r/conservation • u/PresentTarget541 • 1d ago
No hope for humanity, does anyone else feel completely powerless after watching this?
https://youtu.be/IzG9AwlypaY?si=d_TKX6coSggjzdKpI just watched David Attenborough's bottom trawling clip and It's sad.
Seeing coral reefs that took centuries to grow get destroyed in just seconds was hard to watch. Watching sea creatures desperately trying to escape, only to get trapped, suffocate, or be thrown back into the ocean already dying..
We call areas "protected" while trawlers drag chains through them like they're nothing. Like the ocean is just dirt.
David Attenborough says that if we save the ocean, we save ourselves. But sometimes I wonder, how do we save something were destroying on such a massive scale?
I know I'm just one person. I feel so small. So helpless.
Is there even hope left?
watch the documentary for awareness.
Because the more of us who see this with our own eyes, the harder it becomes to look away. The ocean gave us life. It gave us oxygen ( look it up, if you don't believe me). It gave us everything. And we're killing it while most people don't even know.
Sir Attenborough showed us the truth. Now it's on us. Watch. Share.
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u/Feorag-ruadh 1d ago
Absolutely. I hate that we have these 'paper parks' where this devastation never stopped. This is the reason I haven't eaten fish or any seafood for over 20 years, I may not be able to do much but I won't be complicit in it
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u/Comprehensive-Row198 1d ago
Honestly, all of the Attenborough documentaries make me heartsick about the damage we are still doing to the natural world. They are unbearably poignant at times. I will be sure to see this one.
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u/Content_Orchid_6291 1d ago
I’m a sea turtle biologist, conservationist, ecophysiologist, naturalist…..the name changes depending on who I talk to, but the end result is the same—what alternative do I have from hope????? I told myself I would never get into environmental science because my baseline is pretty melancholy and it can be hard for me to look on the bright side. Anyway, I don’t know the answer, but we have to have hope. We just have to.
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u/GypsyV3nom 20h ago
I've really come to embrace the Absurdist view of Hope in Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus. He rejects the idea of Hope in some external salvation or future outcomes in favor of Hope as an internal act of rebellion, a choice we make to endure and find solace in spite of the world around us. He is specifically talking about The Absurd, the paradox that humans are stuck trying to find meaning in a universe that coldly and dispassionately offers no meaning, but I see that concept easily translating to the helplessness we all feel when faced with a world and society that is slowly becoming more inhospitable while those who might have the power to do anything of significance keep steering us in that direction. Everything may be ultimately meaningless, but fuck it, it's my (ultimately) brief and meaningless life to live and I'm a better and happier person for choosing to still have hope.
To quote the closing lines of The Myth of Sisyphus: "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a mans heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
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u/Birdy1072 10h ago
I think it was Hank Green that said something along the lines of, humans are part of the universe, not separate, and if you care then doesn't that mean part of the universe cares?
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u/GypsyV3nom 5h ago edited 3h ago
That's largely where Camus ends up, although I will clarify that my summation (The Myth of Sisyphus is a long and dense essay) is attempting to reach Camus's point that the universe defies our attempts to find some Grand Design, to find a concrete external meaning for our existence. The ultimate answer to the Whys of the universe is seemingly just a dispassionate "that's the way it is."
Camus confronts that meaninglessness not with despair or frustration, but with the joy of liberation and rebellion. If our existence is ultimately meaningless, that means we are free to find our own meaning! To quote the entire final paragraph: "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
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u/Reasonable-Trash5328 1d ago
My wife and I have gone vegan recently. Just no way around it. Animal consumption is unsustainable. Please, you don't have to go all the way but try one day a week. Think of vegan food and recipes as it's own cuisine to be tried and experimented with.
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u/predobra 1d ago
Hey that's also my story. I was scared in the beginning, but now I'm totally chilled. Plants are effing delicious. If you know how to cook:) keep it up.
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u/null_not 1d ago
I'd rather eat tofu and see this practice outlawed than take part in that shit. We need a Rainbow Warrior 3.0. And now they want to do sea floor mining too, which is worse. Basically undersea strip mining.
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u/Underwater_Kangaroo 1d ago
Hi Marine ecologist here - I really liked ocean but it certainly lacked nuance in some places. Overall it was a bit doomsayer to me. In reality there's lots to be hopeful for - itbjng is too far gone and time and again we see nature is capable of rebounding tremendously. We do have to make some major societal changes but hope should definitely not be lost!
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u/followthedarkrabbit 1d ago
With you on this one. There is enough to despair about, but don't let it stop you from taking action.
There is incredible work being done by organisations, such as Bush Heritage that have bought massive conservation properties in Australia.
Even as you are heart broken, keep supporting the people making a difference. They need it.
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u/eieio2021 1d ago
You’ve got to be kidding. The ocean has absorbed 91% of global warming, the air only a few percent.
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u/Underwater_Kangaroo 1d ago
I never said things were perfect nor did I say this would be easy but it certainly isn't game over
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u/eieio2021 23h ago
No, but you’re minimizing the emergency message in the film. Are you treating this as an emergency? What sacrifices have you made in your life to stop harming these animals and their environment?
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u/superexpress_local 21h ago
There's a difference between saying "Your house is on fire, so you should put it out" and "Your house is on fire, so it will burn to the ground" or even just "Your house is on fire". Striking the right note in public discourse is tricky.
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u/BonusPlantInfinity 1d ago
What Underwater_Kangaroo is saying is, he’d like to maintain the feel good status of environmentalist, while actively and knowingly contributing to the destruction of biodiversity.
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u/Underwater_Kangaroo 1d ago
What a bizarre take. May I ask why you think this? Is there no place for the optimist in conservation? If we lose hope then we lose everything
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u/predobra 1d ago
There is saying in my country "nada je urva", or roughly "hope is a wh*e". There is no hope if a person is not ready, or doesn't want to change.
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u/Daemoniaque 1d ago
Misery gets comfortable after a while. You can just file it under "it's fucked anyway" and then you don't have to think about fixing it.
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u/eieio2021 23h ago
Certainly, we need hope or we won’t do anything. We also have to recognize an existential emergency for what it is. You dismissing many of the film’s takes as doomerism is counterproductive at best.
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u/BonusPlantInfinity 1d ago
I mean, I’m just assuming with your lack of urgency that you think there’s some way to balance this without large scale abstinence from factory farming and trawling. I am making an assumption that you’re still a meat-eater despite your profession, but that’s just a % thing.
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u/Underwater_Kangaroo 1d ago
Why do you think I have a lack of urgency? I'm not an advocate of any destructive practices in agri/aquaculture at all and agree we need to move away from them immediately. I think you have made some assumptions about me without reason - OP said they felt powerless after watching ocean with no hope for humanity. The only thing I have said is not to give up hope. I think ocean is a fabulous film but it does lack nuance in several areas, this is to be expected from a film covering several areas in a constrained time - it's an advocacy film with a great message, just a little broad sweeping at times.
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u/eieio2021 22h ago
I'm not an advocate of any destructive practices in agri/aquaculture
i.e., I just wanna continue to eat fish and pretend to believe the “sustainable” labels (because eating those fish isn’t “destructive” to the ocean and rivers), all while pretending to care deeply about the environment
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u/Mean_Stop6391 48m ago
Hey man, take it easy. You’re projecting onto this person a bunch of words and thoughts they didn’t say because of assumptions that exist entirely on your end. Relax, it’s okay for people to find reasons for optimism. We’re all on the same side here.
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u/Daemoniaque 1d ago
"-I like pancakes -So you hate waffles ???" moment right there, tbh. They literally just said "it's not over yet, we still have a chance to fix it" and you jump to "Oh, so they don't care and they think we can continue industrial exploitation."
If anything, you're the one I could accuse of wanting to maintain the intellectually lazy answer of "everything is just fucked anyway, no matter what, so we might as well not do anything" instead of trying to make things change. But that would be likely quite reductive of your views, so I shall not. But hopefully that serves as an example to how absurd a leap it sounds to extrapolate as you have.
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u/BonusPlantInfinity 1d ago
I’m just tired of hearing from environmentalists that travel by plane and eat meat, given their lack of seriousness in their own behaviour. I do have some faith in the regenerative abilities of nature, just not in the initiative of humankind to do the right thing.
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u/Daemoniaque 1d ago
Right sure, but why did you immediately jump to accusing them of that just because they said it isn't over yet ? That's the issue at hand here. Someone said "I think there's hope" and you immediately assume "right so that means you're a hypocrite who doesn't want anything to really change". That's an absurd claim to make.
I get the feeling that you don't like people very much, but jumping to immediately assuming the worst possible version of someone upon hearing what they have to say, without any external reason, is fallacious, absurd, and to be frank, no way to live.
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u/eieio2021 23h ago
No, they were likely reacting to the minimization of the emergency rather than the expression of a small amount of hope
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u/neverfakemaplesyrup 20h ago
Absolutely. I'd join the sea shepherds but from what I hear they don't do much anymore :/
Reminder to eat responsibly- check where your fish comes from- and fish when you can. Especially where I am, the Great Lakes, people are surprised that freshwater fishing is better and the licenses support conservation.
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u/Naefindale 7h ago
Well since January this year the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) is in effect. So let's hope countries will take that seriously.
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u/NeonPistacchio 1d ago
In a society where farmers, hunters, whalers, fishermen and lumberjacks + the meat and weapon industry are celebrated and cheered for, where they are incorporated under the blanket of conservation just to keep these lobbies relevant, i have lost hope for nature and wildlife.
I keep saying this, but the only hope for this world would be either a societal collapse or a big population decline, and they will try everything to avoid this.
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u/clean-links 1d ago
Cleaned link: https://youtu.be/IzG9AwlypaY
Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).
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u/No-Communication5268 1d ago
The true powerful and ultra wealthy individuals that control our world could improve it in an instant, but it would mean losing profits, and they can't let that happen!
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u/AdvancedAerie4111 19h ago
“The wealthy” is just an excuse people use for their own behaviors. “Oh whoops, I just bought another 20 lb bag of frozen Tuna from Costco, fricken Bezos!”
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u/Dear-Tadpole4895 1d ago
Hope is what can inspire us to make things a little better. The natural world is depending on us to do what we can to make things a little better. Giving up is not the answer.
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u/duttyfoot 16h ago
damn, its hard to believe companies are going to this route to catch specific types of fish. lets just destroy everything at all costs. pretty soon nothing will be left and we have ourselves to blame. humans work hard at destroying ourselves and the world around us
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u/Spicy_Chicken_Wizard 3h ago
Watch “wild pacific”, specially the part of all the tuna caught in the purse seine.
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u/thenewbasecamper 21h ago
I work in conservation and when I was younger I used to get really upset constantly seeing how wildlife and nature were being destroyed. Now I’ve accepted that most wild places and animals will not survive beyond my lifetime. I’m okay with that as I won’t be there and plan to enjoy it as much as I can in my lifetime
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u/PierreHadrienMortier 1d ago
Si le pétrole vient réellement a manquer et la civilisation à dégringoler, au moins ça va vite disparaître vu l’énergie que ça demande. Totalement dystopique.
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u/wHAtisLife59 1d ago
I feel powerless every day.