Novelist and science writer Jane Shearer

Picture this: it's 2030, in the seaside suburb of Sumner in Otautahi Christchurch. That's only five years' time, but the sea is already to quote novelist and science writer Jane Shearer, tearing off mouthfuls of the land. Sirens regularly warn of flooding. Saltwater plays havoc with the gardening. Power can be intermittent, and the council is letting infrastructure fall apart. Subject to energy quotas, citizens are keeping close to home. Then to add to it community bonds are tested when some locals turn ecoterrorists - bombing a coal ship as a climate change protest. This is the scenario in Shearer's just published novel Threads of Connection. Jane Shearer is herself a former resident of Sumner and this is her second novel based there. She's also a geologist, singer-songwriter and blogger and joined Culture 101 in the Otautahi studio.