Climate scientist and guitarist, Dr Dave Lowe, combining a talk at the Turner Centre with visiting the Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival
Climate scientist to give talk in Kerikeri
Vision Kerikeri in conjunction with Carbon Neutral NZ Trust is hosting renowned client scientist Dr Dave Lowe at the Turner Centre.
Lowe established the Baring Head air monitoring station after being inspired by the work of American scientist Charles David Keeling, whose measurements on Mauna Loa in Hawaii provided the first evidence of rising atmospheric CO2 levels.
The work delivered pristine data free from contamination and showed CO2 levels in the Southern Hemisphere were rising. His research on carbon isotopes provided undeniable evidence the increase in atmospheric CO2 was due to the burning of fossil fuels.
He contributed to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
As a researcher and educator, Lowe was one of the lead authors of a 2007 United Nations report recognised with a Nobel Prize. For his contribution to environmental science, he was presented with the 2020 Wellingtonian of the Year award and his memoir The Alarmist won the EH McCormick best non-fiction title at the 2022 NZ book awards.
Despite these significant scientific contributions, Lowe’s career has been marked by frustration. He has long warned of the dire consequences of unchecked emissions and has faced numerous confrontations with climate change deniers. Reflecting on his career, Lowe often laments the slow pace of societal response to scientific warnings.
His career spans five decades and he has witnessed the escalating impacts of climate change firsthand. He is now retired but remains active in the climate science community. He lives in a carbon-efficient cottage in Petone, Wellington, where he continues to advocate for urgent climate action.
As a guitarist, he is combining his visit to Kerikeri with taking in various venues at the Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival.
His talk at the Turner Centre is called A Damaged Earth, but not a broken one. Entry fee is pay what you can from $5, Sunday, 5.30pm in the Theatre Bar. turnercentre.co.nz
National Poetry Day
As if to quantify the quote from Robert Louis Stevenson that “wine is bottled poetry”, National Poetry Day is being celebrated at the end of August.
It has been a staple of the country’s literary calendar for 27 years, started by Booksellers NZ. In 2015 the NZ Book Awards took over the event’s management and a year later a street poster company became the sponsor, which is why it’s now called the Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.
There are several events planned around Northland. In Oneonesix in Bank St Whangarei there is planned an evening when local poets will read their works.
Young writers can have their work published through the Be Published initiative, which fosters creativity and participation. Poems are due on August 23 at Tauraroa Area School.
Budding poets aged 12 and under can enter the Ranui-on-Hokianga Poetry competition with the theme “Stars”.
In addition, the Kohukohu Library Prize invites poets to showcase their talent with entries that include the word “through”. Judge for that competition is renowned author and poet Glenn Colquhoun.
Publicist and co-ordinator for the Northland events is Bay of Islands-based Gill Hughes. She said it was inspiring to witness the region’s rich poetic heritage.
“It comes to life through a variety of events and competitions and Northland’s participation underscores the nationwide celebration of words and creativity.”
Changes to speed limits in Paihia
In June, the Far North District Council published a story on their website about new speed limits coming into effect in Paihia and surrounds.
The speed limit (which reduces from 50km/h to 40km/h) covers Marsden Road, the main waterfront road, and some surrounding, smaller, roads.
Marsden Road (SH11) comes under the jurisdiction of Waka Kotahi (NZTA) since it’s a state highway and the surrounding roads are under the jurisdiction of FNDC.
Advertising the speed limit changes in Paihia almost slipped under the radar. On their website, Waka Kotahi mentions various Bay of Islands roads with speed limit reductions but the central Paihia speed limit is buried in the third paragraph of four.
There are, in fact, a myriad and fluctuating number of speed limits from Opua through to Paihia, Haruru Falls and Puketona Road.
On Marsden Road heading towards Waitangi the speed limit is 40km/h. Turn left at the roundabout and 50 metres up Puketona Road it’s 50km/h, which changes in another 50 metres to 80km/h, until you reach Haruru Falls when it drops to 60km/h. After passing Watea the speed limit changes back again to 80km/h.
These Paihia speed limits became mandatory in June, yet the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board has for 15 and more years attempted to get the speed limit lowered on Russell-Whakapara Road and Aucks Road.
From the town end the open road speed limit applies until just under a kilometre from the car ferry onramp when it reduces to 70km/h through Ōkiato.
Many residents there want the speed limit reduced to at least 80km/h and to 50km/h through Ōkiato. Calls for this to happen became more strident following the death in late May of Russell man Tim Grant, who was hit by a car on Aucks Rd.
According to the Whangarei District Council the Russell-Whakapara Road falls under its jurisdiction, while Aucks Rd is the responsibility of the Far North District Council. This duality of authority may partially explain the inertia getting change effected.
Showcasing art in the Hokianga
Village Arts, the industrious, proactive art gallery in Kohukohu, is taking some time off from mid-July for a well-earned break.
Before that, the Puanga/Matariki exhibition had been on show featuring 20 Hokianga artists made by tatou Tamariki o Te Kura o Kohukohu and Rawene Playcentre.
These were showcased alongside local artists all celebrating the rise of Puanga and the start of the Matariki season, celebrating the return of the light and the anticipation of new energy.
The exhibition finished in mid-July when the gallery closed for the usual winter break. They then have a busy summer exhibition schedule.
They re-open on 14th September with Nga Manu, a climate action group presentation that celebrates native birds. The show is in collaboration with the Bird of the Year competition which is sponsored and promoted by Forest and Bird.
This exhibition runs from October 26 to December 1 and will be followed by a show called Between Shores a mixed media display by Hokianga artists Isla Fabu, Jan Barratt, Rachel Miller and Lindsay Antrobus Evans.
The works on show are inspired by the artists’ experiences living away from the shores of their mother countries.
The final show of the year will be the Summer Show, which opens on December 7. The gallery will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025.
'At what point do we say enough is enough?'