Jumpstart Nature

#4: We Live in a 10% World: : The Shocking Decline We’ve Normalized

Oct 23, 2023

Explore the concept of shifting baseline syndrome and its impact on environmental perceptions. Learn about the decline of lamprey eel population, ecosystem impact, and conservation efforts. Discover how this syndrome distorts our view of environmental changes and the importance of conservation and native plant restoration.

26:54

Creator website

Episode guests

Loren McClenachan

Alison Whipple

Ben Goldfarb

Francisco Saavedra Jr

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Shifting Baseline Syndrome leads to unnoticed environmental changes over generations, affecting wildlife populations.

Understanding historical baselines like the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta informs ecosystem conservation decisions and restoration efforts.

Deep dives

Shifting Baseline Syndrome in Wildlife Populations

Wildlife populations have drastically decreased over generations without people noticing, exemplifying shifting baseline syndrome. The disappearance of passenger pigeons, salmon abundance decline, and reduced insect presence on windshields are stark reminders of unnoticed environmental changes. Despite clear alterations, these shifts often go unnoticed due to shifting baseline perceptions over time.

Introduction

3min

Shifting Baselines in Environmental Perceptions

13min

Exploring the Decline of the Lamprey Eel Population and Shifting Baselines

3min

Exploring Ecosystem Impact and Conservation Efforts

6min

Exploring the Distorted Lens of Shifting Baseline Syndrome

3min

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What is "normal" or even "natural" in nature? In a world where everything is constantly changing, the human desire to define things as "normal" has broad implications on how we see the world, and how we choose to conserve it (or not conserve it!).

This desire to establish a personal "normal" leads to a quirk of psychology called Shifting Baseline Syndrome.

Learn about the dramatic impacts that it has in this Jumpstart Nature episode.

Join your guide, Griff Griffith, as he explores what shifting baseline syndrome is through some incredible examples. With the help of Dr. Loren McClenachan, Dr. Alison Whipple (San Francisco Estuary Institute), Ben Goldfarb (author and environmental journalist), and Francisco Saavedra Jr (forestry student and member of the Pit River Tribe Madesi band), we look at the many ways that shifting baselines steer us in the wrong direction.

See the full show notes and images on jumpstartnature.com.

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Join us in this vital journey towards nature's revival. Explore more and show your support at jumpstartnature.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.