Dr Mike Joy to deliver 2014 Bruce Jesson Lecture

Friday, October 10, 2014
Dr Mike Joy to deliver 2014 Bruce Jesson Lecture

The ongoing decline in water quality across New Zealand is a threat to our global ‘clean green’ reputation, and future generations will end up paying the price of our short-term thinking, says Dr Mike Joy from Massey University.

The outspoken environmentalist is coming to Auckland to deliver the 2014 Bruce Jesson Lecture at the Maidment Theatre on October 15.

His speech entitled Paradise Squandered; New Zealand’s Environmental Asset Stripping will investigate potential solutions to the current environmental problems New Zealand faces with our lakes, rivers and groundwater in a critical state.

Dr Joy is a senior lecturer in ecology and environmental science at the ecology group in the Institute of Agriculture and Environment at Massey University’s Manawatū campus.

“Despite false claims to the contrary from the Ministry for the Environment and some regional councils, water quality is not stable or improving – it is getting worse at most sites in developed catchments.

“Economic gains from intensive farming are illusory because the true cost of environmental damage is not being included. These externalities increase with intensification and are effectively subsidised through degrading our environment at no cost to the industry,” Dr Joy says.

“We are squandering our clean image and reality for short-term economic gains for a few, shifting the costs to future generations.”

The Bruce Jesson Lecture is presented by the University of Auckland’s Politics and International Relations programme in the School of Social Sciences, and the Bruce Jesson Foundation.

Event details:
When: Wednesday October 15
Where: Maidment Theatre, Alfred Street, Auckland
When: The lecture starts at 6.30 pm

The Maidment Bar will be open from 5.30 pm.

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