Memoirs track journey from petrolhead to environmentalist

Mike Joy once worked as a government secret agent. (Image: Bridget Williams Books)

Sun, 18 Aug 2024

It’s an All Blacks test night in 2013. In Southland, every farmer is settled in front of the telly or down at the local pub.Well, not quite all. Around 10 farmers give the big game a miss to sit in the front row at a public lecture organised by an environmental group. They all wear a "grumpy, sneering look" on their faces.The speaker is scientist Dr Mike Joy, an expert in freshwater ecology. Over the years, he has been something of a bête noire for many in the farming industry with his warnings on the deterioration of New...

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