Science Media Centre

The Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor Sir Peter Gluckman has released a report hoped to help understand the complexity of issues surrounding the condition and stewardship of freshwater. Sir Peter said his office had been working on the report for nearly a year, but following the Government’s ‘Clean Water’ consultation package, which includes new approaches […]

A proposal to ban microbeads from cosmetics is a positive step, but the problem pales in comparison to the harm caused by plastics from bags, bottles and food packaging, writes Dr Michelle Dickinson in the NZ Herald. An excerpt (read in full): Our proposed law change is a positive step. It is important to note […]

After persisting for decades, the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has begun to ‘heal’, exhibiting an ozone increase. New research from US and UK researchers, published in Science, reports that international efforts to control ozone-depleting chemicals are paying off. Regular and consistent increases in ozone have been detected using several different methods, giving […]

Stronger rules on farm pollution and a $100 million for cleaning up lakes and rivers are among new initiatives put forward by the Government to improve freshwater management. The measures were announced at the Bluegreens Forum in Tekapo, with a consultation document titled ‘Next steps for fresh water’ released by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith […]

By 2050 it will be almost impossible to find a seabird that hasn’t eaten plastic, predicts a new Australian study. The research, published in the journal PNAS, assessed how widespread the threat of plastic is for the world’s seabirds, including albatrosses, shearwaters and penguins. Based on analysis of published studies since the early 1960s, the […]

Almost 269,000 tonnes of plastic pollution may be floating in the world’s oceans, according a team of scientists from around the globe, including New Zealand, whose research was published today in the journal PLOS ONE. The team included researchers from Dumpark Data Science and eCoast, who combined ocean current modelling with data on plastic pollution collected […]

A global update on air quality in cities around the world has shown that most — but not all — New Zealand centres meet international safety standards The new database, released yesterday by the WHO covers 1600 cities across 91 countries – 500 more cities than the previous report(2011), revealing that more cities worldwide are […]

Ongoing research at the University of Canterbury has found that the air inside cars contains more pollutants than the air cyclists breathe on the street. Researchers measured traffic pollution whilst travelling via different transport modes in Auckland and Christchurch. Their latest results, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, found that, in a standard morning commute […]

Freshwater scientists are speaking out about the state of New Zealand rivers and lakes and the impact of land intensification.  Researchers met in Dunedin this week at the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society conference titled Beyond the Limits. Deteriorating water quality and arguments over access to water resources have been in the headlines a lot […]

New water quality grades for New Zealand’s swimming spots have been covered widely by media in the wake of a surprisingly high number of swimming spots being labelled as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. The Ministry for the Environment this month released its 2012 Environmental ‘Report Card’ indicating the quality of water at recreational swimming spots […]