All articles
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Taitu’s first voyage as a Greenpeace boat
I’m writing from on board our new crowdfunded boat Taitu after a night I’ll never forget. We arrived in Napier early this morning, after leaving Wellington on Saturday afternoon where we had a wonderful naming ceremony for Taitu.
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Taitu and a long history of protest in boats
After confronting Statoil and Chevron seismic blasting 50 nautical miles off the Wairarapa coast in small inflatable boats, we put out a call to New Zealanders to help us buy…
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Cut the cows – a double whammy for the environment
It’s often said that domestic opinion doesn’t count for much in this country. Watch though, as heads turn and lattes spill when that same opinion comes from across the water. It’s our endearing lack of self confidence and charming inferiority complex at work. Kiwi artists and musicians will struggle for years for domestic recognition but…
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Help name our new boat
Wow we did it! Together, we’ve bought 'The People's Boat'. Almost 1,000 people chipped in and together we have bought the boat that’s going to confront the Amazon Warrior - AKA 'The Beast.'
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To save the climate, we must all push beyond our comfort zones
I’ve always been mortified of breaking the rules. Looking back at my childhood and teens, I’m almost embarrassed by how righteously rule-abiding I’ve been. Never once got a detention in school. Never ever handed an assignment in late. Never got yellow-carded in soccer. I come from a family where “don’t stick your neck out” is…
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Is Nick Smith Minister for Magic?
It seems the critical issue of clean swimmable water for New Zealanders has passed into the realms of magical realism. Minister for Magic, Nick Smith waved his blue wand and wadeable rivers miraculously turned into ones you can swim in.
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Don’t get freaked by the eco
Funny how, over time, crazy weird becomes the new normal. There were certainly some nutty ideas floating around when I was a young fella studying Agricultural Economics at Lincoln University last millennium.
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A view from Waitangi by Mike Smith
Over the last couple of days I’ve been getting calls from friends, colleagues and media organisations wanting to know what was happening at Waitangi this year. Here’s what I’ve been telling them.
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Neonicotinoids: A serious threat for flower-hopping life-bringers and many more animals
At this point most people know about neonicotinoids and the serious risk they pose to honey bees. Bees are a link in a chain of biodiversity and pollination of incredible value to our food production. Up to 75% of our crops directly or indirectly depend on pollination. We need to start protecting our pollinators against…
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Cease and desist message delivered to seismic blasting ship
Amazon Warrior, this is the Margaret Mahy. Do you copy? This is a peaceful protest. We will not put you, your ship or crew in any danger. We are here to oppose the seismic blasting for oil that you are doing and we, along with over 60,000 New Zealanders who have signed on to the…