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Dedicated to interviewing leading edge experts, practitioners in their field, and people who are living examples of sustainability. Covers environmental subject matter that is not readily discussed in depth in mainstream media.
September 2011 Posts
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David Ford is a New Zealander who has spent much of his life overseas has decided to stand for Parliament as an independent as he feels that there is still no party who has a manifestos that fulfills his needs.So why would a male in his late fifties want to drop everything and spend time canvassing his electorate with a message on conservation based community issues, simplicity, local, personal, organic and living healthy holistic lifestyle at optimal performance.TURNING OUR ECONOMY AROUND and Eliminating Debt.He believes the “blind spot” in our current Government & industry leadership thinking lies in a irrational adherence to the Northern Hemispheres “gospel of BIG”, & that this now dysfunctional hallucination has lead us into the current global economic/ecological crisis. A Crisis we will NOT emerge from by playing out the same old tired formulas & prescriptions.
It is time we all let go of this “collective hallucination” & boldly embrace a new paradigm which insures & secures an intact future for all.Covering education, health, environment and justice, this is now a time for the conversation to extend beyond party politics to our kitchen tables and living rooms.Expanding our health and wellbeing into the local community and eventually the biosphere as a whole. When we look at the microcosm us, in relation to the macrocosm of our planet, the only difference in many ways is a matter of scale. We can not afford to abuse our ecology, be it internal or external.And that it is intergenerational injustice to future generations if we are not conserving all resources. What are we leaving our children and grand children?What are the drivers that compel this man?
www.fordfuturenow.org
Neonicotinoids are often used as seed-dressing for maize, sunflower, canola and now many other seeds. However, as well as spreading throughout the entire plant and into the nectar and pollen, they also have a high leaching potential and seep into soils and groundwater.Even low concentrations of the pesticide may be more deadly then previously thought due to their high persistence in soil and water.Any insect that feeds on the crop dies. Any bee or butterfly that collects pollen or nectar from the crop is poisoned. Neonicotinoids behave like carcinogens, and easily contaminate ground and surface water.There could be dire long-term consequences of environmental pollution with these insecticides, and these fears are now being confirmed by extensive research.Even minute traces of these pesticides could be fatal to insects, as continued use affects food availability for birds, a lack of weeds resulting in a loss of insects, as well as seeds. This decline is also linked to a lack of larger insects upon which chicks depend for their survival, which in turn affects breeding.
‘An ecological collapse is already taking place before our eyes,’ says *Dutch toxicologist Dr Henk Tennekes told the British Ecologist publication. ‘Numerous bird species do not find enough food for their chicks as insects are being exterminated by pesticides. Insects are vital in ecosystems. In fact, we need them for human survival.’‘In the UK alone, beekeepers [have in the recent past] reported a loss of one in three bee colonies,’ said a spokesperson. ‘This has serious consequences for worldwide food security, because bees are our most important pollinators and play a vital role in the food chain – it is estimated that one-third of human food supplies depend on bee pollination.
Bees are therefore like the "canary in the coal mine" – their deaths are a warning to us all that the health of the planet is under threat.Karen Wealleans of www.changingspaces.co.nz and Pat Baskett: patbaskett(at)xtra.co.nzIn New Zealand, the Green Party via Sue Kedgely on Thursday, 08 Sep 2011 have taken an urgent submission to Parliament. To SAVE THE BEES.It's a Report to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee.Save the Bees Petition1. An urgent reassessment by the ERMA [now EPA] of Neonicotinoid insecticides, and the use of other pesticides that are highly toxic to bees.Read more about this excellent work that Sue Kedgely is doing.http://www.greens.org.nz/submissions/save-bees-submissionMore resources;www.beesource.comwww.greenhealthwatch.com urbanbeeprojectseattle.com/pesticidestorywww.gaia-health.comwww.pierreterre.com
When you have youth, are passionate, vital, believe in duty of care, how do your express it?What generation is taking the lead in innovation in NZ? Who is articulating the conversation into a ecological framework?Will our education and learning establishments create a new tomorrow, that is holistic in intent and puts us as a small country at the forefront of positive change?Listen to a young, dedicated and enthusiastic voice raise the bar in languaging what it is to having New Zealand be a creative force as the emerging microcosm for the planetary macrocosm and use media technology to drive the message of connectivity inclusive of solutions.
As a grouping of 50 trillion cells we find that they all work in unison for the benefit of our body, especially when we live a healthy lifestyle. The heart as an organ freely distributes blood to all the other cells and organs of the body, just like the lungs supply oxy haemoglobin to the heart freely.The need to perceive community and countries as cells in the global body that in the coming new perspective of mutual survival will have us all work towards everyone consciously benefitting the whole.www.cellsofearth.com
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is a watch dog on the NZ Environment, outside of Government (like an Ombudsmen but with a small O), making sure that Government are following environmental protocols that are going to benefit the long term goals of the country. In this interview Morgan clarifies what is green, sustainable and prosperous and that the Parliamentary political term is too short, as nothing really gets done. That there is only one educational institution in NZ that has integrated sustainability through everyone of its courses. Why? The increasing costs of food, water and energy that will cause social unrest, and can we meet the social demand without having huge unrest.And the many challenges that need to be addressed at a causal level, with an extra 2 billion population in the next 30 years.
