Power to Philippa

RESEARCH: Dr Philippa Wells

Dr Philippa Wells, a senior lecturer in commercial law at AUT's Business Faculty, recently graduated with a PhD on the environmental history of hydro-electric power in New Zealand. Her doctoral thesis is the faculty's first.

She pored over articles, books and internet sites to research three specific case studies, Bowen Falls in Fiordland in the 1920s, Lake Manapouri in the 1960s and Project Aqua on the Waitaki River (2003 and 2004).

What she found disappointed her. "We think we treat the environment well but we do have environmental problems,'' she says, describing how New Zealanders look at the small problems but ignore more important ones.

"We have to question whether there is sufficient research on issues like declining fisheries, climate change or the cleanliness of fuels.''

Her next project focuses on the history of Meridian Energy and how the company has managed itself and its reputation.

She will look specifically at Project Aqua and compare it with a similar case involving Buttle Lake in the Strathcona Regional Park in Canada.