I'm so glad you're raising awareness about this, Skylar.. Have you ever seen a book called The End of the Game? I forget the author's name just now... I say 'seen' because it's a highly visual book. Astonishing images of super-sized elephant herds, now gone. That's when the concept of shifting baselines really hit home for me.
A beautiful insight. Geology, ecosystems, insecticides, and co-existence in general were part of the scene when Rachel Carson used to live on your street. She spoke extensively about shifting baselines in nature's constant evolution...there is a beautiful unraveling of certain factual knowledge in stories we beg, and in Rachel's poetic prose, and we are weaving something new in return. We grope for the common emotional thread, remember to weave carefully with the delicate embellishments, and take care to weave in some good stuff for 'after we're gone.' So gathering material is good. It's about all we can do.
Skylar, this hit home hard... "We risk managing collapse instead of recovering richness" You've put so eloquently into words how I feel. I recently learned about a term called Environmental Generational Amnesia. Basically, each generation considers how it first experienced a place as a true baseline, and any change that comes after it is abnormal or unnatural. But if we ask our elders, if we dig a little further back than the start of our own lives, we see a much wider scope of the loss, of the urgency. Sometimes also of hope, as perhaps things were much worse before our time. (in very few cases unfortunately) Ugh, this is my biggest grievance with the world and if I'm honest, I don't always know how to best deal with it. Anyways, I'm rambling! :) Thanks for your post! I'll be following along! :)
Wow that is a great term for it! Yes, digging a bit deeper puts everything into a much scarier perspective. Thank you for sharing these insights Vic and for following along!
Skylar, this is such a beautifully written and important piece. I could quote so many hardhitting and beautifully phrased lines. "We risk managing collapse instead of recovering richness" hit me particularly hard. Shifting baseline theory is something that keeps me up at night. I think the first time I really registered it was when I was young and my grandad talked about the fields of swallowtail butterflies he saw as a boy, and how he was so sad his grandchildren wouldn't get to experience that beautiful sight. It's a grief that threads through generations, which is so beautifully captured here.
Thank you so much for these kind words, Rebecca. I am a huge fan of your writing so this really means a lot. It is so saddening to think of the sights we will not see or natural wonders we will never experience. I can feel your grandads sorrow and can only hope for change for future generations.
Hit send too early…that whole section, “Memory as Resistance” is powerful and spot on. My brother and his wife currently work for N.O.A.A. here in the US as climate scientists—they are living first-hand the efforts of an administration hell-bent on erasing memory.
Such a beautifully written piece, thank you...how you wrote the line about eyes cradling the ocean...so unique and beautiful! Really enjoyed reading this and your overall message
This is devastating, but so important to understand! I’m now thinking about what my own baseline is and wanting to ask older generations about theirs. Thank you for sharing 🫶
I'm so glad you're raising awareness about this, Skylar.. Have you ever seen a book called The End of the Game? I forget the author's name just now... I say 'seen' because it's a highly visual book. Astonishing images of super-sized elephant herds, now gone. That's when the concept of shifting baselines really hit home for me.
I haven’t but I will definitely look into it! Thank you for sharing Jessica.
A beautiful insight. Geology, ecosystems, insecticides, and co-existence in general were part of the scene when Rachel Carson used to live on your street. She spoke extensively about shifting baselines in nature's constant evolution...there is a beautiful unraveling of certain factual knowledge in stories we beg, and in Rachel's poetic prose, and we are weaving something new in return. We grope for the common emotional thread, remember to weave carefully with the delicate embellishments, and take care to weave in some good stuff for 'after we're gone.' So gathering material is good. It's about all we can do.
So good!! Thanks for unpacking this in such an engaging way and dragging it out of academia and into the public domain 🙏 so important
Skylar, this hit home hard... "We risk managing collapse instead of recovering richness" You've put so eloquently into words how I feel. I recently learned about a term called Environmental Generational Amnesia. Basically, each generation considers how it first experienced a place as a true baseline, and any change that comes after it is abnormal or unnatural. But if we ask our elders, if we dig a little further back than the start of our own lives, we see a much wider scope of the loss, of the urgency. Sometimes also of hope, as perhaps things were much worse before our time. (in very few cases unfortunately) Ugh, this is my biggest grievance with the world and if I'm honest, I don't always know how to best deal with it. Anyways, I'm rambling! :) Thanks for your post! I'll be following along! :)
Wow that is a great term for it! Yes, digging a bit deeper puts everything into a much scarier perspective. Thank you for sharing these insights Vic and for following along!
Skylar, this is such a beautifully written and important piece. I could quote so many hardhitting and beautifully phrased lines. "We risk managing collapse instead of recovering richness" hit me particularly hard. Shifting baseline theory is something that keeps me up at night. I think the first time I really registered it was when I was young and my grandad talked about the fields of swallowtail butterflies he saw as a boy, and how he was so sad his grandchildren wouldn't get to experience that beautiful sight. It's a grief that threads through generations, which is so beautifully captured here.
Thank you so much for these kind words, Rebecca. I am a huge fan of your writing so this really means a lot. It is so saddening to think of the sights we will not see or natural wonders we will never experience. I can feel your grandads sorrow and can only hope for change for future generations.
Really enjoyed this, Skylar! Thank you. As a theologian I especially appreciated your quote:
But we also need story. Oral histories. Intergenerational knowledge.
Hit send too early…that whole section, “Memory as Resistance” is powerful and spot on. My brother and his wife currently work for N.O.A.A. here in the US as climate scientists—they are living first-hand the efforts of an administration hell-bent on erasing memory.
Thank you, Anthony! That must be extraordinarily insightful job
Wonderful Skylar. You're writing is wonderful and I'm learning things all the time. Thank you.
Thank you very much for the kind words.
Such a beautifully written piece, thank you...how you wrote the line about eyes cradling the ocean...so unique and beautiful! Really enjoyed reading this and your overall message
Thank you so much, Zoe!
“They speak not in metres or quotas but in memory.” Love this line! (And quite a few others.)
Thank you!
this is a sad, yet well-written and observed record 😔
Thank you, but i agree It made me sad to write!
This is devastating, but so important to understand! I’m now thinking about what my own baseline is and wanting to ask older generations about theirs. Thank you for sharing 🫶
Thank you Juliette!
They way you highlight such an important issue so beautifully is incredible.
Thank you wonderful wonderful friend
This is so well written and made me very sad
Thank you mama