Marine Biology, Shifting Baselines

TED talk by Marine Biologist Daniel Pauly on the shifting baseline of our oceans

French-born Pauly is well known for his work studying the human impact on marine ecosystems and global fisheries. The use for technology in marine science has changed over the years — initially it was used to find and catch fish, but now it is being used for good by identifying and tracking vessels operating illegally in the waters of developing countries.

Pauly said he became involved with this line of work to create a more even playing field between developed and developing countries.

He believes that Geographic Information systems — or computer mapping — have changed the way fisheries operate. "We realise now they are not benign locally constrained activities, but part of a global system that is modifying the manner in which marine ecosystems are structured and function," he said.

The marine biologist rockstar says if he could implement one piece of technology in his industry, it would be a camera that every fishing vessel must carry on board so the public can monitor all the activity on board the boat. This, he said, would suppress all illegal fishing plus add a fishing reality show to the current cooking/reno TV mix.

Ideas mean little to Pauly, as everyone has so many of them, instead he wants to share intellectual tools with the world and coherent data sets.

Hamish Skermer is a name synonymous with crap — but for all the right reasons. The man is behind an eco toilet that has been used at some of the biggest music festivals in the world. He is changing the world by "empowering communities to look after their own shit and treat every thing as a resource not as waste."

The entrepreneur ended up on the anti-waste journey after starting his own festival in 1996, while he studied environmental chemistry. It ended up with the creation of a compost toilet for large gatherings of people, and banishing Portaloos to the scrap heap.

"I refused to use Portaloos because they are so unpleasant to use, so I designed my own toilet system to meet the needs of our gathering," Skermer said. "As soon as I had done that I could see it had regional, national and international significance not only for festivals but also for communities with acute or chronic stress caused by sanitation and water issues."

Since then, Skermer has pushed to remove the taboos around the compost industry and to use technology to create both high and low tech changes to the industry. In low tech, his toilets turn excrement into soil at festivals and in high tech, he has turned excrement into fuel to power buses.

Sydney-based Uglow works for Google in its Creative Labs — where he generates, explores and tests digital ideas that push the boundaries. It sees him collaborate with cultural and creative organisations around the world to explore the intersection between technology and the arts.

One project he is currently knee-deep in is the Cube project — an experimental platform for storytelling — which Uglow describes as "basically like watching a film, with six different sides at once." (see above.)

"In my time at Google I've moved through massive shifts that seem everyday now — like AJAX (asynchronous javascript) that let websites pre-empt you (i.e. scrolling maps or autosuggest), and the arrival of smart phones with location technology that lets information be contextual to you," Uglow said. "But the biggest technology to change the world are the speech and translation innovations which are still in their infancy but they are literally changing the world."

Uglow says the growth of real-time information, from tools such as Twitter, Weibo or Google Now, is beginning to allow the Internet to feed us information before we ask for it, based on our behaviour or preferences. "So we see these sudden massive shifts of ideology or feeling based simply on the speed and ease with which ideas can be shared," he said.

We are lucky that innovators like Uglow are helping shape our digital future, because if he can't have a time machine, he said he would settle for digital inks, like e-paper, that could be painted onto surfaces at low cost and "remove our addiction to screens."

The 39-year-old admits he resisted moving into this field, and would be happiest creating small hand-made books. "But since I find myself here I confess it is an astonishing place to indulge a creative mind, it is epic and dramatic, like having box seats at the opera," he confided.

Source: Mashable

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• Environment
• Ecosystem Management
• Marine