Charlotte Fowler- Shifting Baselines Syndrome

Shifting baselines was a theory first made by scientists exploring urban children's perception of nature. In the same year, Daniel Pauly officially devised the term 'shifting baselines' to help prove how people are inaccurately perceiving the condition of the environment and nature. 

The human race is reestablishing (shifting) their standard 'baseline' in each new generation. People use the image they obtained at the beginning of their conscious lives as what they accept as normal. They do not take into account anything that may have happened before their time. This is often referred to as generational amnesia which involves a loss of information without being aware of the loss. As Pauly explained in his TED Talk, "we are readjusting downwards."

Dr. E.J. Milner-Gulland expresses the importance of understanding shifting baselines syndrome in this quote, "If we don’t realize what we are losing we stand the risk of sleepwalking through the destruction of the natural world without taking action to remedy the situation."

Sustainability efforts could not be effective unless scientists and conservationists considered the loss before the loss. Shifting baselines syndrome is one of the main restricting factors in achieving productive conservation models. You can make a difference in the progression of sustainability efforts by informing your family, your business, or local conservation organizations of the shifting baselines syndrome. If we are to act effectively in conserving the environment we need to make sure people are perceiving the problem and state of the environment accurately. Encourage them to consider the loss that came before them and spread the word to prevent generational and/or personal amnesia. 

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