Good health an added benefit for rubbish-free couple

A couple who spent a year living virtually rubbish-free found an added benefit to their new lifestyle -  better health.
Matthew Luxon and Waveney Warth challenged themselves with producing no more than one bag’s worth of rubbish from February 2008 to 2009 and kept a record of their experiences in a blog.
Their new way of life [...]

Live sheep exports ‘very brutal’, says Austrian expert

A prominent Austrian animal rights activist is criticising the possible resumption of live sheep exports from New Zealand.
Since 2003 Saudi Arabia has been negotiating with New Zealand to resume live sheep exports to the Gulf region.

Dr Martin Balluch spoke at the National Animal Rights Conference held at the weekend [...]

NZ forests safe from Chile’s pine-killer organism, say experts

Forestry experts have dismissed concerns about a biosecurity threat to New Zealand’s pine tree plantations.
Phytophthora pinifolia is a chromist, or plant-like organism, causing decay and death among radiata pine forests in Chile.
New Zealand forests are 89 per cent radiata, which Green Party forestry spokesperson Catherine Delahunty says is an example of a monoculture creating a [...]

Small businesses struggle with sustainability

The development of “green” business practices may be put on the back burner as small businesses struggle to stay afloat financially.
A survey released this week has found the cost of sustainability is one of the biggest barriers for businesses trying to change their practices.
The Ideas Shop Sustainable Business Practices Survey is the first [...]