Per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (or, PFAS) have been called ‘forever chemicals’. That’s because these synthetic chemicals are incredibly durable, lasting thousands of years. This durability has made this large group of chemicals useful in a variety of industries, from cosmetics to electronic and cookware. However, PFAS have been linked to a myriad of health risks including cancers, liver damage, and suppressed immunity, bad news, given their ubiquity within the environment and humans.
Recently, the Australian Government moved to sue the manufacturing giant 3M for $2.4b NZD, for their use of forever chemicals in firefighting foam, which contaminated numerous defence force bases across the country.
While no such legal action is yet on the cards for New Zealand, increased attention is being given to the presence of PFAS in our environment. In 2022 PFAS were for the first time included in the suite of compounds analysed in a quadrennial groundwater survey.
However, there is still a lack of information on how present PFAS are in Aotearoa New Zealand, so later this year the Environmental Protection Authority will be engaging with councils and other agencies to carry out further groundwater testing. To learn more, producer Theo spoke with the Environmental Protection Authority's acting manager of hazardous substances applications, Dr Shaun Presow.
Last week, the United Nations released a report on the environmental cost of artificial intelligence, giving estimates for the amount of carbon, water, and land that will likely be dedicated to powering AI in the near future. For example, the report predicts that by 2030, Artificial Intelligence could consume 3% of the world’s electricity and require more water than the total amount drunk by the entire population of Earth annually.
However, experts in AI also predict that the technology will continue to become more efficient as time goes on, requiring less electricity, water and land to operate. To explain how all of this can be true at the same time, some people in the AI world have invoked the so-called “Jevons Paradox”—referring to an insight from the Victorian-period economist William Stanely Jevons, who noticed that the increased efficiency of steam engines went hand-in-hand with increased coal consumption.
This morning, producer Toby spoke to Dr. Amanda Turnbull-McRae, senior lecturer in Law at the University of Waikato, about this apparent economic paradox as it relates to the future of AI.
Sugary drinks are a favourite for many children across the country. However, this consumption of high-sugar drinks is proving harmful, with dental issues, heightened risk of diabetes, and other health issues tied to these drinks.
Despite this, sugary drinks are stil readily available to children across Aotearoa New Zealand, even within their schools. This morning, the New Zealand Beverages Guidance Panel, published a policy brief calling for the ban of sugary drinks from school grounds - prohibiting them from being purchased or brought by students into schools
To learn more, I spoke to the University of Auckland’s Dr Gerhard Sundborn, a member of the New Zealand Beverages Guidance Panel, on their policy brief.
i te wiki nei, piet and liv talk about te mohua/yellowhead! a special manu for kai tahu, with some pretty interesting breeding behaviours! whakaronga mai nei!
Ata mārie e te whānau! Milly is off sick today but Rosetta has got your morning covered with What's Up with Carmel Sepuloni, plenty of tunes, yarns, and more. Whakarongo mai nei!
The revelation of hidden correspondence shared between major NZ polluters and a private email account of someone working in the Prime Minister's Office has sparked a spiralling scandal.
Why were the emails not revealed when any such correspondence had been specifically requested if it existed?
Were key law changes made specifically to end a high-profile court case against these polluters?
How could the government’s failure to provide such emails not be in breach of fundamental transparency rules? And what else might be hidden?
The Greens are now asking the Ombudsman to expand his investigation into the emails to use the full breadth of the powers availableto him to determine what has gone down.
And this week the government walked back their plan to fund an import terminal for Liquid Natural Gas with a levy, or tax, on Kiwis’ energy bills. While the policy is still going forward, how it will be funded remains an open question.
And following the energy shock caused by the US war with Iran, the Greens highlighted their support for Rewiring Aotearoa’s Ratepayers' Assistance Scheme to provide cheap loans for installing home solar systems, which they say would make widespread solar uptake accessible to more kiwi’s, lowering energy bills and increasing energy security.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the ongoing scandal over the government's missing emails and energy policy.
join liv in another quest through a wednesday morning on the journey to health and wellness! we have music! we have manu kōrero with piet! andddd most importantly we have new segment: matters of the heart hotline with jessb!!!! holy hecka im actually pissing my pants writing this cos im so excited, god dammit XD
free palestine, toitū te tiriti and trans rights 4eva!
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