Now PCPs and agri chemicals need the same research and dedication from environmental warriors like Joe Harawira - the sheriff of Swap (Saw Mill Workers Against Poisons), who passed away last week in Whakatane.
Environmental warriors are what we need a lot more of if we are to continue trading on our clean green image that is rapidly slipping away inAotearoa - the long dark cloud of dirty dairying and closer to home the Spray of Plenty.
Dr Mike Joy is one such environmental warrior and leading light well worth following, as are the opinions of columnist Rachel Stewart, whose classic quote recently says it all.
"You see, it's not cows shitting in rivers that's the biggest problem. It's nitrates or nitrogen from all those millions of cow's urine entering the soil and leaching into surface or groundwater. They don't want you catching on to that fact.
"So far, no amount of fencing and planting, or the quoting of debatable regional council statistics saying so, has managed to stave off further degradation of waterways.
To add to the problem, there is a lag effect. In other words, it will be a few years before we see the worst impacts of the last 15 years of massive dairy intensification."
In my view, the same can be said about copper based sprays that have a shelf life of 65 years. Even if we stopped spraying them now and tested the whenua for toxicity, the fact is the 60 tonnes of it we are pouring on every year will be an invoice our kids and their kids will have to pay.
All of this will come back to bite us on the bum just like dirty dairying is doing now.
The old adage "Knowledge = Responsibility" was used a lot by the sheriff of Swap, followed up by "Once you know - you know, eh Bro!"
Sure we need our haka and waka warriors, our reo warriors and our waiata warriors, but without the health of our whenua and our waterways, our whanau will be landless long before we could be language less.
Joe knew this and encouraged the tree huggers and Greenpeace to pick up the kaupapa and put it on the front page.
The answer for us old hippies is simple. "Don't panic - go organic" just as our ancestors were.
"Aotearoa - The land of The Chemical Free Cloud" or The Organic Capitol of the world!"
sounds like a winner to me.
Isn't this the reason we are experiencing a tsunami of tourists while the rest of the planet drowns in profit before people practices known as global warming - where cash is king and profit is the prize.
Joe was a man from Paroa - Ngati Awa, and he could rattle off chemical compositions quicker than a racecaller at Te Teko on cup day.
His knowledge of Matauranga Maori and natural rongoa (natural medicine) were of a doctorate level - yet he was self taught and earneda title of sheriff of Swap.
If Joe was sheriff then his loyal deputy Kereama was his deputy and will carry the cause admirably.
How fitting that the sheriff of Swap was buried last Thursday right at the gates of the sawmill he worked in and tirelessly campaigned against.
One thing is for sure, the sheriff will be keeping an eye on the mill and downloading his matauranga wisdom to his deputy Kereama.
broblack@xtra.co.nz