Ep 5_Shifting Baselines Part II

As individuals, there is much more we could be doing to curb our contributions to climate change. Most of us know this - but then why do we have such a difficult time acting on this understanding? This guest episode, hosted and produced by Sarah Friesen, explores how the psychological 'Dragons of Inaction' work to impede our pro-environmental behaviour choices.

This is the second episode of our series on shifting baselines, exploring how changing perceptions of fish stocks helped to fuel the collapse of the cod fishery in Newfoundland. This episode documents how both technology and a failure to take historical anecdotes seriously contributed to the cod collapse.

Over time, our perception of what is 'normal' changes. When it comes to environmental conservation or restoration, that means we are creating reference points that are constantly moving. This shifting of baselines was catastrophic for the Newfoundland cod fishery, and ultimately led to the collapse of fishery. This episode is the first of a series describing how technology and population science were drivers in fueling the improper management of the Newfoundland cod fishery.

The legend went that evil spirits would infrequently emerge from the lake to take the lives of those around it. Turns out, this isn't all myth; instead, it's grounded in geomythology - when cultures craft myths to explain historic geologic events. In 1986, the lake wrought havoc again, killing nearly 2,000 people overnight in an event called a limnic eruption.

What do salted winter roads and water issues like that of Flint, Michigan have to do with one another? ...More than you think. Today we spoke with Anurag Mantha, a graduate student in the lab of Marc Edwards at Virginia Tech, about how increasing levels of salt in our environment are leading to the salinization of our freshwater, with potentially catastrophic consequences for our drinking water.

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