Are we really "clean and green?"

Say New Zealand in any part of the world and along with the All Blacks and sheep you are likely to get “green”, eco friendly and lush green forests as descriptors of Aotearoa. Because of our vast undisturbed woodland and beautiful scenery, New Zealand is portrayed as being a “clean and green” country. The Rainbow Warrior incident put New Zealand in a position where it was seen as being conscious of the harmful effects the nuclear tests had on the environment hence becoming “the good guy.” All this is surface material and those with shrewd minds are questioning whether this portrayal of New Zealand is accurate or just a legacy which is rotting at the core.

Agriculture, fishing and forestry form over half of the country’s exports. We have a reputation for “quality products from a quality environment" and this is dependent on our supposedly environmentally sustainable farming practices. However the estimated loss of soil through erosion is a staggering 380 million tonnes a year. All this soil makes its way into our freshwater bodies and eventually into the sea. This sometimes increases the pH of the water to an extent that some aquatic organisms are deformed or worse, can’t survive in those conditions. Our water is also polluted by fertilisers and animal faecal waste which wash into rivers and lakes. These pollutants increase the water’s phosphorus, nitrogen and general chemical concentration. They may also sink into the ground and pollute our groundwater supplies.

On the other hand, the government has made an effort to educate farmers on sustainable ways of farming such as composting animal waste. There also have been numerous beach cleanup campaigns as an attempt to make the sea a safer habitat for the fish. Fish and other sea life sometimes swallow plastic products which are incorrectly disposed of and somehow make their way into the sea. The plastic is trapped in their stomachs and they eventually starve to death. The effects of each environmental issue are seen elsewhere as there is almost always a domino effect. For example if an essential species in the aquatic food chain dies out or is in short supply because of either high chemical concentration or swallowing plastic the whole food chain is disrupted.

Industrial pollution, especially from cars is also a big cause of environmental issues in New Zealand. On average, for every two people in New Zealand one of them owns a car or another greenhouse gas emitting vehicle. These gases irreversibly damage the ozone layer which causes global warming as more of the sun’s rays can penetrate through the atmosphere and warm the earth. The ozone layer is said to be thinnest over New Zealand, an obvious indication that we are not as eco friendly as we might think. The Auckland council plans to spend more money on its motorway encouraging more people to drive private vehicles rather than to use public transport which is better for the environment. The train network is not very reliable as there are no trains travelling to eastern suburbs like Pakuranga, Howick and Botany Downs.

In defence of our “100% pure” title, there have been campaigns in schools all across the country to educate the students about living sustainably and protecting the environment. This is important as the students of today are New Zealand’s future. I think there should be more emphasis on educating the masses about what exactly poses a risk to the environment and what they can do to reduce this and to reverse the damage that has already been done. This can be done through the media and in practical ways such as setting aside a day when people only use public transport then calculating the difference between the amount of greenhouse gases emitted on a normal day and then.

In another decade, New Zealand’s “clean and green” reputation might have been justified but in this present day I believe that there is a lot of room for improvement. There are a lot of areas in which we, as inhabitants of New Zealand can practice more environmentally friendly attitudes. Recycling materials and car pooling are some examples. We have to keep in mind that the government can’t do everything and that every single person has a duty to play their part no matter how small it may seem.