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Is there a dirty big irrigation scheme planned near you?
In the last two weeks, one third of people in Havelock North have fallen ill with a gastro illness that originated in the town’s water supply. The source? Most likely contamination from cows, sheep or deer.By all accounts the last couple of weeks have been hell for the people of Havelock North. This isn’t what’s…
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Ruataniwha looks dead in the dirty water
It’s been a tough few weeks for think-big irrigation and industrial agriculture.
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3 big reasons why we need ocean sanctuaries now
Last Friday, US President Obama announced the creation of the world’s largest ocean sanctuary, and today governments from all over the world are meeting at the United Nations in New York to develop a new treaty to save our oceans. This is fantastic news for our blue planet. Two-thirds of the ocean sit outside national borders,…
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Havelock, water and Ruataniwha – it’s time to join the dots
In the last two weeks, roughly 4500 adults and children have been struck down with a waterborne gastro illness found in Havelock North’s water supply. That’s a third of the town’s entire population.Most likely source? Ruminant farm animals - quite possibly cows.The crisis has sparked concerns about industrial agriculture - not just in the Hawke’s…
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John Key is the last man standing as another oil rat prepares to jump ship
The revelation that Shell has advised its investment bank to offload its $1 billion New Zealand portfolio is another big nail in the coffin of the Government’s petroleum agenda.
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Three myths the electricity industry wants you to believe about solar
MYTH 1: Solar is only for the richThe most common argument we hear against solar energy is that encouraging it will somehow widen the gap between rich and poor. The logic goes that because “only rich people can afford solar”, the so-called poor people without it will then have to pay a larger share of…
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Drought is real… but dams and irrigation are not the answer
There’s no question about it - drought is causing serious problems for our farmers and communities.
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NZ’s electricity watchdog afraid of the sunlight?
This week the Electricity Authority – New Zealand’s supposed power watchdog – decided it wasn’t keen on being stuck in the middle of public and private interests anymore, so it picked a side.
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7 ways bottom trawling is bad for the seabed
Overfishing. Millions of tons of sea life find themselves engulfed in trawl nets each year. Trawling has been done so intensively that it’s depleted many kinds of fish in many parts of the world. Catches must be strictly managed or in a few years there’ll be little left.
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Too many holes in dam scheme
Dodgy Ruataniwha Dam will destroy rivers and indebt farmers. The Ruataniwha dam is one of the largest irrigation schemes planned in New Zealand. If it goes ahead it will create more industrial dairy farms and pollute the rivers in the Hawkes Bay. And despite overwhelming evidence that industrial dairying is not only destroying rivers but…
