Environment
Manea toilet paper a cut above
Wednesday 26 May 2010 | Published in Environment
According to US toilet paper giants (if we can all them that) Charmin, the average person uses 57 sheets of toilet paper a day. That’s 20,805 sheets a year. Wouldn’t it be better if we all used the greenest paper on offer? James Beer thinks so – and he has gone to great lengths to […]
Couple saves environment using old bottles
Wednesday 26 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Brad Fraser and partner Ngere Puia of Brad’s Autos in Nikao have devised a way to save money and the environment – and decorate their home – using old bottles. Since 2008, the pair has been collecting old glass bottles – lids and labels included – and grinding them into sand, which is glass in […]
Minister to speak in Uruguay
Monday 24 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Environment minister Cassey Eggleton has left for Punta del Este, Uruguay, to attend the forth session of the Assembly on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) which takes place on May 24–28. Eggleton is only the second minister to travel overseas on official business since prime minister Jim Marurai put a freeze on overseas travel in […]
Muri sanitation to be overhauled
Monday 24 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Indications are that the NZ$4.72 million provided by the EU to improve Muri lagoon’s rapidly deteriorating water will be put into overhauling sanitation in the area. Fiona Ramsey, Second Secretary of the EU delegation to the Pacific, says “the data collected on sewage treatment and the latest water quality data points towards the main cause […]
It all ends up in the lagoon
Saturday 22 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Ka kokoti kotou i toku meitaki E taringa tona, ka akarongo mai.
Come to Lagoon Day!
Saturday 22 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Lagoon Day 2010 is on Thursday May 27 from 8.30am to 4pm and Friday May 28 from 8.30am to 3pm. It’s an open air expo where public, private sector and non-government organisations unite in an effort to raise awareness of our lagoon problems and most importantly, to provide solutions. It is the public face of […]
It's Biodiversity Day tomorrow
Friday 21 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Plant a tree or a garden tomorrow in commemoration of Biodiversity Day. 2010 is the international Year of Biodiversity. The Cook Islands theme is ‘E tango Maori te ao ora natura – our biodiversity, our foundations’. Deyna Marsh of the National Environment Service says that while there is no planned activity for tomorrow – she […]
Celebrating our biodiversity
Wednesday 19 May 2010 | Published in Environment
The annual Environment Week runs from May 31 to June 4 with the theme this year, ‘E Tango Maori Te Ao Ora Natura’ Our Biodiversity Our Foundation. Competitions and fun days will be held throughout the week with events such as the popular ‘lagoon day’. The aim for the week is to help create awareness […]
Lagoon Day is on again
Monday 17 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Planning for Lagoon Day is well underway and this year the event is set to kick start National Environment week. Thursday and Friday May 27-28 will see around 1000 school students and the general public converge on Nukupere Park to interact in a hands on learning experience, with booths spilling over with information on the […]
Renewable energy no longer a choice for Pacific countries
Wednesday 12 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Renewable energy is no longer a choice but a vital necessity for all Pacific Island countries, including the Cook Islands, given the pressing issue of climate change, Fiji’s foreign affairs minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola said. He made the comment following a signing this week by the government on behalf of the University of the South […]
CITC takes the lead in industry training
Friday 7 May 2010 | Published in Environment
Cook Islands Trading Corporation (CITC) has taken the lead in the private sector to provide industry training in the Cook Islands. Last week the Department for National Human Resources Development (DNHRD) director Frances Topa-Apera and CITC general manager Gaye Whitta signed a memorandum of understanding formalising CITC as a training provider under the accreditation of […]
Evans appointed TIS manager
Thursday 6 May 2010 | Published in Environment
With the financial assistance of Birdlife International (BIL) and CEPFund, Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) has appointed Jacqui Evans as its programme manager. Evans, whose position becomes effective from May 17, has been involved with TIS since its inception in 1996, as a volunteer in both technical and practical roles and serving as president of this […]
Water project survey complete
Friday 16 April 2010 | Published in Environment
The initial survey for the $5 million European Union Muri Water and Sanitation Project has been completed and the project is now going into its next phase. The Muri Environment Care Group project team began the survey at the end of December. Over a period of four months, 10 surveyors interviewed and collected data on […]
Muri's Eco Warriors adventure next week
Friday 16 April 2010 | Published in Environment
The Muri Eco Warriors Kids Club two-day school holiday adventure on April 20-21 is a great option for kids who live in Muri. The programme is free for kids aged 4-13 years and is a great way for children to learn about pollution and the environment. The Eco Warriors environmental youth group started last year […]
Jewellery judging to begin soon
Friday 16 April 2010 | Published in Environment
Lots of waste materials used by kids to make their creations Thirty-three entries have been received for the Te Akatauira recycled jewellery competition with judging beginning this week. “The overall standard is very good,” competition organiser Paka Worthington said. Co-organiser Jacqui Evans says the entrants have been very resourceful in their use of waste materials. […]
McCully visits the yard
Thursday 8 April 2010 | Published in Environment
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and his entourage stopped off at the General Transport recycling yard yesterday to check on the status of NZAid-funded machinery. NZAid funded an excavator and a truck for the recycling venture that is currently being managed by Recycling Cook Islands, National Environment Service and the NZ government. RCI […]
Solar Bob says use the sunshine
Tuesday 6 April 2010 | Published in Environment
‘Solar Bob’ Riley says he hasn’t paid a power bill in over three years, courtesy of some grey panels and the natural resource that’s so readily available in the tropics – the sun. Riley, a solar energy consultant, is on a mission to convince Cook Islanders that solar energy ‘just makes sense’, he said. Solar […]
Shipping recyclables back
Tuesday 6 April 2010 | Published in Environment
General Transport (GT) wants to send recyclables back to where they came from. For a small fee GT collects imported metal items such as old vehicles, scrap steel, batteries and white ware and ship them overseas to be recycled. The programme is an effort to return imports to their country of origin, or to the […]
Money isn't everything!
Monday 29 March 2010 | Published in Environment
Money is not everything, and that was one of the messages from Earth House observation on Rarotonga on Saturday night. A successful and hardworking businessman on Rarotonga proved this during the one hour. Titikaveka’s member of parliament and cabinet minister Robert Wigmore walked the talk when he closed his popular supermarket for an hour. His […]
Earth Hour brings drop in power usage
Monday 29 March 2010 | Published in Environment
The drop in power supply readings by Rarotonga’s Te Aponga Uira almost doubled what was recorded last year during Earth Hour on Saturday. Rarotonga joined the global campaign to fight climate change for an hour with residents switching off all non-essential lights and electrical applicances. TAU’s general manager power station Nooroa Tupa said that for […]