In the Northern Hemisphere where I grew up, Easter is a spring holiday rather than an autumn one. At my home on the outskirts of Detroit we could expect the snow and ice to have melted and crocuses and tulips to be in bloom. After a cold, dark winter, Easter
Nelson Lebo: Too-hard basket is a cop out
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Nelson Lebo
I love the concept of whanau: upon moving to Whanganui six years ago, our family was immediately adopted by Athletic Softball Club. We have dozens of aunties, uncles and cuzzies right here in Wangaz.
I love the concept of kaitiakitanga: having worked in the environmental/sustainability field for three decades, I have never encountered a term that resonates so much in my soul. We've named our farm Kaitiaki as it best represents the regenerative approach we're taking for restore the land to health.
I love living in the first place on the planet where a river has been granted the legal rights of a person. We have completely protected and restored hundreds of metres of our tributary to the Whanganui.
But if there is anything that both holds our community back and reduces the effectiveness of the environmental movement in New Zealand, it is the too-hard basket. I've addressed some of my concerns in the past, and I've written hundreds of columns about what may be our best approach to holistic solutions: eco-design.
Once again, the big issues facing our community are climate change, wealth inequality and what can easily be described as a dismal housing stock.
These issues will cost our community tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue for local businesses, damage to property, and health effects, yet seem never to get traction. The failure to effectively address them makes our community poorer.
Innovative cities around the world address these issues to their advantage. The Rockefeller Foundation's programme, 100 Resilient Cities, highlights the smartest municipal governments on the planet.
Once again, I love Whanganui and I would like to see the environmental movement progress, but unless both let go of the too-hard basket, I'm afraid we'll end up an unmanageable basket case.
Dr Nelson Lebo is a housing consultant, organic farmer and permaculture designer.