The Big Q

Questions – Ideas – Scholarship – Debates

Project for Public Interest Media

Sustain: What role can litigation play in fighting climate change?

European Court of Human Rights, courtroom, 2014 by Adrian Grycuk. Used under CC BY-SA 3.0 PL In recent years, thousands of lawsuits have been filed around the world by private individuals to NGOs and state governments in an attempt to force greater action on climate change through the legal system. They have taken...

Sustain: How can we tackle income inequality and environmental degradation?

On 13th September, Ngā Ara Whetū co-hosted a symposium on the challenges of inequality and environmental degradation with Juncture: Dialogues on Inclusive Capitalism, a research centre based in the Business School at the University of Auckland.

Sustain: What role can local and traditional ecological knowledge play in fighting climate change?

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has outlined a plan for humanity to live in harmony with nature by 2050. Our cities aren’t going away, so how can we use biodiversity as a building block and work with indigenous technologies to take action? Pauline Herbst talks with international landscape designer and keynote speaker at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024, Julia Watson, to answer these questions.

Politics & Society

Sustain: What role can litigation play in fighting climate change?

Sustain: What role can litigation play in fighting climate change?

European Court of Human Rights, courtroom, 2014 by Adrian Grycuk. Used under CC BY-SA 3.0 PL In recent years, thousands of lawsuits have been filed around the world by private individuals to NGOs and state governments in an attempt to force greater action on climate...

Sustain: What are the future of cities in a climate crisis?

Sustain: What are the future of cities in a climate crisis?

Brisbane City Flood 2013. Photo by ShepsSnaps, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 With over half the global population living in urban centres, a number which is projected to rise to around two-thirds by 2050, the relationship between cities and the climate crisis is...

Science & Technology

Sustain: What role can local and traditional ecological knowledge play in fighting climate change?

Sustain: What role can local and traditional ecological knowledge play in fighting climate change?

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has outlined a plan for humanity to live in harmony with nature by 2050. Our cities aren’t going away, so how can we use biodiversity as a building block and work with indigenous technologies to take action? Pauline Herbst talks with international landscape designer and keynote speaker at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024, Julia Watson, to answer these questions.

Sustain: What are the future of cities in a climate crisis?

Sustain: What are the future of cities in a climate crisis?

Brisbane City Flood 2013. Photo by ShepsSnaps, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 With over half the global population living in urban centres, a number which is projected to rise to around two-thirds by 2050, the relationship between cities and the climate crisis is...

Can marine microbes break down microplastics?

Can marine microbes break down microplastics?

Marine plastic pollution is a massive environmental issue, our new study finds no clear correlation between plastic pollution levels and the production of plastic-degrading enzymes by marine microorganisms.

Planet + People vs Plastics

Planet + People vs Plastics

On Earth Day 2024, Ngā Ara Whetū partnered with Te Aka Mātauranga Matepukupuku, the Centre for Cancer Research, to discuss the ubiquitous presence of plastics in our environment, and the impact they are having to the land, sea, air, animals, and on our own health and well-being.

Business & Economics

Is rooftop solar the solution to New Zealand’s energy woes?

Is rooftop solar the solution to New Zealand’s energy woes?

By Stephen Poletti, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Bruce Mountain, Victoria University (Melbourne); Geoff Bertram, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington. Photo used is Solar on Metal Roof by Wikideas1, used under CC0 1.0 Universal. ...

Arts & Culture

Is “Now and Then” really a Beatles song?

Is “Now and Then” really a Beatles song?

Discover the AI-driven revival of the Beatles’ “Now and Then,” exploring its technology, historical context, and its impact on the legendary band’s legacy.

Can NZ step up and address Earth system decline?

Can NZ step up and address Earth system decline?

The Government of Aotearoa New Zealand has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership and action by changing its laws to conform with the laws of nature, writes Klaus Bosselmann. Can NZ step up and help lead?

The fall into the abyss

The fall into the abyss

In April 1909, two waves of massacres shook the province of Adana, located in the southern Anatolia region of modern-day Turkey, killing more than 20,000 Armenians and 2,000 Muslims.

Ngā Ara Whetū

Sustain: What role can local and traditional ecological knowledge play in fighting climate change?

Sustain: What role can local and traditional ecological knowledge play in fighting climate change?

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has outlined a plan for humanity to live in harmony with nature by 2050. Our cities aren’t going away, so how can we use biodiversity as a building block and work with indigenous technologies to take action? Pauline Herbst talks with international landscape designer and keynote speaker at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024, Julia Watson, to answer these questions.