Environment – Views & Research

Support expert insights and fact-based journalism.

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

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

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

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

‘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

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

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

Anna Miller, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

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

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

Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Read NZ's best experts in science, health, business and more.

Get our free NZ Weekly newsletter

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

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

Nature is good for business – and we now have numbers to show it

Paul Griffin, University of California, Davis and Martien Lubberink, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

A tractor spreading rock dust on a field

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

Terry Isson, University of Waikato

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.

Future big droughts may be worse than we think – NZ’s past shows why

Adam Brown, University of Waikato; Dave Frame, University of Canterbury, and Luke Harrington, University of Waikato

Cyclone Gabrielle exposed the risks of forestry slash. New research suggests little has changed

Steve Urlich, Lincoln University, New Zealand and Alex Williamson, Lincoln University, New Zealand

Antarctica’s ice shelves are vulnerable to melting from below – knowing how far ocean heat reaches is crucial

Craig Stevens, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Earth Sciences New Zealand; Christina Hulbe, University of Otago, and Craig Stewart, Earth Sciences New Zealand

A field camp nearly 900 kilometres from the ocean-facing edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Cities are getting hotter – and bigger. New research reveals the scale of the challenge

Hamish Lewis, University of Waikato and Luke Harrington, University of Waikato

An ‘ordinary’ storm with extraordinary impacts: what made Wellington’s deluge so intense?

James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Whale strandings draw emotional responses. But repeated rescues can cause more harm

Karen Stockin, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

A rescuer uses a paddle to place wet towels over a stranded humpback whale off the island of Poel during efforts to save it on April 17, 2026.

Environment – Views & Research – The Conversation

Top stories