The audacity of hope

Think of ‘the news’ today and here’s what comes to mind — trade wars. Real wars. Murders. Abuse. Violations. Evasions. Circles of cynicism. Pits of danger. Every place you look, politics seems a swamp and civil society, a battlefield. You could be forgiven, gentle reader, for thinking the world is a sickening place and there’s little to be optimistic about while we blow up our own face.

Yet, do not despair — there are those of great heart among us yet. We refer to conservationists, scientists, animal carers and plant whisperers, who strive to protect non-human species many of us are determined, in jaded awareness and foolish ignorance, to destroy. Interestingly, the more the Anthropocene — the era of human impacts reshaping Earth — extends, the greater such efforts grow.

The protection of wildlife has its roots in the 19 th century recognition of how industrialisation was damaging societies. Cleaving through forests, mountains and rivers, rampant commerce, wielding the axe of technology, was destroying ecology — and non-human lives. Shocked by vanishing species — once, millions of American bison roamed the Great Plains but only 100 were left by 1900, which is 100 more than the Great Auk, mercilessly slaughtered to extinction for oil in Iceland — humane beings decided to save what was left. Conservation groups grew in the late 19 th -early 20 th centuries, determined to stop hunting, punish poaching, end animal ivory and fur trades, reserve tracts of land and sea for non-human beings and prevent pollutants poisoning these. We now see captive breeding programs, protecting vulnerable birds, animals, plants and fungi, reintroducing species into the wild, restoring habitat and making visionary changes, like carving new ship routes in seas to save whales or creating tree hollows for birds, bats and marsupials.

In these efforts also glimmers an endeavour to save humanity. Some of us recognise there is more to life on Earth than a shiny phone or a ‘viral’ dish — we humans share a deeper existential link with other inhabitants of this world. Why are we all here? Why did each species evolve as it did — and how does every living thing have its own unique nature? Where do we all go from here — and how should we live together? Some of us still dare to think — with love and understanding. We honour such efforts in Times Evoke. As TE’s global experts outline, we have volumes to learn from other species, from wisdom and joy in a dog’s mind to operas of experience in a seal’s call. The more we respect non-human beings, the more beautiful our life becomes for we rediscover purity. Join Times Evoke as we celebrate conservationists with the audacity of hope — they give us great news.