Young people can't remember how much more wildlife there used to be | Hacker News Reader

Young people can't remember how much more wildlife there used to be

newscientist.com

13 pointsmana997 comments

Half of young people probably don't know milky way exist and can be seen due to light pollution. With urbanization knowledge about life outside of cities declines.

This loss is particularly bad to me because I don't know if there is anything else that can trigger so much wonder. I grew up in an area where science wasn't much known or very well respected, and even controversial. But seeing the Milky Way away from the city as a child had an effect on me, like letting me know in a peaceful way that there must be way more to reality than I was being told. Really sad that it's becoming harder for so many to experience that, they may never know what they missed.

>When the Northridge earthquake knocked out power in Los Angeles in 1994, numerous calls came into emergency centers and even the Griffith Observatory from people who had poured into the streets in the predawn hours. They had looked into the dark sky to see what some anxiously described as a “giant silvery cloud” over the shaken city.

>Not to worry, they were assured. It was merely the Milky Way, the vast galaxy that humans once knew so well — until the glare from electric light effectively erased most traces of it from urban and near-urban skies.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31essay.html

Not sure it was ever a thing. In ancient times, folks rarely travelled far from their lighted places at night. They feared the outdoors and camped close to fires and in shelters. I'm wondering if people ever really saw much of the Milky Way.

What is the name of the book about shifting baselines? How 500 years ago you could throw a stone into the ocean anywhere and hit a fish?

"Paradise Lost"?

Edit: Found it: https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Found-Nature-America-Discove...

Insects too of course.

I think pointing to modern agriculture is a pretty safe bet. You shouldn't just make farmers responsible. They have little choice because pressure from consumers comes directly back to them through retail and processors. Large scale producers have little choice. Those want to minimize the amount of suppliers anyway.

Kids do not even spend time outside these days as it's "too dangerous". You could get run over or abducted by a pedophile.

Obesity and screen related issues like depression and anxiety run rampant. Do your kids a favor: take away their smartphones.

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