Not something ‘necessary’ at this point in NZ with its wide open spaces, however, inspiring nevertheless for those high rise city dwellers who want to get started growing their own food. It is very do able.
“We’re replacing food that was being grown in Mexico or California and shipped in,” explains Penny. “We feel like the community’s really ready for a project like this. Everybody’s so much more aware of the need to reduce transportation, and people like to know their farmer and where food’s coming from.”
“Indeed, by growing your food directly in the city you save money (and reduce pollution) on transportation; you also save a lot of time and effort too….”
Submission on RDC’s Leachate Disposal into the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Marton
On February 24th Hamish Allen, a Marton resident, presented a submission to the panel on a topic that is not considered to be part of the consent hearings. (For a background to the consent applications to quadruple the size of the Bonny Glen landfill go HERE). Neither, as was pointed out prior to the hearings, were property values or trucks. Ironically, since these are the very concerns which automatically arise when a neighbouring landfill announces plans to quadruple in size. Nevertheless, Allen’s submission concerns the leachate that is disposed of through Marton’s Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and has been for nine or so years (deemed the RDC’s concern, not Midwest Disposals’) . This has been, rather than a formal arrangement on paper … a ‘gentleman’s agreement’. The levels have been poorly reported and only sporadically tested with many non compliances, as Allen’s submission demonstrates. He has supported his submission with documented evidence. There have been by all appearances, no penal consequences issued by Horizons for these failures in compliance by the RDC. Following is Allen’s submission which outlines the history of how the Marton Community Committe (MCC) of which he was a member at the time, tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to address this in 2011. There needs to be accountability here … as Allen points out in his submission
‘there can be no economy on a dead planet’.
The consistent placing of economic interests over the environment is NOT sustainable. The very principles our regional authorities are purporting to pursue … “Maintaining and enhancing our Region’s land, water, air, coast and habitat protection” (from Horizons’ website) … are being held in flagrant disregard. These electedrepresentatives need to be held accountable. You can assist with that process by attending the Marton Community Committee Meetings and lodging your objections there:
MARTON COMMUNITY COMMITTEE
Location: Youth Club, Centennial Park Pavilion, Humphrey Street, Marton
Wednesday 11th March 2015 7.00 pm
At the end of the submission below here, the original compliance and non-compliance reports will be available to access by this weekend, 28th Feb 2015. Any inserts of photocopied evidence within the submission can be clicked on to enlarge.
April 1 “deadline” for electricity meter certification
It has been reported to http://www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz by many NZers that they have been told by representatives of their power company that there is a government deadline for electricity meter replacement by April 1 2015.
This is NOT true.
What the Electricity Authority (EA) regulations state is that meters need to have a current certification at that time.
If you live in a relatively new home (built during or after October 1999) your electricity meter will be certified up until and beyond April 1 2015….
Read the rest of this important update from Katherine Smith at the stopsmartmeters NZ website …. HERE
Heart problems resolve after smart meter modem disconnected
The link below describes how serious heart problems (that required multiple medical investigations) began after the installation of a smart meter and ended after the smart meter’s modem (which produces the microwave radiation) was disconnected to deactivate it.
This is a very good newsletter and it is free so please share this with colleagues, friends and family…The information could be lifesaving for some people. Thank you!
The Dominion Post recently covered the fact that the NZ Privacy Commissioner has received complaints regarding smart meters and privacy, so thank you to the people who took the initiative to complain – your complaints helped to increase public awareness of the smart meter issue. You can access the story through the link below:
That’s all for this update. Thank you to everyone who is helping with this campaign by running events in their communities, emailing people on their lists and sharing links through Facebook, as well as undertaking many other initiatives.
The Manawatu Standard reports on the submissions hearing.
Landfill extension opposed
25 Feb 2015
“The application has drawn opposition from neighbouring property owners. There were 62 submissions to the resource consent application….
Turakina resident Richard Grant said in his submission that many residents were worried about the effect of water running off the landfill and into a small stream that ran through the town.
He said leachate was an unknown factor and could affect the quality of the water.”
“Leachate from the Bonny Glen Landfill could make Marton’s wastewater sludge too toxic to be trucked back to the landfill for disposal, Geoff Mills says…
Mr Mills lives in Marton and works in the water quality and water treatment sector. For the last 15 years most of his work has been overseas…
The Marton system has been unable to continuously comply with its resource consent for years, Mr Mills said, despite spending to improve it. Reports have said leachate from Bonny Glen is likely to be having a major effect…
It would be a long and costly process to determine the right pre-treatment for “abnormal waste such as tannery wastes”, Mr Mills said. He was not confident the result would work well, or that the company would be asked to pay the true cost.”
Geoff and his wife Gretta, who both made submissions asked for the hearing to be adjourned until the problem of the leachate disposal is sorted however were denied and told the consent ….“only concerned effects at the actual Bonny Glen site – regardless of whether decisions on it had effects elsewhere.”
The very topic that is of most concern to many local residents, as previously indicated here, has been effectively sidelined off the books. Another Marton resident, Hamish Allen, also made a submission regarding the leachate and was reminded that the topic was not part of the hearing. It is the Council’s concern we are told, and yet, the both the Council and Horizons have shown themselves to be grossly negligent over the issue … many years of missing reports regarding the levels of pollution discharged into the local waterways with neither a reprimand nor a penal consequence imposed. The public need to become persistent here in requiring both explanations for historical negligence, and transparent accountability for their future handling of this matter, and in particular the apparent collusion between the parties. We have here a typical example of corporate persuasion. The very organization that ratepayers believe are representing them, by all appearances are representing the conglomerate that is seeking to turn our ‘unspoilt’ region into a sewer (or toilet bowl) pretty much.
As an additional note here, this sway that is now commonly held by corporations over governments and regional authorities world wide is a sign of new times to come. This situation will become even worse should the TPPA be signed by our Prime Minister who is currently taking part in negotiations that are secret and that they refuse to divulge to the very people whom they will effect. The TPPA will give corporations the right to sue governments if they refuse to comply with their demands. It is happening already. You can research this at the itsourfuture website. (Links are on this site’s TPPA page.)
“British researchers uncovered the connection between processed foods and reduced IQ. They followed what 14,000 children ate and drank at the ages of 3, 4, 7, and 8.5 years of age…”
An article from naturalsociety.com that surely reminds us of why we need to limit our childrens’ intake of processed foods.This takes some determination on the part of parents given the pressure of advertising that targets our children, and the ‘convenience’ of prepackaged foods for busy lifestyles. Organic is best for growing little bodies. If cost is a problem, weigh up what you will spend on medical expenses in the long run. Growing your own is another option. This all just requires rethinking our priorities and forward planning. Read the Natural Society article HERE
The Wanganui Chronicle continues to report on the submissions hearing in Feilding this past week…
Litter, smell and vermin plague tip’s neighbours
By laurel.stowell@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
9:00 AM Saturday Feb 21, 2015
Litter, smell and vermin from the Bonny Glen Landfill will only increase if it is expanded, Linda O’Neill says.
She and her husband Chris live in one of the closest houses to the Midwest Disposals landfill near Marton. On Thursday they made a submission to the hearing considering whether to allow it to expand.
They oppose the full extent of the expansion, and especially the full 160m height the “mountain of rubbish” would attain.
When they bought their property in 2008 they didn’t know the landfill could expand. At that stage it was due to close either in 2028 or when it was full – whichever happened first….. READ THE ARTICLE HERE
Somebody I know locally, as we discussed food and what’s in it these days, handed me an additive list she takes shopping with her so she knows which items to avoid. The list comes from an excellent website I’d not seen before … and one which is closer to home for Kiwis. The site is www.additivealert.com.au
Described there are, of 300 additives in our food, 60 that are particularly questionable, and some pose definite health risks. Some of them are known carcinogens. They advertise a book there called ‘Additive Alert’ by Julie Eady.
“This book is the essential consumers guide to selecting
food that is as risk free as current knowledge will permit. Presenting a well thought out and logical flow of information, it is easy to read and understand. “Additive Alert” makes real healthy food choices simpler for us all. An absolute must for the health conscious.”
Dr Joanne Samer MB.BS, Post Grad Dip Health Science, Perth WA
Like the EWG site, you can search these & identify the side effects of additives. One for instance is number 102, called Tartrazine, and is linked to hyperactivity, skin rashes, migraines, behavioural problems, thyroid problems and chromosome damage. It has been banned in Norway and Austria.
Check out the website and add it to your favourites if you find it useful. In addition, if you find additives in your favourite products, vote with your wallet, obviously, and don’t buy, but also, consider phoning the makers of these products and ask that they desist from using the additive/s. If they won’t, tell them you won’t buy them. Consider, if every consumer did this, things would change fairly quickly: Visit Additive Alert
From the Wanganui Chronicle … article by Zaryd Wilson as the submissions hearing continues in Feilding …
Company expects tougher rules in landfill expansion
By Zaryd Wilson
6:44 AM Wednesday Feb 18, 2015
EXPANSION PLANS: The resource consent hearing to expand the Bonny Glen landfill began in Feilding yesterday. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY 160215WCBRCBONN02
“Bonny Glen is an essential piece of regional infrastructure and new consents will provide greater environmental protection – that’s the view of Midwest Disposals, which wants to expand its waste operation there significantly.
The consent hearing for the expansion of the landfill near Marton began in Feilding yesterday in front of three independent commissioners, with the landfill company putting its case first.” ….
Submitters on the extension to the Bonny Glen landfill are having to “put their lives on hold” because they haven’t been given a time slot to speak at a resource consent hearing.
A hearing is under way in Marton on the proposed extension of the landfill near Marton.
Rangitikei District councillor Soraya Peke-Mason, who on Monday said the decision to hold the hearing outside Rangitikei was an “insult”, has again criticised the process. She said many submitters in her Turakina Ward were still waiting for a time slot…. read the full article HERE
Comment:
I agree with the concerns outlined to date. The venue to begin with is totally impractical for people who are working or unable to travel this distance daily for the 9 days of the hearings. As has been pointed out in this article, folks are waiting around for a time slot. All of this works against a fair and democratic process. The professionals involved in this process, the people who have spent $1.5 million investing in it and defending it … their salaries will continue and time off work for them is not required. It is their work. The folk who will have to live with these important decisions being made here, are having stumbling blocks put in their way. How many employers are going to freely give these folk time off their work to participate? Who is going to take valuable vacation time off to tend to business? Ordinary people need to survive. Having negotiated these obstacles they are now forced to wait around in uncertainty to speak.
And how difficult can it be to arrange this locally, within reach of the participants, with a practical timetable made well in advance of the event so folks can prepare accordingly? Clearly the decision to hold the even in Feilding has come as a complete surprise going by Cr Peke-Mason’s criticisms on Feb 16th. Let’s face it, these decisions involve not only the lives of those making submissions, but the lives of their children and grandchildren. Midwest is seeking for consents for a quadrupled landfill with a life span of over 30+ years. It’s very clear here who is the dog and who is the tail in this process.
Kiwis in particular readily use glyphosate, the active ingredient in the popular product called Roundup, because it is advertised as ‘safe’ and ‘biodegradable’. Glyphosate is an integral part of the GE food industry because it is sprayed on GM crops. The seeds for those crops are genetically modified to tolerate the herbicide, therefore it becomes ingested by whoever eats it. However, France’s highest Court has ruled that Monsanto lied about its safety and has deceived the public. Roundup/Glyphosate is not biodegradable. This brief video explains how the industry works to promote the view that it is safe. The following short video (3 1/2 minutes) is from http://www.naturalhealth365.com
http://www.naturalhealth365.com offers this exclusive interview with Jeffrey Smith, a leading consumer advocate promoting the health benefits of non-GMO food choices.
Video highlights include:
How genetically engineered foods got approved. (shocking facts!)
Suspicious Food and Drug Administration behavior exposed.
The scientifically-proven health dangers associated with eating GMOs.
Revealing truths about the most dangerous (genetically modified) chemical on the planet.
Plus, much more!
In less than 4 minutes, this video is packed with lifesaving information for you and your family. Help us spread the word and share this video with everyone.
To hear the entire interview with Jonathan Landsman and Jeffrey Smith plus much more – join us inside the NaturalNews Inner Circle, a monthly subscription – by clicking the link below: http://www.naturalnews.com/NaturalNew…
To learn more about glyphosate and its dark side, and to become active in persuading the Rangitikei District Council to restrict its use in the Rangitikei, visit the glyphosate page on this site by clicking thisLINK
This article is from the Wanganui Chronicle regarding the venue for the submission hearings …. Rangitikei District Council’s Soraya Peke-Mason has slammed the decision for hearings to be held in Feilding ….
By zaryd.wilson@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
Monday Feb 16, 2015
“Soraya Peke-Mason has slammed a decision to hold a hearing on the expansion of the Bonny Glen landfill outside the district, calling it an “insult” to Rangitikei ratepayers.
Midwest Disposals Ltd, which runs the landfill near Marton, has applied for resource consents with Rangitikei District Council and Horizons Regional Council to expand the operation…..” read the full ARTICLE HERE
In true corporate style Midwest Disposals has (quite legitimately & legally) managed to sidestep most of the very issues the average person would be concerned enough about to make a submission. With just two weeks to wade through 1500 pages of legalese, after the announced application for consent to quadruple in size back in May 2014, 60+ people braved it and did just that. However (and knowing this in advance would’ve been useful) any concerns about increased truck traffic, property values and the leachate disposal … well they’re the responsibility of, not Midwest, but the NZ Transport Agency, RDC and Horizons… and RDC incidentally have already failed to keep consistent and accurate records about leachate volumes being dumped in the Waste Water Treatment Plant … and Horizons appear to have done little about that besides slap them on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. (In case you missed that item of news it appeared a few days before Christmas in the Wanganui Chronicle). Close examination of the consent compliance forms reveals regular non compliance with little if anything in the way of consequences. So neither of these organizations it appears, is doing their job properly.
Regarding the submission issues, the operative words are … (this from your RDC & Horizons representatives)… ‘maybe’ and ‘might’. On the important issue of property prices, “the RMA focuses on the direct effects of the proposal which, depending on their severity, may in turn affect property prices, therefore devaluation of property is a secondary effect”.
Regarding the nuisance of truck traffic through town, Midwest says it is not their responsibility what route the trucks use. It is stated that this is the heavy traffic bypass. Perhaps this needs to be reviewed then. No doubt when that route was originally designated as such, the volume would have been a lot less. Given a member of the public has counted a conservative estimate of 35 trucks in a morning, surely an alternative rural route could now be designated for heavy traffic that is headed to the landfill.
There was also complaint about the refuse dropping off trucks. It’s reported that this is the responsibility of the Transport Agency … so people need now to be vigilant in reporting, until this is satisfactorily dealt with.
As to volume of truck traffic, a trucking report last year (links in updates here) assured the public they didn’t anticipate an increase … even though the rubbish volume was set to quadruple. I wonder how this will be achieved?
As to animal deaths. Midwest is agreeing to pay for deaths of stock for which refuse has been proven to be the cause via an autopsy. Should there be no proof arising from the autopsy then the farmer pays. So it is a matter of gambling with that cost and for many I suspect it will be more cost effective to flag the autopsy and write it off as a loss.
Midwest also intends to make a formal agreement with the RDC regarding leachate disposal instead of the former ‘gentleman’s agreement’. Which is what should have been done in the first place. For 8+ years, who knows how much leachate has gone into the waterways that has been beyond acceptable levels? We may never know. Is anybody at all concerned?
Submissions will be heard in Feilding this week, 17 February 2015. Information can be viewed on Horizons Website HERE
Midwest Disposal’s Bonny Glen Landfill near Marton
In spite of a prior pricing agreement with Midwest Disposals, a report by the Masterton District Council’s Finance Manager David Paris (December 2014) has detailed an unexpected cost increase in gate fees to take effect from Jan 1st this year. The district’s three Wairarapa Councils have an agreement with Midwest to accept their solid waste that extends to 2018 and includes fixed pricing. This increase in the gate fee of $3/tonne was justified by Midwest on the basis that they need to cover the increase and cost of NZ Carbon Units, part of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that came into effect from 1 January 2013. Under this scheme operators are required to purchase credits based on tonnage.
Masterton Council expressed at their meeting that they believe they have grounds to dispute the increase (you can read the full details in the Council records at this link) legal costs and expert advice would negate any savings that could be achieved by arguing the cost down. (There is a clause in the agreement that allows Midwest to pass on other levies.)
Prices were to increase from 1 February 2015, allowing time for operators to be advised of the changes. The cost would also be passed on to domestic consumers and prices for trailers, vans and utes would be increased. And kerbside bags, not yet, but will be looked at in the next review.
Here we have a classic example of low-key corporate bullying. This company whose actions the Council believed they had the grounds to dispute did not do so … purely on the basis that the whole exercise would be too expensive and therefore not cost effective. And as always in these cases the cost is recouped from the consumers. So here we have a precedent; any other binding agreement Midwest chooses to renege on in the future, they can, for exactly the same reason … the financial cost is too high for a Council budget to oppose. This makes a laughing stock of any agreement really. What is an agreement worth if it’s not binding? Why even make one if you have no intentions of sticking to it? This is the reality of corporate license.
Back in 2009 the Wairarapa News reported on the impact rubbish disposal prices were having on low income residents. It was said then that because the Masterton District Council has opted to go for the user-pays model, people were having to pay upfront for council bags and at the tip face, and for many that was a good $10 out of a $60 per week budget for food. These changes were initiated in 2005 with the proposed closure of their Nursery Road tip.
Clearly the cost of rubbish disposal is hitting people evidenced by the regular dumping of refuse around public street receptacles, clothing bins and along roadsides outside of town and city boundaries.
Here we have an excerpt from the award winning Take Back Your Power movie by Josh del Sol, that illustrates the lengths to which power companies are going to enforce installation of the new, dangerous ‘Smart Meters’, also known here as ‘Advanced Meters’. It is well documented that they are a proven health risk. Health Professional, Dr David Carpenter has said that “… we have evidence from a whole variety of other sources of RF exposure that demonstrates convincingly and consistently that exposure to RF radiation at elevated levels for long periods of time increases the risk of cancer, increases the damage to the nervous system, causes electrosensitivity, has adverse reproductive effects, and a variety of other effects on different organ systems…”
Anecdotally I have heard local Rangitikei reports of similar persistence to that demonstrated in the above video, where power company personnel have shown up at the door as many as three separate times, to attempt to install these meters. And all this in spite of the fact that the consumer has clearly written to the company telling them they do not want one. I have also heard, since beginning my own research into Smart Meters, reports by people saying the meters make them feel unwell and their power bill has escalated sky high. When these people ask for the meter to be removed they are met with refusal. Remember, you can vote with your wallet and find a company that will replace it with a non Smart Meter. There are other options.
If you don’t have a Smart Meter yet I urge you to watch Josh del Sol’s movie and educate yourself. There is plenty of information online … and particularly in the case of NZ, visit http://www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz There you will find out how to avoid getting a Smart Meter, how to get rid of one, the health issues associated with them and other up to date information. (Smart Meters emit radiation that has been classified as carcinogenic). For general information and further links visit this site’s Smart Meter page.
It is advised you lock up your current analogue meter if you still have one, especially if it is on the outside of your house, and put a notice on it stating you do not want a Smart Meter installed. Power companies have been known to call whilst the owner is away and install without permission. If your meter is indoors, ensure that all the occupants know not to let the power company personnel inside. And above all, write to your power company and the meter owner (they are separate companies) stating your explicit wishes not to have a Smart Meter installed. There is no law that says you have to have one. There are forms on the stopsmartmeter site you can adapt with your own details and use for that purpose.
Knowledge is power. It is easier to prevent the installation of a Smart Meter than it is to arrange for its removal once you have one.
France has featured historically in its awareness and acknowledgement of the environmental and health dangers of herbicides with their highest court ruling that the Monsanto corporation had deceived the public with its ‘safe’ advertising of their own product, Roundup. Here they have moved again to protect the public, particularly vulnerable pre-schoolers, from wifi. The protection of our young ones is particularly important as their brains are still developing. They are being exposed to radiation from wifi in their classrooms for 5+ hours per day and daycare, often longer. This article is cited on Josh Del Sol’s website, http://www.takebackyourpower.net (the original at http://www.lemonde.fr is in French). ~ Rangitikei Environmental Health Watch ~
Here is the French article:
Two years in the works, a new law governing public exposure to electromagnetic fields generated by wireless technology (including base stations, mobile phones, tablets, and WiFi) was adopted by the Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) on Thursday, January 29. It was passed by a majority vote, while the UDI Party abstained – except Bertrand Pancher (Meuse), who voted in favor. The UMP voted against it, seeing it as an barrier to the development of digital industries.
This new law – the first in France to establish a precautionary approach addressing the potential health risks of radio frequencies – is the result of a real obstacle course, during which its initial ambitions were seriously downgraded. The Bill, filed in January 2013 by the MNA for Val-de-Marne Laurence Abeille (Europe Ecologie-Greens) had been referred to committee by the Socialists, before returning to the National Assembly in January 2014, under a watered-down form, and then to be adopted in first reading by the Senate in June 2014.
Now, we know that most folks think Roundup is so safe you can drink it. A local farmer told me when it was first introduced back in the ’70s it was advertised as being as safe as ‘Sunlight Liquid’ dishwash. If you really think it’s safe, visit the Glyphosate page on this site. It has been linked by independent, peer reviewed research with many illnesses, including cancer & birth defects. Especially, read the research and watch the video from the French team of scientists who tested this product for two years on lab rats (there on the ‘glyphosate’ page). They grew enormous tumours. Monsanto tested their own product on lab rats for just three months. It was given long term approval and here we are more than 3 decades later and it is still be slathered everywhere, and particularly on GE, Roundup read crops. Many farmers use it pre harvest on their wheat. We are ingesting this stuff from many fronts. Educate yourself and spread the word.
Here is the article from the Natural Society website that says Roundup has been found in Froot Loops! No surprizes there … it’s also been found in human breast milk. It has to stop… read article on Fruit Loops, other cereals and GE foods.
From the ZME Science website….by Mihai Andrei
Environmental Health Watch NZ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.