Articles in ‘Environment’

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of the American Dream blog, · For decades, we were told to ignore any of the strange reports that we were hearing about Antarctica. Experts assured us that nothing unusual was going on and that there wasn’t anything to be concerned about. Of course we couldn’t go investigate for ourselves, because as you will see below, there are 72 areas of Antarctica that only those with a special permit are…

I read about the Waikato River Authority (WRA) releasing 76,000 elvers (young Tuna) into the Waikato River at Lake Karapiro during the recent Waka Ama Sprint Nationals 2026. · On reading this press release from the WRA I immediately thought to myself; what is to be achieved by this action? The reason for this thought is set out in the title of this article; the good the bad & the ugly! · The Good: · It’s great to see the WRA taking action to…

The Government is negotiating with the US to provide access to our critical minerals, while a memo before the Waitangi Tribunal says a backdoor deal violates obligations to Māori Resources minister Shane Jones has adopted a Trumpian slogan, and hopes New Zealand's mining industry can benefit from Trump's desire for critical minerals. Photo: Facebook · New Zealand has been holding closed-door discussions with the United States on the supply of…

Spiders don’t normally create such large colonies, so no need to fear finding one in your basement · Credit: Getty  Ezzy Pearson - BBC Science Focus · Arachnophobes best look away now, because a group of scientists have found what could be the biggest spider colony in the world. · The web is 106 square metres (1,140 square feet) in size and is thought to be home to up to 111,000 spiders. That’s roughly half the size of a tennis court. ·…

If you’re a gardener – and definitely if you’re a farmer – you want to spend less on fertilizer but while growing more food. Well, it’s time to send your thank-you basket of fruits and vegetables to researchers at the National University of Singapore, because they’ve created a magic wand for doing just that. Well, actually, a magic needle. In their Advanced Functional Materials paper “Microneedle-Based Biofertilizer Delivery Improves Plant…

Currently the Waikato Regional Council is awaiting the final outcome from the Environment Court hearing into the objections around PC1. PC1 is the proposed change to be made to the operative Waikato Regional Plan that was put forward by the Waikato Regional Council back in 2016. · It is expected PC1 will be operative next year and, depending on the final results of the Environment Court hearing, that farmers might need to get resource consent…

Although Koi Carp are mainly only found in the Waikato region at the present time, you can bet on the fact that they will spread across the whole country eventually if they are not controlled in some way. Waikato koi rarely exceed 9 years of age. Females average 5.2 years and males 4.6 years of age. An average fish weighs 3 kg. Females produce 100 000 eggs per kg of body weight. A typical female can produce 300 000 eggs annually (or more if…

There is something undemocratic in a society of machines. Men receive more or less power, honor, and esteem because of their capacity to purchase the use of certain devices—not because of who they are. The capacity to “go camping” proves to a man and his fellows that his access to this or that machine is not a cheat or a fraud, but an aid and assistance to an underlying skill that he really does have. In the midst of untold luxuries, families…

The discovery of multiple Asian yellow-legged hornet queens and nests across Glenfield has triggered warnings that New Zealand is running out of time to stop the pest from becoming permanent. Experts say MPI’s current containment zone is far too small for a species known overseas to spread tens of kilometres a year, and early signs suggest the Auckland incursion is already larger than first thought. · Hornets devastate honey bees, crops, and…

PC1 Why Bother Complying · You may well ask what he is on about. · Under Plan Change 1 the agricultural industries are going to be hit with a raft of new regulations and rules for compliance; the aim being to improve the water quality in the region. · Even though only 15 of the sub-catchments in the Waikato and Waipa catchments were exceeding the standards proposed to be introduced through the enactment of PC1 at the time it was proposed. ·…