Environz

New Zealand’s environment

New Zealand prepares to host World Environment Day

Carbon analysis web pages go live

Love NZ – recycle in public places

State of the environment report shows challenges and progress

Off the mains – treating home sewage

Every step counts

Guardians’ gifts are Fiordland’s gain

Letter from Hugh Logan

Measuring water takes required for improved management

Giving youth a voice – the NZ Youth Environment Forum

In brief

For your diary...

Every step counts

Every step towards sustainable living we make at home, with travel and work, has far reaching impacts across the globe. As this awareness dawns, more information is becoming available about ways we can improve our environment.

“We sleep in pyjamas made in China, wake to clocks made in India, and sip tea blended in England. In other words, the products and services on which we depend and desire come courtesy of highly complex supply chains that encircle the Earth, tapping various veins for natural resources for manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal,” says Lindsay Gow, Deputy Secretary for the Environment.

Consumption by households affects the environment and has increased in New Zealand during recent years. The pressure household consumption places on the environment can be measured approximately through household purchasing of goods and services. Between 1997 and 2006, real per household consumption expenditure (adjusted for inflation) increased by just over $8,700 (20 per cent).

Rising consumption in New Zealand is likely to be related partly to population growth and to the growing number of households. However, increased household consumption expenditure can also be attributed to increasing consumption over time; that is, more people buying more things, not just more people buying the same things. Increased consumption can mean greater use of natural resources and generation of waste, both of which have implications for the environment.

But, Kiwis care about their environment. A recent survey, prepared for the Ministry, showed that 53 per cent of 1,000 people asked were deeply concerned that we aren’t all doing enough to protect our environment for future generations. This same survey also found that 63 per cent would like to learn more about how to care for the environment, and a further 28 per cent actively look for information.

“Part of the answer lies at home. In our homes we make many of the decisions that determine our ecological footprint,” says Gow.

“By focusing on the consumption end of the supply chain – the household – we drive sustainability through our everyday actions. We all make decisions at home in using energy, transport and water, and dealing with waste.”

Sustainability website

In December, a new website (www.sustainability.govt.nz) went live and with it, a ‘What’s your next step?’ sustainability challenge. The website aims to inform and encourage householders to tackle their impact on the environment.

 

The sustainability.govt.nz website includes practical advice to improve the way we use water and energy in our homes. It also includes films, competitions, a discussion forum, case studies and blogs. The site has local and central government information on support and grants to help households become more sustainable, and features the ‘What’s your next step?’ challenge.

The principle of the challenge is that every small, medium or large step we make contributes to a larger pool of change, and a good place to start is at home. The place to sign up is on www.sustainability.govt.nz/

Outrageous Fortune actress Robyn Malcolm has signed up to the challenge. She has committed to keeping her car tyres inflated to the correct level. Author Kate de Goldi has signed up to catch the bus into the city more often, and Broadcaster Chris Laidlaw says he is composting his kitchen scraps. Environment Minister Trevor Mallard registered a sustainable step of buying products with less packaging, or with packaging that is able to be recycled.

Lindsay Gow explained: "The ‘What’s your next step?’ sustainability challenge is about encouraging Kiwis to use resources more efficiently. Many people acting together can make a significant impact. For example, if every New Zealand household replaced their four most used light bulbs with energy saving eco-bulbs we would save $113 million every year.”

The sustainability.govt.nz website features films and other interactive material. Young film makers, Blaine Western and Hannah Salmon, raise questions about our present consumption patterns in their short movie Post no bills. To a back drop of stark music, they say, “We can make a change,” and ask about consumption, “Well, hold on. Let’s think about this for a minute… Is this long term?... What’s going to happen?... Can this be continued?... What are the consequences?” The film was one of several finalists of The Outlook for Someday sustainability film challenge, part funded by the Ministry.

Videoed interviews of Yolande Cumming, Odile Balas and other members of the public can be seen on the sustainability.govt.nz website. Yolande, from Raglan, talks about starting a car pooling car club, and Odile, from Hawkes Bay, explains her vision for suburbs without fences and how she would like to see cities as, “really pleasant places to live so that people can do their living close to home instead of having to travel out of the city to find what they are looking for”.

Community involvement

The community is recognised as having an important role in sustainable living. The Ministry is providing funding to schemes that will further community knowledge on sustainability and encourage action. It has contributed $100,000 to the Sustainability Trust’s Ecokiwi scheme which will train and support local community groups to engage members of their community in sustainable living. The scheme will tap into community organisations including Lions groups, Rotary, health clinics, marae, churches, community centres, childcare centres and schools.

The Ministry is contributing a further $100,000 to Marlborough District Council for the Sustainable Living Programme which they run on behalf of 21 councils. The programme includes seminars and night classes on topics such as energy efficiency, waste reduction, water use, building and renovation, travel and shopping wisely.

Marlborough District Council’s education officer, Annie McDonald, says interest in the programme has grown significantly, and the extra funding will make a difference to its development and the number of people it can reach.

According to McDonald, the Sustainable Living Programme is successful because it provides opportunities for participants to take action in an informative and fun way. She says, “We have seen many people change the way they have done things for the benefit of the environment and their families.”

International efforts

“We are all connected through the environment and can all change our impact on the whole. The kind of products we buy and the way we use them makes a difference,” says Gow.

While the effort to protect our environment starts at home, New Zealand householders and communities are not alone. The environment movement is spreading internationally. In the United Kingdom this year the Church of England has suggested people give up carbon instead of chocolate for lent. Ideas they have given for carbon fasting include avoiding plastic bags and insulating hot water cylinders.

World Environment Day, which is observed annually in 100 countries, focuses 2008 celebrations on solutions and opportunities to 'Kick the carbon habit' and de-carbonise our economies and lifestyles.

In the upcoming months, there will be opportunities to ask questions about household sustainability and to meet the Ministry’s household sustainability team. Members of the team will be staffing stands at events around the country.

For more information see www.sustainability.govt.nz , email martyn.pinckard@mfe.govt.nz or phone (04) 439 7444.

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