Water is shaping up as a major issue internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally, and last week's state of the environment report simply reinforced that. But for many people this issue was perhaps most dramatically brought home by a series of articles and press releases this week and last week. There was an algal bloom warning for Lake Tūtira on 13 February, from the Hawke's Bay District Health Board. The district health board's public health unit issued a health warning following the discovery of high levels of cyanobacteria in Lake Tūtira, north of Napier. Exposure to the algae and its toxins can have health effects, including severe skin rashes and stomach upsets, and it can spark hay fever and asthma attacks. The medical officer of health warned that people should not swim in the lake or pursue any recreational activities that would involve contact with the lake water. On 14 February the Dominion Post reported that blue-green algae was still a threat in rivers, and was spreading through the Wellington region, in the Wairarapa, and Hawke's Bay. The algae was blamed for the deaths of three dogs in the Hutt River early last month. Again, a warning was issued for people to stay away from the water. This morning the Waikato District Health Board issued a summer cyanobacteria warning, due to the raised and rapid changes in the levels of blue-green algae. Current warnings remain in force for the Waikare, Whangapē, Kainui, Hakanoa, Waahi, and Ngaroto lakes. Users of all shallow lakes should increase their caution, says the district health board's medical officer of health, and blooms have occurred in Canterbury and Otago. What is noticeably lacking from these reports is any suggestion of the cause, as if it is some kind of an act of God. The view is: "We have these algal blooms. Look, it is not our fault." Well, of course, blue-green algae has always existed in the waterways. But it blooms under conditions of excessive nutrients, and that is a very good indication of water contamination. Yes, it is true that the climate is making things worse. Drought conditions mean less water in the waterways and less flushing of nutrients, and we can expect to see many more droughts in the immediate future, and other extreme weather events, as a result of climate change. But it is not climate that is causing the problem; the problem is the contamination of our waterways. From what? In Hawke's Bay, at average dry water flows, 3,100 cubic metres of partially treated sewage is being pumped into the Tukituki River per day. Although the sewage is allowed to break down, it still contains contaminants. The resource consent expires in 2015, at which time the point-source discharges will be upgraded — 2015! The local authorities consider it acceptable to keep using Hawke's Bay rivers as a sewerage pipe for another 8 years. In Wellington and the Waikato the pollution can be traced directly to pastoral farming. It is the major environmental problem of this country and of the world. It is New Zealand's sacred cow, and we have an unquestioned drive to increase the intensification and the extent of dairy farming in this country, because it is making such good money. Meanwhile, the taxpayer is directly subsidising it through payment for its greenhouse gas emissions. When my office contacted Environment Waikato to discuss the algal blooms, we were told that they were not uncommon and that they occurred every summer in the lakes. That is like those people who say: "I do not have a drinking problem. I get drunk, I fall over — no problem." It is the same kind of attitude. Just because it happens every year, are we to take it that we should not be concerned about algal blooms in the Waikato lakes? We were also told that some of the shallow lakes have chronic blooms all year round, and that this is a product of being shallow. No; it is a product of being polluted. The shallowness just makes the lakes more sensitive ecosystems and, therefore, they require more protection, not less. The problem is that we have removed the natural buffers in the ecosystems through our drive for profit and economic growth. We have taken our environment to the limit, and under climate change those buffers will be needed more than ever. We are still waiting for national water standards from this Government. We have to start to question the drive for the intensification and expansion of dairy farming all over this country, which is driving our waterways to absolute contamination and is responsible for a large proportion of our greenhouse gases. We have to start taking our environment seriously.