Steps we can take to give ‘Mother Earth’ a break

Academic experts from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland detail some of the small steps we can take to effect change.

This Mother’s Day, a team of five academic experts from the University of Auckland wrote about actionable steps we can take to “give Mother Earth a break” in our oceans and fresh water environments, on land and in the air. Experts included Simon Thrush, director of the Institute for Marine Science, and Ngā Ara Whetū’s co-executive director Maria Armoudian; professor of environmental science Kevin Simon; professor of civil and environmental engineering Kim Dirks; and professor of biological sciences and Ngā Ara Whetū’s co-executive director Jacqueline Beggs.

“Think about the products you use and throw away. Cut back on toxics, plastics and other waste, and call for the phase-outs of the most damaging ones. Pollution from land and freshwater flows downhill into the ocean. Because the ocean accumulates the worst pollution from the top to the bottom, our actions to remedy this problem will need to be tackled from the bottom all the way up to the top.”

PROF SIMON THRUSH & Dr Maria Armoudian

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