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David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

thetimes.com

131–140 of 187 posts

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#131
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bans are nice, destructive force against adversaries works better though. The ocean is large, and the effort required to cover significant areas in boulders is ridiculously high.

Just the possibility of boulders that might destroy your very expensive dredge might be enough.

Won’t they be visible on sonar?

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#132
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it would be a great PR idea for a billionaire to buy a few old ships and use them to drop rocks over the most popular/vulnerable fishing grounds. What happened to rich people who were all not evil?

New money outcompeted old money in the economic ecosystem and new money doesn't have the same historical fear of the proletarian guillotine.

Also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Brian_Thompson

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#133

I think that not seeing how the story ends will be a blessing in disguise. (I do not share his optimism that we fix this, the forces of Line Must Go Up are going to win... at least until we all rapidly lose)

"Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet, nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine; the people are fucked! Difference! The planet is fine! Compared to the people, The planet is doing great: been here four and a half billion years! Do you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We’ve been here what? 100,000? Maybe 200,000? And we’ve only been engaged in…

If we wanted to, we could set back biodiversity 50 million years, in the sense that it would take 50 million years to get back animals as diverse as there are today. Knowing that earth has 200 million good years left, yes we are pretty damn big threat.

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#134

I watched David Attenborough's recent film 'Ocean' on a big screen. The footage of bottom trawling was really shocking. I don't understand how that has been allowed to continue in UK coastal waters, let alone to be subsidised in marine protected areas. Madness. It's like napalming a forest to get a few deer. Thankfully things may be changing: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-proposes-to-ex... Don't know…

People did indeed used to set fire to forests to get a few deer - you’d use the flames to drive them to a cliff edge, or to a river, where you would either let gravity do the work, or just pick off the panicked mass with spears or rocks.

Le plus ca change…

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#135
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greenpeace used to drop boulders into the ocean to prevent bottom trawling circa 2021-2022. Unsure if they still do. Fairly straightforward to solve for if you’re willing to drop chunks of rock (granite, non reactive) or concrete in the ocean at the right spots. Bans are nice, destructive force against adversaries works better though. Hard to take the selfish out of the human, so you have to engineer systems accordin…

You had this nice story about unusual "boulders" to prevent trawling. https://www.wired.com/story/underwater-sculptures-stopping-t...

The guy behind this (Paolo Fanciulli) is a hero.

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just the possibility of boulders that might destroy your very expensive dredge might be enough.

Won’t they be visible on sonar?

Not sure. But even if they were, do you want to have to survey the path of your dredge before every trawl?

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#137

I watched David Attenborough's recent film 'Ocean' on a big screen. The footage of bottom trawling was really shocking. I don't understand how that has been allowed to continue in UK coastal waters, let alone to be subsidised in marine protected areas. Madness. It's like napalming a forest to get a few deer. Thankfully things may be changing: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-proposes-to-ex... Don't know…

People did indeed used to set fire to forests to get a few deer - you’d use the flames to drive them to a cliff edge, or to a river, where you would either let gravity do the work, or just pick off the panicked mass with spears or rocks. Le plus ca change…

I guess you could get away with it when humans were nomadic and population density was low.

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#138

I watched David Attenborough's recent film 'Ocean' on a big screen. The footage of bottom trawling was really shocking. I don't understand how that has been allowed to continue in UK coastal waters, let alone to be subsidised in marine protected areas. Madness. It's like napalming a forest to get a few deer. Thankfully things may be changing: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-proposes-to-ex... Don't know…

Seaspiracy is another eye opening documentary.

'Seaspiracy' is a polemic with little attempt at balance or objectivity IMO. But I think it is still worth watching.

Re: David Attenborough at 99: 'I will not see how the story ends'

#139
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop eating fish. The fishing industry is destroying the oceans.

Besides, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-04272-1#Sec3 >For rainbow trout, an estimated 10 (1.9–21.7) minutes of moderate to extreme pain (Hurtful, Disabling and Excruciating pain combined) are endured by each trout due to air asphyxia (Fig. 1).

and that's why things like ikejime are needed. It instantly kills the fish and destroys its nervous system in the same way we do for cattle. It's absolutely unbelievable that it is not a common practice. And it also extends the quality of the fish and the duration for conservation.

I am a freshwater fisherman myself, and I do it on any fish I intend to keep, and release them very quickly otherwise.

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