Thursday, 17 December 2009

Doing it wrong

Here's a sign that you might be doing it wrong:
Wanted: PR firm to fight species listings

The Alaska Legislature is paying for a conference and public relations campaign to persuade Congress to limit the Endangered Species Act.
The argument goes "Polar Bears cost us money as an endangered species. So, we should have them unlisted as endangered species." If you can't spot the numerous non-sequitors in there, give it another read.  Since apparently it needs said, Polar Bears are very probably endangered by habitat loss.

I'm disappointed by this - it's nothing more than politicization of Science - but I'm not surprised by it. There's a phrase we hear often that goes "We need more science." That means, "We need more people who agree with us." It's one of the things you realize early on in the critter management field. If you're unscrupulous, it also means you found a willing payer to revisit some topic.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good grief!

gpc said...

Heard the author of 'on thin ice' on npr today - several callers in explained to him that there is no global warming and that the polar bears are just fine. To his credit, he didn't even pretend to be patient with them. Our species has not done a good job of natural selection when it comes to common sense.

Alaskan Dave Down Under said...

Since when has any branch of the AK govt done anything based solely on science? Heck, this is just par for the course, doncha know *wink*.

William B Swift said...

Protecting "endangered species" in the first place is purely a political, NOT a scientific, issue. Your biases are showing.


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