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Think of the Nevis River and consider William James’s observation: “The most significant characteristic of modern civilization is the sacrifice of the future for the present – and all the power of science has been prostituted to that purpose.”
The Nevis is just about the only river in Central Otago that hasn’t been dammed or diverted – the Clutha, Fraser, Teviot, Manuherikia, Taieri all have, and more dams are planned or under investigation for them and other waterways in the district.
Isn’t it time we woke up, altered our perspectives?
The Nevis is scenically, culturally, scientifically, ecologically, recreationally, a magnificent asset in every sense of the word. Leave it alone.
When asked why I’ve spent decades fighting to protect the natural environment, I mention the North American Indian who believed that we don’t inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.
Accept that and your attitude towards the natural world changes forever. What arises is a sense of duty borne of a need to take responsibility, not just for one’s own material wellbeing but for the health and diversity of all life.
It means having greater regard for the natural world in all its pageantry.
Our first duty is to focus on one’s own region and insist that protecting landscapes and rivers is an indispensable benefit, not a cost, to society. Understand that the costs of environmental repair are greater than the costs of prevention. In most cases, repair is not possible.
Recently, Central Otago District Council (CODC) adopted the catchy slogan “a world of difference”. I liked it, many do. But since then, partly because of councillors’ unwillingness to discuss and disclose their views publicly on proposed energy projects, some are struck by their caginess, maybe indifference.
People are entitled to hear what their elected representatives think about issues of major importance to the future of our place, and why they think what they think. Is CODC mayor Malcolm Macpherson encouraging such debate? Why are so few councillors willing to speak up?
All except today’s equivalents of Rip van Winkle know that many wind farms and hydro projects are under investigation around here. Such are often touted as “essential in the national interest”.
To bullying and scaremongering of that sort I ask people to compare, first, how much energy is actually used and needed in this region with the amount produced here? And, second, is it ever right to continue destroying one region’s ecology, its heritage and landscape values for the benefit of elsewhere?
Then I ask: given that we’ve been doing far more than our bit for ages, isn’t it time we said no more? There are other ways of providing for our real needs, and we should have found them by now and incorporated them into our energy system. Enough is enough.
I’m a member of the group Save Central. We’re trying hard to illuminate and encourage a debate about energy policies and their environmental and economic ramifications for all New Zealanders.
We’re thankful for the support so far. Our website savecentral.org notes: “We are a diverse collection of individuals united in our opposition to the threat to the landscapes of Central Otago and NZ landscapes in general by inappropriate … developments which will destroy forever the unique qualities of these natural environments.”
But, we say, without major financial help we cannot marshal forces strong enough to fight these incessant threats to Central Otago’s outstanding landscapes. We need your assistance.
It costs heaps to obtain expert witnesses and first-class legal counsel to fight Goliaths and their ilk. If people truly want to be part of the solution and not the problem, they need to give us some money, now.
Think about it.
Brian Turner is a leading New Zealand poet and ardent environmental activist
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