Eco-what?

On the front page of the December 4^th issue of the newspaper we get at my office was the following headline, “Broken marriages create strain on ecology”.

The article was about how an increase in divorce rates equates to an increase in the number of households equates to an increase in the usage of natural resources.

But none of that matters!

Does anyone else see a problem with that headline besides me?

How could broken marriages create a strain on a field of science? Ecology is the study of the distributions of organisms and the interrelationships of those organisms and their environment. The word ecology does not mean the environment! The article should have been titled “Broken marriages create strain on the environment”. The two terms are not synonymous!

This statement is about as absurd as “Black holes distort the fabric of astronomy” or “Schizophrenia linked to levels of psychology in human body” (I made those two up). It astounds me how prevalent the lack of basic scientific knowledge and principles is in our society.

What really chaps my ass though is if you look into the “Ecology Club” at any middle or high school across the country I guarantee one of their top activities (if not their number one activity) will be environmental activism.

Now, I do not have a problem with activism, especially environmental activism. Hell, I’m all for it – but that is not science! Ecology is a field of science! It is not about protests or petition signing! It is about observation and statistical modeling!

Would you believe a few years ago I met someone, a college graduate even, who did not know what Botany was! Where oh where did we go wrong with teaching people about science in this country!

To quote my nemesis, John Stossel, give me a break!

~ by Dixon on December 6, 2007.