Environment – Views & Research

Bird flu has reached New Zealand – what this means and what comes next

Jemma Geoghegan, University of Otago and Nigel French, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

NZ’s overhaul of nature protection laws is a chance to move away from ‘fortress conservation’

Elizabeth Macpherson, University of Canterbury and David Jefferson, University of Canterbury

NZ’s unique fossil record of marine molluscs helps scientists predict extinction risk – before it’s too late

James S. Crampton, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Ten-million-year-old fossil snails in a water-worn boulder from a site in the southern North Island.

NZ’s approval of Roundup relies on industry-funded reviews currently under investigation

Alexander Kaurov, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Person in protective gear and wearing a mask spraying some plants

Climate change will raise the risk of severe heatwaves. NZ homes aren’t ready

Baxter Kamana-Williams, University of Notre Dame; J. Geoffrey Chase, University of Canterbury, and Rebecca Peer, University of Canterbury

NZ’s new forestry rules promise consistency. Will they also increase environmental risk?

Steve Urlich, Lincoln University, New Zealand

NZ’s ‘light-touch’ approach to voluntary carbon and nature markets may unlock finance but risks credibility

Jennifer Campion, University of Waikato

Two pied stilts standing on a mossy bank in a wetland

The universe is less uniform than we thought – cosmology may need a radical rethink

Marco Galoppo, University of Canterbury and Francesco Sylos Labini, Enrico Fermi Research Institute

Distribution of cosmic matter based on DESI data.

As communities face more frequent hazard warnings, we need better systems to avoid ‘emergency fatigue’

Shaun Eaves, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Cathrine Dyer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Stormy seas pound the coastline in the Wellington suburb of Island Bay.

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UN report warns AI could soon use 3% of world’s electricity and more water than we need to drink

Amanda Turnbull-McRae, University of Waikato

Close-up view of computer code displayed on a digital screen, with blurred lines of text and glowing blue and purple light reflections.

‘Like drinking from a firehose’ – what it’s like to be the human in the AI loop

Mary Tate, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Haibo Yang, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

A ‘supereruption’ transformed NZ 350,000 years ago. We now know how it happened

Anna Miller, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Would you buy milk from a gene-edited cow? Consumers may be more open than you think

Damien Mather, University of Otago; Goetz Laible, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, and Kara Xiaohui Ma, University of Otago

The network watching the world’s oceans is under pressure – just when it’s needed most

Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

How can we make buildings more resilient before – and after – earthquakes? We put one solution to the test

Ashkan Hashemi, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

De-extinction company says it’s made an artificial egg – if true, it could help save living species

Nic Rawlence, University of Otago

A newly hatched chicken cupped in hands wearing blue gloves

Honeybees may be helping spread tree-killing myrtle rust – new research

Sacchi Shin-Clayton, University of Cambridge and Jacqueline R Beggs, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Seismic ‘whiplash’ – new research shows what happens when earthquakes stop suddenly

Jesse Kearse, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Toppled building in Hatay, Türkiye, near where a major earthquake stopped in 2023.

Entanglement injuries cause prolonged suffering for whales and dolphins – early intervention is crucial

Karen Stockin, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University and Antonio Fernández, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

A Risso's dolphin entangled in fishing line and plastic bags

Some technologies use accelerated natural processes to capture carbon – but can they store it durably?

Terry Isson, University of Waikato

A tractor spreading rock dust on a field

Environment – Views & Research – The Conversation

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