Only about 61% of dairy farm operators had reported their use of synthetic nitrogen a year after reporting rules came into force.
- Morgan Foundation Senior Research Fellow in Freshwater Ecology and Environmental Science, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The idea that harm done today can be offset in the future is based on a basic misunderstanding of the carbon cycle. Planting more trees is important – but it’s no substitute for cutting emissions.
Ecological overshoot is driven by human consumption and a belief in endless economic growth. Could the marketing and media industries that feed those habits also help change them?
Access to fossil fuels allowed humanity to overshoot Earth’s biophysical limits. The crises we now face are all symptoms of this overshoot, and the only fix is to cut our demands on the biosphere.
A new study of dairying in Canterbury shows previous estimates vastly underestimate the impact of intensive farming. A 12-fold reduction in cow numbers could be needed to meet safe water standards.
Farmers from the Groundswell movement want more concessions from the government but the environmental and economic cost might be more than New Zealand can afford.
There is no doubt we need to stop emitting fossil carbon. But if we fixate on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and don’t also reduce consumption and energy waste, we risk failure.
A long-awaited NZ$700 million package to clean up New Zealand’s rivers and lakes has disappointed some of the government’s expert advisers – especially a delay on setting clear pollution limits.
The New Zealand government’s decision to partner the farming sector to encourage voluntary reductions in farm emissions failed to acknowledge that agricultural emissions also affect water quality.
The latest update on the environment highlights that New Zealand has the world’s highest proportion of indigenous wildlife species either threatened or at risk of extinction.
Nitrate in drinking water has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. That could have implications for some parts of New Zealand where nitrate levels are high.
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