Talks 2021

With the sea running through the programme, we look at the progress of tidal power, and plans to row the Northwest Passage; at sea-cliffs and shore life and whale migration in Arctic waters.

We hear about ways to tackle climate change, through soil regeneration and alternative power for flights and ferries. We hear how people fought Smallpox and Spanish flu, and about new research into genetics and Covid resistance. There is news of work on gravitational waves, and exploring space, and new ideas on the origins of life and the nature of time.

There are insights into Orkney’s past, with talks in memory of four people who did so much for Orkney’s archaeology and history. And further back in time there are stories of the great mammals of the Ice Age: cave bear and mammoth and sabre-tooth tiger.

REBUILDING THE SOIL

September 2, 2021 → 11:15 am ─ 12:15 pm

Soil regeneration is the theme of Prof. Karen Johnson’s opening talk in the 2021 Orkney International Science Festival. Since industrialisation, two-thirds of all global greenhouse gas emissions have come from fossil fuels. And remarkably, the other third has come from the land. ...

TO TAKE THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE TO THE SEA

September 2, 2021 → 1:00 pm ─ 1:45 pm

Long thought a fable, the Arctic route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans had its final link identified by Dr John Rae. Half a century later, Roald Amundsen made the journey in a fishing vessel, although only after several years of voyaging and overwintering. ...

THE WIND ON THE SEA AND THE ENERGY FUTURE

September 2, 2021 → 3:00 pm ─ 3:45 pm

Blocks of seabed leased for offshore wind represent a massive proportion of the UK’s future electricity demand, with some 19 GW (around one-fifth of current demand) within 100 kilometres of Orkney harbours. Could Orkney become a service base for the new offshore wind ...

FLIGHTS AND FERRIES TO THE FUTURE

September 2, 2021 → 7:00 pm ─ 8:00 pm

Speakers bring the latest news from pioneering projects that are opening possible ways to decarbonise Orkney’s ferries and planes. We’ll hear how Kirkwall airport is being used as a testbed for low-carbon flight alternatives, and on the progress of plans to trial hydrogen technology on MV Shapinsay.

FIVE STARS IN AURIGA

September 2, 2021 → 9:00 pm ─ 10:00 pm

The stars and their origins are the theme of three works by the Scottish composer Edward McGuire – interwoven here with stories from the Scottish Borders of lives connected by astronomy and space. Each of the five stars is represented by a separate instrument, with the first trumpet for the brightest, fiery Capella. Howie Firth’s text for the linking narrative and its Borders theme was inspired by many conversations with a lifelong friend of the Festival from Jedburgh, the late Dr Tim Dolan.

THE MAN WHO FOUGHT THE SPANISH FLU

September 3, 2021 → 10:00 am ─ 10:45 am

The so-called Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918/19 infected around a third of the world’s population in four lethal waves. Many people thought there was little that could – or should – be done to prevent it. Manchester’s Medical Officer thought differently.

THE SHETLAND WEAVER AND THE MORTAL POX

September 3, 2021 → 11:30 am ─ 12:15 pm

Waves of smallpox devastated Shetland in the 18th century, killing up to one person in six. But the Shetland weaver John Williamson developed his own method of inoculation, using tiny amounts of living smallpox material whose virulence had been lessened ...

BEES BEYOND THE MICROSCOPE

September 3, 2021 → 2:00 pm ─ 2:45 pm

Have you ever wondered how bees carry pollen back to a hive? Or how their wings work together to enable them to fly? We need to take a closer look to explore these and other aspects of the fascinating lives of these amazing insects! See them live, and close ...

OUR GENES AND THE VIRUS

September 3, 2021 → 3:30 pm ─ 4:15 pm

Why do some people become desperately ill from the COVID-19 virus, while others are little affected? Edinburgh University researchers have studied the DNA of patients in intensive care across the UK, compared this with samples from healthy volunteers ...

RESURGENCE OF THE LANGUAGE

September 3, 2021 → 5:00 pm ─ 5:45 pm

Technology has enabled the mass media to homogenise our world, with older languages pushed to the margins. But there is growing recognition of the richness of culture and tradition and worldview that a language contains, and next year will see the start of the UN’s Decade of Indigenous Languages. And in some places technology is ...

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