9/16/24: Does Conservation Have a Pretty Problem?, Kelp Forests More Ancient Than We Thought, Take Up a Hobby, and More
Elizabeth Moore
Author | Consultant | Conservation, Parks, and Recreation Expert | [email protected]
Every week I share feature articles, news, tools, and actions to help everyone protect and enjoy our wonderful planet, from the sea to the sky and everything in between. In this week's issue:
#bluegreenbetween #theoceanisforeveryone #conservation #parksandrec
Something Important: Does Conservation Have A "Pretty" Problem?
Some years ago, a friend and I took her nine-year-old daughter H to the National Zoo. We ended up in the small mammal house in front of the naked mole rats, surely one of the most repugnant mammals on the planet: furless, sickly pink, squish-faced, buck-toothed, beady-eyed. But we adults, both with science backgrounds and mindful of teaching an impressionable young mind of the wonders of biodiversity, stood there extolling the virtues of the wondrous naked mole rat. H watched thoughtfully for a moment, wrinkled her nose, and declared, “Gross!” before trotting over to the more engaging meerkats.
She was demonstrating one of those tenets of biology that we know before we're even taught it: we care more about animals that are similar to us (e.g., mammals) and that we think are "pretty." She chose the charismatic megafauna of meerkats over the repellently rodent-ish rat moles.
The exact role of beauty in biology and evolution is still debated but recent neuroscientific research suggests that beauty might be a way to assess the health of a potential mate or palatability of food, both important survival skills. But our bias for things we find pretty can endanger conservation efforts when we focus on the beautiful and the extraordinary, at the expense of the ugly and the common. And yet mundane things are as important as the majestic: small, scrubby patches of habitat ; the creepy, crawly insects and worms and bacteria of the world; the humble phytoplankton of the ocean. And they need protection as much as flagship species like pandas, whales, and koalas.
Aldo Leopold, in his classic 1949 work A Sand County Almanac, wrote: "Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncultured by language." He was telling us, in my opinion, that we need to expand our horizons about what we consider to be pretty. The naked mole rat isn't cuddly but it has a certain charm. The California condor is endearingly homely. The many-legged charm of annelids and caterpillars, the iridescent sheen of a snake's scales; the otherworldly appeal of a beetle: we can find beauty if we need to. And we do; nothing in the world is unworthy of protection.
Something New: Kelp Forests Much Older Than We Thought
There's something hypnotic about seeing kelp forests underwater: long fronds swaying with the currents, seals and fish darting among the stipes, sea otters floating in the canopy splayed across the surface. As sources of shelter and sustenance for hundreds of species, we can't understate their ecological importance as well. Recent research indicates that kelp forests are more ancient than we thought. As we continue to deal with kelp die offs along the US West Coast and other places, such longevity gives us hope that kelp forests will be around long into the future.
Something New: Turning Points Make the Story
Human minds developed along and tend to look for the narrative in everything. We have told stories to each other for so long we've forgotten the origins of our most ancient folklore and fairy tales. But not every story is a great one, or is effective in communicating what the teller is seeking to share. New research shows that turning points in stories--the place in the plot where a significant change comes--are key to its success. And the more dramatic the better. Next time you need to use a story to convey a message, make sure you include some dramatic shifts in narrative to fully engage your audience.
Something To Do: Take Up a Hobby
Even before the pandemic drove most of us to seek new sources of distraction in 2020, there had been increasing interest in arts and crafts that seemed on the verge of dying off only a few years before. My theory is that the more technological, and to some extent, the more artificial, our online lives grow, the more we hunger for simplicity and authenticity. We can't get more authentic than making things with our hands, skills, and time. Recent research indicates that having hobbies is also good for your physical and mental health, even more so than your job. If you've been thinking of taking up painting, gardening, sewing, knitting, or another creative pursuit, go for it! Your mind and body will thank you.
Something to Celebrate: Democracy Still Wins
With a phenomenally consequential election bearing down on us in the US, we are also seeing things that has even experts saying they've seen nothing like it. I would have bet you a year's salary that President Biden would never step aside. Yet he was generous and brave enough to do so and with just a few months left before Election Day, the Democratic Party suddenly had new candidates we never expected to see on the ballot in November: Vice-President Harris and Governor Walz. The record levels of voter registration and fundraising that the Harris-Walz campaign has generated are mind-boggling. But there was something else they gave us: hope. There's been a jubilance for the last month that I can't remember seeing in an election since President Obama was first elected. But perhaps I underestimated the hope of the American people. A poll taken in 2022 showed that while most Americans were worried about the state of democracy in the US, they were also hopeful about its future. It's our republic and we're going to keep it.
That's it for this week - see you next week!