A good case-study of shifting baseline syndrome - much of Europe was once surrounded by oyster reefs as large and complex as tropical coral reefs, now largely forgotten:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/03/europe-oyster-reefs-study

Props to the team who catalogued records of them in this fascinating (but tragic) paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01441-4

#Ecology #ShiftingBaselines #LostEcosystems

Glaskugel/Prognose: Wie die Geschichte mit der AfD weiter gehen wird

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po0O_Q-wZFU

#ShiftingBaselines #TakeBackControl #Eskalation #Politik #Demokratie #Polarisierung #Parteien #Lager #Gewalt #GruppenbezogeneMenschenfeindlichkeit #PolitischeGewalt

Who needs small, colourful songbirds when you can have dull, dreary greys areas with cars and dogs?

"Our findings were clear: urbanisation, particularly the increase in built infrastructure and the loss of green spaces, was linked to a decline in the bird communities we find most attractive. In other words, many of the colourful birds with sweet songs are leaving or dying out. They include many smaller species that are among the most affected by increasing urbanisation."

"The many pressures on these species include habitat loss and fragmentation as land is cleared for buildings and roads...When poorly planned, urban expansion reduces and fragments habitats. It means vibrantly colourful nature is replaced by dull, dreary greys."

"Thoughtful urban designs can prioritise biodiversity and habitat protection. Our research shows this can foster more diverse and attractive bird communities, even in densely built areas."
>>
https://theconversation.com/our-cities-are-losing-the-small-colourful-songbirds-that-give-us-the-most-joy-238315
#birds #sprawl #biodiversity #ShiftingBaselines #habitat #destruction #wildlife #roads

"Between 2000 and 2022, NSW logged approximately 435,000 ha of native forest and woodland, all of which overlapped with the distributions of at least one threatened forest-dependent taxon."

"While logging in NSW has degraded 435,000 ha of native forest across 143 threatened taxa distributions, logging is still legal under current legislation."
>>
https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.13185
#biodiversity #ShiftingBaselines #ThreatenedSpecies #NSWLogging #FCNSW #LoggingIndustry #deforestation #degradation #harm #fires #roads #SettlerSociety #BellingenLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob #ExtinctionCrisis #EPBCAct #EUDR

Online #Privacy and #Overfishing: #DanielPauly's #ShiftingBaselines

Internet #surveillance, and the resultant loss of privacy, is following the same trajectory as fishing. Just as fish populations in the oceans have fallen 80%, from previously having fallen 80%, from previously having fallen 80% (ad infinitum), expectations of privacy have similarly fallen precipitously. Each successive generation of the public is accustomed to the privacy status quo of their youth.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/06/online-privacy-and-overfishing.html

The news "12 turtle babys hatched on Mallorca" made it today on the homepage of a popular German website.

Time to remind the principle of #ShiftingBaselines

#Ocean

Kinder, die jetzt aufwachsen, werden einmal sagen: In meiner Kindheit war das Gras noch weit bis in den Mai hinein grün.

#ShiftingBaselines #Klimakatastrophe #Erderhitzng #Dürre #Hitze

Industrialization changed Italy’s Bagnoli Bay. Analyzing the DNA that was trapped in sediment, known as sedaDNA, offers a record of what was lost—and a clue as to how to get it back.

Written by Sean Mowbray

#eDNA #DNA #sedaDNA #shiftingbaselines #BagnoliBay

https://hakaimagazine.com/news/peeling-back-the-sediment-layers/