Category: Rants

Fee Writes

Our Beautiful Gorge Under Threat…Nooooo!!

All I can say is “Duh” – I read this news report this morning and was just flabbergasted on so many levels.

The Karangahake Gorge is the most beautiful area in so many ways. I have travelled through there all my life and have seen it change over the years, surviving floods and the removing of the railway to name just two. There are stunning walking tracks and a cycle trail, which uses the old railway track, has recently been opened up that is one of the top rides in New Zealand.

This is an area that used to be mined back in the old days. The amount of toxic waste that was dumped into the water and the scars to the land were bad. Obviously very little was known back then about pollution, toxic chemicals, or environmental disasters.

However, nature has been kind and has “cleaned up” the water and brought the bush back to life.

So back to the present day. The District Council has now given the go-ahead for the mining company New Talisman Gold Mines to begin exploration in this area.
This is the first “Duh”! How totally selfish and shortsighted and greedy is that.

Selfish because the Government is maintaining that this is going to help the economy …. no, it will help the Government look better with the budget and with their employment figures.

Shortsighted because this is going to affect the tourist industry. Shortsighted because of the environmental impact this is going to cause, especially after Nature has taken all that time and trouble in cleaning up the mess from the last time mines were there.
and… Greedy – pretty much the same as selfish – money into the coffers to make the Government look good.

The second “Duh” is the sheer insanity of the Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges of allowing something like this just a week or so out from the general election.
Mind you, with his track record of screwing with the environment this doesn’t surprise me at all.
Money comes first with young Simon as it does with the current Government.

Who will I be voting for? I’m not even sure I’m going to vote …. I really don’t know if I trust any of them. So at the moment, I’m still one of the “undecided”. I know one thing for certain, I’m not supporting any political party that screws with our natural treasures.

SAY NO TO MINING!!!!

Fee Writes

Animals | Environment | Rants

Neonicotinoids and Bees

It really does upset me that this beautiful country that I live in (N.Z.) is so backward when it comes to environmental and animal welfare issues.

Recently I read an article about the neonicotinoid pesticides having such a devastating effect on bees and how in June 2014 a team at Harvard announced that when hives were treated with neonicotinoids, half of them collapsed.

Back around July 2013, after evidence against neonicotinoids had begun to accumulate, the EU had moved to ban three neonicotinoids from use on cereals and flowering crops attractive to bees which came into effect in December 2013.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a report saying that there is a connection to the health of the honey bees saying “pesticides may be part of the problem, including both the pyrethroid and neonicotinoid classes of pesticides”. But their recommendations are more about best management practices and technical advancements for applying pesticides to reduce dust, etc. than about the actual threat or banning them.

New Zealand just loves to follow USA and again our “clean, green” image comes into some question as once more the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which has the authority, has not even begun to investigate this new research …… but then New Zealand is known for dragging the chain when it comes to banning pesticides along with other environmental and animal issues.

I wonder what Sir Edmund Hillary – our famous beekeeper mountaineer – would say about this.

By the way, I applaud the EU for making this move even if it is on a “trial” basis for 2 years. They did this in the face of intense lobbying and interference by Bayer and Syngenta who make and sell the chemicals.

Fee Writes

Environment | Rants

Expanding Marine Sanctuaries.

In Washington President Obama announced (17th June 2014) that he intends to vastly expand the marine life sanctuaries in the Pacific Ocean. These are huge areas in the central Pacific Ocean and will become off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities. Basically this will create the largest marine sanctuary pretty much doubling the entire current marine sanctuaries world wide.

Well done Obama!

Marine Sanctuary

Almost on the same day here in N.Z. the Government announced that it has opened up more than 3000 square kilometers of marine mammal sanctuary for oil drilling. Not only is this area a marine sanctuary but it is also home to the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin.

Shame on you Key!

Only 55 Maui Dolphins left!

Fee Writes

Random | Rants

Twitter and #Egypt529

I’m still coming to grips with Twitter and the “trending” thing they have going on, but what amazed me was that I had to search the trending part for what people are saying about what has recently happened in Egypt i.e. the sentencing of 529 Morsi supporters to death. A further mass trial of 683 could also face the death penalty.
DJ Rubiconski tweeted “If 529 white Europeans were sentenced to death there would be an invasion of ‪#Egypt‬ tomorrow by a coalition of Western countries.” … and it would be with all guns blazing!

Here is another example of the outrageous, stupid, inhumane, cruel, senseless, power hungry, … what other adjectives can I add … way humans treat other humans, this time on a massive scale. The sad part is that we see this on a daily basis in small and, sometimes, unseen ways in our own backyards.

Violence to women
Violence to children
Neighbours at war
Bullying in schools, home, workplace
Drunken brawls

You can keep adding to the list, I’m sure you get my flow here.

So it’s no wonder humans can be so violent towards animals without flinching.

Do you think it’s a lost cause – animal welfare? I don’t.

I look around and see growing evidence (albeit growing slowly) that humans are gradually pulling themselves out of the caveman mentality and are starting to “care” about other humans – evidence being the flip side of #egypt529 which is #MH370 – the Malaysian plane that has gone missing with 239 people on board. Here we see Governments falling over themselves trying to find this plane and I believe it is not so much that it makes these “helping” countries look good, but that they are actually able to do something without having their hands tied in red tape and without fear of causing diplomatic incidents (which reminds me …. Ukraine’s gone quiet).

No, as per the list above, it’s in our backyards that the real cavemen lurk

It’s these cavemen we need to convince that they have to start respecting other humans then we might have a chance of them respecting animals.

Artist – Banksy

Category: Rants

Our Beautiful Gorge Under Threat…Nooooo!!

Neonicotinoids and Bees

Expanding Marine Sanctuaries.

Twitter and #Egypt529

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