-five years. I spoke yesterday at the hearings in Whakatane for consents to discharge to air and water from the pulp mill. The pulp mill, owned by companies Carter [...] read more
  August 12, 2009 10:11 am - 14 Comments