Linda Seabright
Mike NicholsonIf you listen to the news, you could be forgiven for thinking that everything is shit.
Itโs not.
One example, Humpback Whale numbers are growing massively.
SigmundFrood@MikeTeeVee Finally, all those futures I bought in whale oil are about to pay off!
ProgGrrl@MikeTeeVee this is great, but I would really like to know how they verified whale numbers in the 1500s
Alex Z | WriterYou have a great point! It is impossible to know for certain
But there are a number of techniques that scientists rely on to provide generally accepted estimate ranges
For the purpose of this illustration, the authors picked a single point-estimate which isn't necessarily wrong, but can certainly raise questions
Darth Biomech@ProgGrrl
You have statistics of how many whales were killed, how many exist today, for how long they were hunted and at which scales, and for how fast they generally reproduce. Having that data it isn't exactly hard to guesstimate the number of whales that existed when the whaling started.
You have statistics of how many whales were killed, how many exist today, for how long they were hunted and at which scales, and for how fast they generally reproduce. Having that data it isn't exactly hard to guesstimate the number of whales that existed when the whaling started.
billvb@MikeTeeVee This is the kind of news that I need a whole lot more of!
Martin Maillard@billvb @MikeTeeVee Maybe I'm taking your comment too literally. But if you really need more good news, the Future Crunch newsletter is great :) https://futurecrunch.com
Patricklee@MikeTeeVee so...no Star Trek IV?
Shawn Nelson@patricklee @MikeTeeVee weโll need to wait a bit longer on the transparent aluminum.
@krnlkule @MikeTeeVee damnit we need a doctor not an engineer?
Michelle Hughes@krnlkule
They make transparent "sapphire glass" from sapphire, which is aluminum oxide. Sounds like transparent aluminum to me!
They make transparent "sapphire glass" from sapphire, which is aluminum oxide. Sounds like transparent aluminum to me!
Seb@MikeTeeVee @patricklee that already happened though
@seb321 @MikeTeeVee that's what they want you to think.
Amy (she/her)@patricklee @MikeTeeVee we're on the mirror universe timeline, obvs. That's prime timeline, unfortunately for us.
@DeathKitten @MikeTeeVee I look ok in a goatee but nothing to murder planets over. Not one planet afterโฆ
Pete Alex Harris๐ฆก๐ธ๏ธ๐ฒ/โ๐ชโซ
Hunter Gough ๐ฆ๐น@MikeTeeVee they are truly humping back.
I'll see myself out.
chronically exhausted fatherAnd it only took one star trek movie to do it!
Pinkunz ๐Good news, to be sure. Although, that population bottleneck represents a pretty serious loss of diversity that's going to reverberate through future populations.
Some damage can't be truly and fully undone; not on human timescales, anyway.
Hugh Ferguson@MikeTeeVee Weren't they the whales that were supposedly extinct in the 23 century, which is why the crew of Enterprise had to go back in time to rescue two, to save humanity, and the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century? ๐โ
Omniscient@MikeTeeVee I needed some good news this morning. THANK YOU. I've been sucked into vortices of negativity recently and trying to swim out
Shiroyasha@MikeTeeVee good, I need some whale oil.
Susan Davis ๐จ๐ฆ@MikeTeeVee Well, of course they are. 1966 is when Star Trek got started, and the crew of the USS Enterprise saved the whales in the late 1980s. So of course they're staging a comeback!
Justin Flood@MikeTeeVee aw. I guess Captain Kirk and co. wont get to go back to the 80s and engage in shenanigans.
Kryten@MikeTeeVee that's really good to hear
Hey Nurse!!@MikeTeeVee I love this โค๏ธ
genuine_rp@MikeTeeVee It's great that some good things are happening, but the problem is with the "everything." "Everything" is on course to turn to shit, and take all the good things with it.
Joe 
@MikeTeeVee , love this.
Yes 'news ' is a lot of dehumanized negativity.
I've given up on most of them, they leave me feeling like I've been beaten with a stick and that i can't do anything about it.
Yes 'news ' is a lot of dehumanized negativity.
I've given up on most of them, they leave me feeling like I've been beaten with a stick and that i can't do anything about it.
Brian Grinter@MikeTeeVee @donmelton at first I read that as 1986 and thought, โyeah, makes senseโ ๐๐๐ป
woolie@MikeTeeVee they are coming for revenge.
Dixzy@MikeTeeVee amazing news, thank you
Saraidh@MikeTeeVee Fabulous news! And pandas are no longer endangered, which is also encouraging.
Lachlan Campbell@MikeTeeVee For more of this remarkable story, I highly recommend the upcoming documentary The Witness is a Whale: https://www.spindriftimages.com/
Joyce MeltonWell, yeah! They're friggin' whales! :D
Christopher Bull@MikeTeeVee Now we should all go and rewatch Start Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Tiare Liberty Sol โ๏ธ๐บ๐ฆ@MikeTeeVee I like that good news! ๐
GeoStreber@MikeTeeVee I think we have Star Trek IV to thank for that ^^
Mark Wyner Wonโt Comply 
@MikeTeeVee this is in part due to the hard work of Sea Shepherd. ๐ดโโ ๏ธ
StephenC@MikeTeeVee โฆ and wolves released into Yellowstone have brought entire ecosystems back to life.
Sรถren@MikeTeeVee @pixel all thanks to Captain Kirk
@MikeTeeVee @pixel Star Trek IV is a comedic film whose premise is basically that, in the future, an alien probe is trying to communicate (and somehow threatens the galaxy if it cannot). They eventually figure out the noise it makes is whale sounds, so they travel back to 1986 (yes, itโs very silly) and put two humpback whales in a giant tank on their starshipโs cargo bay, then travel to the future again. The probe is happy and leaves.
@MikeTeeVee @pixel this was at the height of โwe have to save the whalesโ; see also franchises like Free Willy
DebsWithCats@MikeTeeVee yay happy back whales
saline
Oat Mouse@MikeTeeVee I really appreciate goodnews, but didn't realise that!
teemcpThatโs a lot of *ahem* fucking whales.
Oreo Speedwagon II ๐บ๐ธ ๐บ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฆ@MikeTeeVee Thanks! I needed that! ๐๐ณ๐
Jamie Booth@MikeTeeVee yea, for Star Trek IV.
Benson S.@MikeTeeVee What I see here is a species that suffered massively at the hands of humankind, has rebounded enough to be a viable force, and now faces death from anthropogenic climate change... that doesn't seem like good news; that sounds like the origin story of a super-villain that would get sympathy from the audience...
Lili@MikeTeeVee this is amazing news! Thank you for sharing!
SergioNegro@MikeTeeVee Thank you for that piece of good news. I love humpbacks!
Adrian Schรถnig 
@MikeTeeVee Always a great time when they migrate past Sydney and one of the many benefits of living by the sea. Keep an eye out for the water sprays, stop and wait, and you might be rewarded with glimpses of them flapping their fins or breaching.
My humble opinion: this merits very cautious optimism
Cautious because the ecosystem these whales are rebounding into is not a healthy one
A larger whale population in an environment that hasn't seen this many animals in centuries can cause as many new problems as it solves
Ariaflame@AlextheZee @MikeTeeVee It does appear to be just 3 data points, so I'd be wary of just extrapolating straight lines of growth.
Robert Wilson, III ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ๐ช๐ธ๐ธ๐ฎ@MikeTeeVee We need more of this. Has anyone thought to dedicate a day of hashtag to positivity or positive messages? Like maybe #PostiveThursdays? Or something?
Kyle Brown
MarkDJ@MikeTeeVee Brilliant! Thank you...
Grandlesticks (he/him)@MikeTeeVee the hump is back, baby!
Lynn Keller@MikeTeeVee this is wonderful, thanks for posting