The article below is a vital read for all those engaged in planning for and managing the environment. Humans, through our technical ingenuity, now possess a capacity to both unintentionally and intentially damage the environment on an unprecedented scale. The oil spill is yet another example of why we need to shift our focus to enable a less human centred approach to the environment.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10648478

 www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/events-and-awards/international-year-of-biodiversity/nzs-unique-biodiversity/

In August 2009, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Department of Conservation were directed by Ministers to complete a stocktake of public conservation areas listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991. Schedule 4 restricts mineral-related activity in specified public conservation areas.

The stocktake resulted in a discussion paper and submissions were invited. The submissions closed on 26th May. (http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentTOC____42792.aspx ).
The areas proposed for mining include an area of Great Barrier Island and specific areas of Coromandel Peninsula totalling 2,574 hectares (1.5% of the peninsula). They can be viewed at: http://www.med.govt.nz/upload/71967/Schedule%204%20stocktake%20-%20Appendix%201%20_with%20maps_.pdf 
 

I strongly oppose the removal of ANY areas of conservation land from Schedule 4 because:
 

This is an intelligent book that faces up to the impending challenges of global warming with clear-eyed courage.  Clive Hamilton is an Australian author who is Charles Sturt Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philsophy and Public Ethics at Australian National University. 

It is not a catalogue of the evidence for global warming and climate change; rather, it follows the philosophy that it is better to accept catastrophe than try to deny.  By denial and avoidance, we make the future worse than it needs to be.  This book accepts that we are already on an unavoidable trajectory to catastrophe; the CO2 already in the atmosphere will take thousands of years to dissipate, and bring about changes to climate and sea level rise that we cannot avoid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0WXAkv67Dk

    If you want to contemplate the mother of all clean ups, have a look at some of the news surrounding the latest BP spill in the Gulf of Mexixo. It provides startling context to the concept of remediation. How can damage on this scale be addressed, what are the mechanisms and which nations and corporates are in a position to provide immediate and effective response? What capacity exists in New Zealand to respond to such a spill?  What would the effects be of a similar catastrophe, for instance on the Taranaki coast, or in Northland?  In a situation like this what is a reasonable response, and what is a reasonable sanction?

For coverage of the spill and details of consequences see: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10642777

Ideas?