Outdoor Recreation NZ
6 July 2006

'New thinking' needed to stem environmental pollution

"Calls from the Environment & Conservation Organisations conference (2 July 2006) to reintroduce a requirement to meet Kyoto Protocol Commitments by the use of Carbon Taxes are old-fashioned, counter-productive and unimaginative," said Beth Stone, environmental spokesperson for Outdoor Recreation New Zealand.

"Our countries targets would be far better met by encouraging people and companies to look at more creative ways around emissions and pollution problems. For example, assisting companies to move towards using sustainable fuels such as bio-diesel, will do more to reduce emissions in a very short time than simply 'fining' companies that don't.

"By ECO's own reckoning, dire consequences of inaction will occur within 10 years, yet the best they can come up with is a target of '100% renewable electricity by 2020' and an increase in funding for public transport. It has been proven in research time and again that most buses use more fuel per passenger than many cars! If we consider that the fuel most likely to be used is diesel, their so-called solution will only exacerbate the problem.

"ORNZ calls for public and private investment within the sustainable fuels industry, with a target of being 100% reliant by 2016 - 10 years.

"And if we are serious about tackling the many pollution related health problems, then we should also be looking at the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides as well.

"We need urgent action in encouraging organic, bio-dynamic and permaculture farming and growing systems to tackle such concerns, and we need to do get onto these issues in a way that grows our economy, contributes to our environmental quality and is business friendly.

"The biggest question is why was there no mention of any action to be taken on these issues in the Conference Media release?

ENDS

© Scoop Media