The Unfolding Thing

A ubiquitous NZ symbol is the Koru, an unfolding fern frond (www.otago.ac.nz/minds/courses.html). The Koru appears in greenstone/pounamu jewelry, in artwork, etc. While any overseas trip has to be about renewal, and while it is borderline-trite to claim it for ourselves, there are many new beginnings here for us. Our baby will learn to walk and talk here. The older boy, Estin, 7, has made new friends and learned to introduce himself as "Easton". MAC has made friends from the UK, from Capetown, and of course lots of home-grown Kiwis, and has exposure to "heaps" of newness at her job with the Dunedin City Council. Work has been a revelation to me, a rediscovery that vocation and avocation can be the same. I've put up a Koru painting in the labs (shown here, a painting by Natasha Tuck) as a bold reminder of that. At home, and especially in wintertime, we need each other as a family as we have few friends and (thankfully) the phone doesn't ring continuously. And that's new for us, having so much in the way of family and friends back home that we grew away from relying on each other. In all, this koru/unfolding thing works pretty good as a symbol for me.

The Ice Cream Man

It’s 5 pm on June 19th, one week until the solstice. The ice cream man doodles by, broadcasting his merry tune. All good, yes? Well, not exactly, something’s gone awry. At 46 degrees south, we are talking WINTER solstice. It’s dark outside, 35 degrees F, and there’s snow on the hills around town. Hmmm. I’m out schlepping around wet firewood wearing full winter gear and a headlamp while a stiff breeze blows in from Antarctica. Still, the ice cream man brings on that jingle we associate with the sultry nights of summer. It’s a cruel trick. Is this ice cream-in-winter thing a testament to Kiwi hardiness (“Insulation? In houses, you say?”), or is the man serving hot chocolate?

The Green Myth

EN-Zed’s clean/green image is mythical. Yes, the rivers run clear and yes there is pristine wilderness, yes there is minimal traffic and air pollution except in 2-3 cities, and yes New Zealanders have disavowed and disallowed nuclear submarines and genetically modified foods. However, much of Aotearoa'’s cleanliness and greenliness is an accidental by-product of low population density. Most of the native forest is gone, a process initiated by Maori and drastically accelerated by the Europeans. Favorite pastimes often involve fuel and engines, such as farm bikes, 4-wheeling, and adrenaline sports including jet-boating and sky-diving. In homes, insulation is not used, and the preferred method of heating many (most?) Dunedin homes is firewood, and many people even burn coal, which produces acrid smoke. On still winter days, a smoky haze hangs over the city. On summer days when the wind blows hard from the north, sea water at the local beach becomes contaminated from the sewage outfall pipe, which is currently being relocated further off shore. Batteries are thrown in the trash, as is common in the USA but unheard of in Europe, where folks understand the impact of heavy metals in the water supply. Many Kiwis appreciate the gift they hold and want to regrow native forests, maintain air and water quality, etc. Population pressure will eventually force the issue, as has happened in Europe and to a lesser extent in the USA. I hope that changes are made here (protection of water/air quality, improved public transport, etc) before that point is reached. Jared Diamond's Collapse has made me acutely aware that, beyond esthetics, a given society’s survival depends heavily on shepherding it’s resources. Given Kiwi awareness, and government ability to mandate change, New Zealand can emerge into reality as a truly “green” nation when the challenge of population pressure is felt nationwide, not just in Auckland.