Ecologists Should Learn to Look on the Bright Side
Debates continue to wage between those who argue that doom needs to be leavened by hope and others who maintain that an optimistic message plays down the crisis and justifies business as usual. This argument misses a crucial point. What’s at stake is more than what makes the best message, it’s what makes the best conservation strategy. Chronicling demise offers little guidance. But if we tell stories about positive outcomes and share details of how they are achieved, the likelihood that they will be replicated will increase.