[Coral-List] Shifting Baselines

Peter Sale sale at uwindsor.ca
Tue Jan 8 15:28:41 EST 2013


Hi coral-listers,
Francesca's post reminded us that our baselines continually shift.  In an 
effort to avoid that happening too quickly among coral reef scientists and 
managers, Alina Szmant and I, with able editorial assistance from Lisa 
Benedetti, teamed up last year to produce a small brochure, Reef 
Reminiscences.  It was first issued during the 12th ICRS.  Download it and 
learn about the reefs that existed when some of us began our research 
careers a few decades ago.  Its incredible that so much has changed in so 
short a time  (although some of you may consider Jack Randall's dives in 
the late 40's to be impossibly long ago, its but a millisecond ago on the 
great clock of our planet).

You can download Reef Reminiscences at 
http://www.inweh.unu.edu/Coastal/Publications/ReefReminiscencesBooklet_WEB.pdf
And if you want to submit your own ancient memories for a future issue, 
get back to me (no promises here).

Mike Risk -- I guess this counts as another straw to clutch at.  And I 
agree with you -- we have to change the culture, which means decarbonizing 
the economy for a start.  A fracking big challenge for us all.

Peter Sale
 

Assistant Director
United Nations University
Institute for Water, Environment and Health

www.petersalebooks.com
UNU-INWEH  The United Nations Think Tank on Water


More information about the Coral-List mailing list