Jim Salinger
Q&A with Kiwibank NZer of the Year Jim Salinger
When Dr Jim Salinger was enrolling for study at the University of Otago in the 1960s, he was torn between medicine and climate science. He had the marks for entry into medicine but decided to follow his passion. Thinking back on that decision, Jim says, “it’s not as though climate jobs were growing on trees at the time”.
Over the last few decades, Jim has become a well recognised and leading climate and climate change scientist in Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition to receiving several prestigious awards throughout his career, Jim was this year named as Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Ngā Tohu Pou Kōhure o Aotearoa.
As well as being an Otago graduate, Jim has also held the role of Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Geography. In this Q&A with the Bulletin, Jim talks about his career devoted to climate – and how it all started as a hobby.
Where did your hobby start?
My parents gave me a maximum and minimum thermometer when I was 12. I also built my own climate station and rain gauge in our backyard. Funnily, when I got to know many scientists from around the world who were involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chage (IPCC), that was a common story of how many of them started in the field.
How did your career in climate science begin?
I majored in geography and zoology for my undergraduate degree, and for my climatology honours project I set up a rain gauge network around Dunedin exploring rainfall patterns around the wider region. I was also fascinated with climate change theories, which at the time did not focus on greenhouse gases.
After my undergraduate studies I worked as a science technician in a physiology lab at Otago, which turned out be the only job I’ve ever had to apply for. During that time, in 1975, there was a story in the Otago Daily Times regarding the ‘next ice age coming’ which didn’t sound right to me. So, I analysed temperature records for New Zealand and the outer islands which showed a warming trend. I wrote the results up with another geography student, Jill Gunn, and it was published in Nature and listed in The Times of London as the paper of the week.
Based on that paper, Geography Professor Ron Lister funded me to attend a climate science conference in Melbourne which was a turning point, as there I was offered a position and PhD scholarship at Victoria University (Wellington).
During your time at MetService NZ and then NIWA, how did the field of climate change evolve?
In the start we were looking at facts, keeping climate records up to date, and improving forecasting models. Global warming hadn’t properly broken onto the stage then. In 1989 I organised the first climate change conference that was opened by Sir Geoffrey Palmer who coincidentally became Prime Minister just before the conference. It was at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 when global warming and climate change really got traction and the IPCC was created. The challenging time for science was in the period following 2000 due to the rise of industry pushback and climate deniers, but thankfully now, the vast majority understand the human influences and impact on climate.
How has the science of climate changed during your career?
The great thing about climate science and meteorology is it’s always been a close and connected community. New Zealand was one of the first countries to have rigorous observation data since the 1870s both from land and sea that surrounds us.
Since WW2 there has been a free and collaborative exchange of climate data that grew to support the burgeoning global aviation industry. Growth of the telecommunications network allowed global forecasting to go ahead at the same time. In fact, the largest part of a meteorological organisation was the telecommunications service, which was superseded in the 1990s by the rise of the internet.
Advances in computational power and storage has since allowed an explosion of analysis, which is supporting the development of more accurate models used for forecasting and predictions.
What does the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year award mean to you?
Receiving the award was very humbling as I wasn’t expecting it. For me it recognises the wider climate science community which works as a collaborative and cooperative global team. The award also acknowledges the importance of climate to us and future generations.
Tell us about your Intergenerational Climate Ambassadors group?
I’ve been on this journey since 1975 as I’ve never shied away from wanting to educate people about climate, especially as I knew how huge the climate change issue was going to be. I thought Sir David Attenborough pairing up with Greta Thunberg was a great model, so I wanted to emulate that idea by setting up the Ambassadors. It’s important we have this partnership through the generations, as our planet and time go on forever.
The strength of this partnership is that youth have a lot of vitality and ideas - not that some of us are slowing down too much - and maybe we have a bit of wisdom to share. I think it’s also important to know the issues that are the priority for the next generations, as different challenges arise across time.
What is your message about the need to act for climate change?
The issue is people get frozen by the enormity of the issue, so the challenge is getting people motivated to act. The best way to start is working out what your carbon footprint is and deciding for yourself the best way to start based on where it’s possible to make a tangible difference. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it’.
What advice do you have for students today?
It’s important to be adaptable and adjust to the conditions and times, so don’t fear change. From a science perspective, what I managed to achieve is make my hobby my life. So, if you have a passion, listen to it. Whatever it is, it’s important to have a passion.