A Memorial for Vanishing Species

Maya Lin, the architect behind the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C. among other endeavors, thought she would not be making any more memorials. But her latest and last memorial focuses on the loss of biodiversity using animal sounds and is called "What is missing?". The interactive project is newly installed at the California Academy of Sciences and is designed to show us what we've lost and what we stand to lose. Listen to her talking about her listening cones as a wake up call for humanity, which will be installed in many science museums around the world, at On Point at NPR. Keep a close ear on minute 8, where Maya Lin uses the term shifting baselines, showing its increasing popularity as a concept (and for the bit that follows on how she gave up sushi grade tuna):

I think scientists call is 'shifting baselines'. I don't think people really understand how rich this land used to be and if we try to prevent it, there's a lot we can do...it's really a wake up call.

The new listening cone on display designed by architect and environmentalist Maya Lin.