A tyre-recycling firm that has been blocked from adding to a tyre mountain in Kawerau has an undischarged bankrupt in a key management role and is overseen by a man who was linked to the crash of Cobb & Co.

"This is one of New Zealand's biggest ports - if we can't contain this, how are we going to deal with off-shore drilling? I don't think we can really take the risk."

As the people of Tauranga are once again having to deal with an oil spill in their harbour, we can't help but look back at the threat sunken ships pose to the environment, writes Sam Judd.

A publicly-owned entity must pay Mobil almost $1m in courts costs for its failed attempt to get the oil company to pay for the clean-up of Auckland's tank farm.

Energy Minister Simon Bridges agrees with some of the messages of protestors outside a petroleum summit being held in Auckland today.

Oil and gas sector leaders meet in Auckland today as the industry confronts depressed global prices and conference delegates face protests from activists.

The income earned by extracting phosphate would be $9.7 million per sq km, compared with $9000 per sq km annually from bottom trawling.

A massive pipi bed in Whangarei harbour is dying and there are fears the change could destabilise the harbour - and Marsden Point itself, Radio NZ reports.

A group of young adventurers are taking to the water in some unusual kayaks in a bid to battle plastic pollution.

More than 25,000kg of plastic waste is littered in NZ each day — and each of us mismanages seven grams of it daily.

People who live beside Auckland's Southern Motorway are subjected to air pollution at nearly double the level of those 130m further away, research shows.

A public health warning has been issued for a picturesque West Auckland lagoon amid fears the water is contaminated by leaking septic tanks from baches.

If a map in the Herald this week was an accurate reflection of reality, there would be good reason to exercise considerable caution before swimming at many of Auckland's beaches.

Climate Change Minister Tim Groser says NZ faces "a big challenge" in making new commitments to cut emissions, following a global agreement in Peru.

Could teamwork deliver a plan to save the Hauraki Gulf for future generations? Science reporter Jamie Morton considers the issue.

As $100 million of shiny new craft go on display at Auckland's On the Water Boat Show, the Hauraki Gulf has received a damning report about its health.

No party in an election campaign has a monopoly on wisdom; most have something important to say.

New Zealanders are evenly divided about whether farmers are moving quickly enough to reduce their impact on the environment, a Herald DigiPoll survey shows.

Plans to build the world's largest solar power plant have been scrapped after the Australian govt's commitment to clean energy questioned.

In our view the policies announced will not be enough to constrain, let alone halt, degradation of waterways until they hit the rather lax bottom lines the Government has stipulated, writes Gareth Morgan and Geoff Simmons.

Energy Minister Simon Bridges is defending a $240,000 bill for taxpayers to wine and dine 11 oil executives during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The National Policy Statement (NPS) for freshwater may not have razzmatazz, but it arose from that exercise in consensual collaboration called the Land and Water Forum.

Australia's decision to repeal its levy limiting fossil-fuel pollution makes it the first nation to turn back from a market approach to fighting global warming.