All articles
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Antarctic krill – not just whale food
Krill is whale food. In fact, it’s a commonly held misbelief that ‘krill’ in Norwegian literally means ‘whale food’. It doesn’t, but it’s still true. Massive swarms of krill, a tiny micro-shrimp in the Antarctic Ocean, provide the principal food for blue whales – the largest animal that ever lived.
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3 reasons this small country’s court decision will have a big impact on global climate action
Two years ago, a courageous law student, Sarah Thomson, sued the New Zealand Government over its weak climate targets. Now she’s made history. On 2 November, 2017, the High Court of New Zealand issued a game-changing ruling. It found that climate change presents significant risks and government actions on climate change are subject to judicial…
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Drinking water nitrate: a ticking time-bomb for public health?
The new Government must put people’s health first, by addressing the growing problem of farm contaminants in our water supply. Just days before our new Government was announced, Canterbury’s Chief Medical Officer of Health warned that increased irrigation in Canterbury is putting newborns at risk from water contamination. Dr. Alistair Humphrey was talking about new…
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We have one year to create the largest ever protected area on Earth
In the words of David Attenborough, “Our planet is a blue planet”. With over 70% of our world covered by water, our oceans can be seen from across the solar system. It wasn’t long ago that the oceans were still believed to be too vast for human activity to be able to cause them significant,…
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The ocean plastic crisis
"Plastics!" This became one of the most famous film lines from the 1960s era. In the film The Graduate, young university graduate, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) appears annoyed and distracted when his wealthy American parents stage an elaborate party to show him off to their peers. A family friend approaches him and says, "Ben I have…
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Capitalism’s moral maze
Life as a consumer is very different to what we’re told. We’re told it’s easy, it’s effortless. That life flows better with Visa. We’re sold an image of smash…
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Creating the World Park Antarctica
How a few pioneers went to one of the most remote regions on Earth just to get a seat at the bargaining table of Antarctic Treaty Nations, then proceeded to…
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Save Our Rivers: Peaceful Civil Disobedience
Construction has started on huge irrigation schemes in Canterbury. When they start working, it’s going to be disastrous for our rivers - most of which are already struggling.
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Thursday, September 7: Occupying Central Plains Water
The day started early, or late, depending on your perspective. We met the night before in Christchurch. People had travelled from across New Zealand at a moment’s notice - one group had even driven from Dunedin. The energy was high. Everyone was here because they cared about Saving Our Rivers. We talked about the day…
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Lightning Occupation of Central Plains Water
We had to go for it. At the crack of dawn today, a team of our activists began an occupation of the Central Plains Water (CPW) irrigation dam. If you want to join us - we’re on Coxs Road, Springfield. Time is of the essence, and the more people who come down and support, the…