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THE BIRDS ARE DISAPPEARING — And They Are Warning Us About Our Future
Description
What happens when spring becomes quieter?
Birds have been witnessing the transformation of our planet for generations. Their changing migration patterns, declining populations and disappearing habitats tell a story that reaches far beyond birdlife. They tell us something about how humanity is living on Earth and where we may be heading.
In this episode of Divine Design Podcast, I speak with Professor Dag O. Hessen, biologist and professor at the University of Oslo, about what 200 years of changes in birdlife reveal about the human impact on nature.
We explore the dramatic decline of wildlife, the landscapes we have transformed, climate change, marine ecosystems and the tiny organisms upon which entire food chains depend. We also enter the extraordinary world of natural intelligence: how birds travel thousands of kilometres, navigate through magnetic fields, stars and landscapes, and somehow know when and where to go.
And this raises another question: While animals have remained deeply connected to the intelligence of nature, what have we humans lost along the way?
This is not only a conversation about birds. It is a conversation about consumption, technology, AI, our endless pursuit of more, and a culture that has increasingly measured progress through possessions and economic growth while overlooking the living systems supporting us.
But this conversation is not without hope. Dag reminds us that change does not require everyone to become Greta Thunberg. Positive tipping points can happen when enough ordinary people begin making different choices and consuming less does not necessarily mean living less. It may even open the door to a richer and more meaningful life. The birds are still singing. The question is whether we are listening while we still can.
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Contact Dag O. Hessen:
Mail: d.o.hessen@mn.uio.no