For the last decade you may have been recycling, taking three-minute showers and riding your bike to work. Then, a UN report appeared in 2019 stating that the “health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever.” Do you feel motivated to amp up your environmental game? Or do you decide you might as well give up because we’re all doomed anyway?
Scientists and environmental activists face a major challenge in framing messages about biodiversity loss: On one hand, they want to be absolutely sure that they have conveyed the gravity of the situation (and the situation is grave). On the other hand, they want to provide people with enough hope to spur them to action. So how do they inspire us despite the increasingly dismal news?
