“When you read the book, you’ll see the horror, frustration, and despair as, in my lifetime, I’ve recorded this extraordinary damage to the atmosphere—the only one we have. It’s sheer stupidity what’s going on.
“That’s why I’m not in retirement—I’m using the publication of this book to talk to as many people as possible. The story needs to be told.”
Dave took a creative writing course at Te Herenga Waka in 2018 after being told that stories change minds. “I was the only person in the group who had never written a story before. After the course finished, we started an informal writers’ group, and I just went for it and wrote most of the book in lockdown last year.
“I was able to set the timeline using records saved at the National Archives—librarians are stars—and build a personal story around it. The ‘hero’s journey’ story-telling model has really resonated with readers, though it’s a weird thing for a scientist to do!”
Dave’s journey starts with rough beginnings in Taranaki. Bullied at school, he dropped out at age 15, found a job, and discovered surfing. “It taught me about the environment, and I realised I had to go to university to learn more.”
After completing Honours and Master’s degrees in Physics at Te Herenga Waka, he worked in California on a project designed to precisely measure CO2 in the atmosphere, then won a scholarship to complete his PhD in Germany.