It's official, we'll be back on January 3 with a new phase for Shifting Baselines. After spending the first two years focused mostly on the issue of over-fishing, we're going to make 2005 the Year of the Beach for SB with a new, specific collaboration titled, "Shifting Baselines in the Surf."
We met last week with the good folks at Surfrider Foundation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Wyland Foundation to formalize the plans. From the very beginning of Shifting Baselines 2.5 years ago there were some groups who were openly skeptical of Shifting Baselines ("the term is too sciency, too technical, all you're going to do is confuse the public"), some groups who were scared (two partner groups quit SB in 2003 out of fear we were too radical, which proved to be rather silly as one came back), some groups were apathetic ("whatever, you guys have no official communications credentials therefore you can't possibly have any understanding of communications"), and then there was Surfrider, the group that began our initial discussion with, "Are you kidding, we've been working on this subject for ten years, we just haven't had an official term for it, how great that you're putting this project together, let's team up." After two years of kicking around ideas, everything came into focus in September at their 20th Anniversary Summit Conference, which has now led to a whole project we'll be putting together in the first half of next year.
So tune back in on January 3 for the details of "Shifting Baselines inthe Surf," and until then, have a great holiday season and give some thought to the Shifting Baselines (and waistlines) in your own lives.
Happy Holidays!
Posted by Randy Olson at December 16, 2004 01:56 AMthanks for the great work. look forward to next year.
Posted by: jeff at December 21, 2004 11:37 AM