British buy Taranaki oil well stake
The Dominion Post 03/06/2004.
A British company specialising in microwave
water-heating systems is buying a stake in a planned offshore Taranaki oil
well from Shell.  Electro-Silica is buying half of Shell's 60% stake in the
'Western Platform', west of the giant Maui gasfield.  More ...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2928567a13,00.html


KYOTO PROTOCOL

EU Commission sees US return to Kyoto fold
Reuters 02/06/2004.
The United States will eventually join other industrial
nations in signing up to the Kyoto global warming pact despite its current
opposition to the agreement, Europe's environment chief said on Wednesday.
'If we have more than, let's say, 125 countries around the world signing up
to the Kyoto protocol, it will also be more difficult for the U.S. to stand
outside," European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom told a news
conference.
More ... http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0241782.htm

Japan puts climate change on the agenda
Financial Times 03/06/2004.
Japan is not universally renowned for its
environmental sensitivities. The nation's coastline is famously swathed in
concrete and its policy on whale-hunting leaves many conservationists
fuming. Yet Japanese companies are among the world's most advanced in
countering the potential impact on their business of climate change and
environmentally driven legislation, according to a survey of 500 global
companies.  More ... http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1085944450889


ENERGY

European energy use still on the rise
Point Carbon 02/06/2004.
The use of energy in Europe is still increasing. In
a new  report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) calls for increased
use of market-based instruments to halt this development, and to promote
fuel-switching and use of renewable energy.  More ...
http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=3818&categoryID=147


BIO-SECURITY

Banned plants seized in raid
The Waikato Times 02/06/2004.
Scores of plants that pose a serious threat to
New Zealandıs native bush have been seized by Environment Waikato
biosecurity staff from a Hamilton nursery.  The Monkey Apple Tree, or 'Lilly
Pilly', is banned under the National Pest Plant Accord.
More ... http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2928374a7693,00.html

Northland GM maize harvest kept secret from protesters
NZPA 02/06/2004.
The location of a genetically engineered maize harvest in
Northland is being kept secret to avoid possible disruption by protesters.
One Northlander was identified among buyers of GE-contaminated maize seed
imported last year from the United States, according to the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) corporate communications director, Brett
Sangster.  More ...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2928327a7693,00.html


CONSERVATION

Marine reserve for Stewart Island
The Southland Times 02/06/2004.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter is set to
announce the establishment of the long-debated Paterson Inlet marine reserve
during a visit to Stewart Island on Friday.  A second announcement about the
proposal to establish a mataitai (Maori fishery management tool) covering
the remaining 90 percent of the inlet will also be made on the island on
Friday by Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope. More ...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2927259a7693,00.html

Govt sets aside $79 million to free up and protect high country
NZPA 01/06/2004.
The Government has put aside a $79 million package for a
new network of conservation parks and reserves from Crown pastoral leases in
the South Island high country, Conservation Minister Chris Carter said
today.      
More ... http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2927146a3600,00.html

Government spends $2.5m on high country
The Press 01/06/2004.
The Government has paid more than $2.5 million for a
10,000-hectare slice of spectacular Canterbury high country, stretching from
mountain tops to the shores of a lake. The land, formerly Clent Hills
Station bordering Lake Heron, west of Ashburton, will be managed by the
Department of Conservation (DOC).  More ...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2926245a11,00.html

Web-based car pooling soon to take off in Auckland
Scoop.co.nz 02/06/2004.
An Auckland group ­ carpool.co.nz ­ is pushing for a
major internet-based carpool scheme which they say could ease the cityıs
road traffic congestion and begin in 12 months' time. Carpool.co.nz has been
working on  software criteria for two years to reduce the number of
single occupancy cars on the roads with a web-based car pooling system.
More ... http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0406/S00009.htm

Court fee increase another blow for environmental care
Scoop.co.nz 03/06/2004.
Forest and Bird is warning that Environment Court
fee increases are another blow to environmental protection in New Zealand.
"We've seen a few blows to environmental protection lately. Last year's
changes to the Resource Management Act made it easier to exclude public
interest groups from seeking to reduce the effects of environmentally
damaging activities. More ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0406/S00018.htm


WATER

Proposed standard for drinking water source
Scoop.co.nz 01/06/2004.
Ensuring councils get the right information about
their catchments' water quality is the next step towards better quality
drinking water, according to Environment Minister Marian Hobbs and Health
Minister Annette King. The Ministry for the Environment is working with the
Ministry of Health to develop and implement a national environmental
standard for human drinking watersources. More ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0406/S00016.htm

Government announces way forward for Waitaki Bill
Scoop.co.nz 01/06/2004.
The government has decided on a way forward with its
special Waitaki Catchment legislation, Environment Minister Marian Hobbs
announced today. "A statutory framework is needed to guide water allocation
in the Waitaki Catchment, and the government will proceed with its plans to
establish a Water Allocation Board to develop the framework," Marian Hobbs
said. More ... http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0406/S00020.htm


GLOBAL WARMING

Power giants urge Brown to cut stamp duty on 'green' homes
The Independent (UK) 01/06/2004.
Gordon Brown is being urged to reduce stamp
duty on energy-efficient homes to help the Government meet its targets for
cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. The proposal has been put to the
Chancellor by a number of large energy companies, led by Powergen, as a
means of encouraging greater energy saving and tackling the threat of global
warming.  More ...   http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=526620

Gas may have spurred ancient global warming-Nature
Reuters 02/06/2004.
A vast belch of gas from beneath the North Atlantic 55
million years ago may have warmed the planet and hold clues to threats from
an even faster modern surge in greenhouse gases, scientists said on
Wednesday. The apparent release of hydrocarbons from subsea rocks in the
Eocene epoch might also bolster theories that spasms of volcanic activity
could have triggered extinctions like the demise of the dinosaurs 10 million
years before the Eocene. More ...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02356001.htm


ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Solar Water Heating Can Avoid Hot Water Cuts
Scoop.co.nz 03/06/2004.
Home owners are encouraged to install a solar water
heating units so that they will have adequate hot water in the event of
Transpower cutting electricity supplies, said the Chairman of the Solar
Industries Association today. Mr Roy Netzer said that if home owners in the
Christchurch and Malborough area installed a solar water heating unit now
they would not only secure their hot water supply but also make a sound long
term investment that grows with future electricity price rises.  More ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0406/S00067.htm


AQUACULTURE

Guide to Ogreenı species debuts
New Zealand Herald 04/06/2004.
Consumers are being asked to check for more
than just freshness the next time they buy fish for dinner. National
conservation lobby group Forest and Bird has released the first-ever guide
to buying environmentally sound fish. Trouble is, according to the guide, no
New Zealand fish is worthy of the highest-rating 'green' category. More ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3570555&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

Whales and dolphins part of research for marine farms
Scoop.co.nz 03/06/2004.
Whale and dolphin sightings in Bay of Plenty waters
have been mapped for the first time as part of a million dollar aquaculture
project by Environment Bay of Plenty. Regional council staff have been
astonished by the variety and quantity of marine mammals logged by charter
boats over the last seven years. More ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0406/S00021.htm



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