Deep sea oil? Don't hold your breath

In one panoramic view I could see gleeful children pulling bombs off the jetty, fisher-folk heading out to search for snapper, surfers dropping in to peeling waves, sunbathers, swimmers, scolding mothers trying to catch their un-sunblocked children – the whole summer ice cream-advert cliché in a single glorious scene.

Summer’s such a wonderful time in this country. It’s also often when we come face-to-face with the wildlife and environment that make New Zealand famous. This year I’ve felt privileged to watch greenfinches snacking on sunflowers, admired geckos, stumbled over seals, had a brush with a shark (that’s a story in itself) and – yep – looked a crayfish in the eye with murder on my mind.

So after all that fun, coming back to the office was a shock. Yet the break did put things in perspective. We’ve been thinking hard about deep sea oil drilling lately and what it could do for our cash-strapped country, so it’s been good to be reminded about what’s actually at stake.

Having worked on our report on the issue (see Deep sea oil: Are our coasts at risk?), I now know where I stand on it – yet that’s just me. Everyone will feel differently; I just hope our research is useful for forming your own view.

As for my view on free-diving for crayfish... well, I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m successful. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Haven’t they grown! The tadpoles I wrote about last issue have now sprouted legs and are hopping happily around the garden. So now I’m getting excited about a new use for our pond – see our story Getting the best from your late-season harvest for a cool way to grow greens.

Greg Roughan
Editor, Green Ideas magazine

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