If this isn’t the most dystopian thing you’ve read today I don’t know what is.

Artificial Refugia (such as bat boxes) can be used to somewhat offset lost habitat, but it’s like replacing a rainforest with a plastic plant and calling it conservation. Further, unless they are meticulously designed, they can act as traps (trap animals inside), snack plates for predators, or even ‘cook’ the animals inside them.

  • Grimtuck@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Not all are used for these habitats, most are sold to the public to support charities and the rest are recycled into children’s playgrounds or similar.

    This is also why the spectators are not allowed to keep balls that they catch unlike other tennis tournaments. It’s not to be mean. Wimbledon tennis balls have a life after the tournament.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      They’re putting plastic balls into fields for mice that chew everything. So if you want to efficiently distribute micro plastics into the environment, I can’t think of a better solution.

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    It’s always felt funny to me how dumping things turning into the environment rehabilitation are often presented as feel good stories, like throwing subway cars to make coral reefs. Sure they help revitalize ecosystems in many cases but it’s just a weird feeling to me.

    • Bobo The Great@startrek.website
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      23 hours ago

      To be fair, a metal subway car (provided they removed every piece of rubber, plastic and electronic component) is environmental quite neutral, as metal and glass are inert. In this case though, I’m pretty sure tennis ball contain plastic so it wouldn’t be whise to just leave them in the open. If they were glass balls, it would be better.

    • normalexit@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Whelp, sorry about messing up your habitat. Here’s some garbage… Looks like our job here is done.