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Ed Said: Every cloud has a silver lining


‘Into each life some rain must fall’ is a line by iconic 19th Century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Though we have all literally had more than just ‘some’. From devastating flooding in Canterbury (now classed as a one in 200 year event) to destructive king tides in the Coromandel, it feels like the rain has barely eased nationwide over the last few weeks. We are the Land of the Long Rain Cloud at the moment.

While the global warming-affected seasons may have us lurching from too dry to too wet, you would think the amount of rain we have had lately must surely have aquifers replenished and up where winter water levels should be, but that’s not necessarily the case. In the Kaipara, and most of Northland to the Far North, water levels are high and there are no restrictions, but residents are still being encouraged to use water sensibly at home. In Auckland the water is a little murkier. Latest reports say Auckland’s supply dams are still only half full, with storage volumes still being af-fected by the 2019-2020 drought. Can you believe commercial and residential restrictions are still in place a year later? Auckland dams are currently just 50 per cent full. Normally they would be closer to 80 per cent right now. This is why a drier winter and spring would be a disaster – no reserves for a dry summer. So, like Auckland, Kaipara and Northland are looking at alternative sources of water.

Not surprisingly, fresh water isn’t our only concern. The jewel in Mangawhai’s crown is its pris-tine coastline, and we want to keep it that way. We watch with interest the ongoing battle as companies fight for sand mining rights on our shoreline. Commissioners have postponed the latest hearing as for-and-against need more time to prepare and state their case.

heir case.How timely then, that June 8 was World Oceans Day. Yes, the protection and welfare of wildlife is vital, but equally important is the preservation of the natural environment in which they live. Telling her story to the NZ Her-ald on that day, WWF NZ CEO Livia Esterhazy spoke with sparkling clarity about the plight our oceans face today:‘

‘It can be overwhelming when you learn about nature's degraded state. But we must also realise the power of the individual. Because you can make a difference… Some of our core work is around oceans and marine species and one thing blows my socks off — every second breath we take is from the ocean. We're taught trees make oxygen, that we must stop cutting down the Amazon, and that's true, but the ocean plays a vital role in produc-ing oxygen and removing carbon. One breath from the trees, one from the ocean. Yet we are suffocating the ocean with plastic, seabed min-ing, over-fishing. New Zealand is responsible for the fourth largest economic zone in the world and sci-ence recommends we protect 30 per cent of our ocean — but less than 1 per cent of our waters are fully pro-tected. You can't underestimate the importance of the ocean, and not just for providing food and looking beautiful, but as an entire system to keep all species, including us, alive.’

That’s heady stuff, and should echo the sentiments of every New Zealander and government body that has the slightest regard for the sea that this country is sur-rounded by. ‘If the land is well, and the sea is well, the people will thrive’ says the Maori proverb.We know it is life’s trials that grow and strengthen us. ‘Into each life some rain must fall’ is a metaphor that, in 1842, poet Hen-ry Wadsworth Longfellow’s ‘The Rainy Day’ used to show we will all experience gloom, disappoint-ment, failure, hardship – but fol-lowing that is always hope and optimism: Be still, sad heart! And cease repining / Behind the clouds is a silver lining.

Rich Pooley
Editorinfo@mangawhaifocus.co.nz

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