Preservation of America's Wildlife

Tag: science

  • All the Facts, Please, All Data Needed – Not Cherry-Picked Data to Appease Your Ignorance and Needs Financially

    Written by
    John Cox, M.A. C/M

    “The truth is in the details — In the field of communication, we separate misinformation from disinformation (campaigns of misinformation), or propaganda (motivated toward an end result by disinformation), or, simply leaving particular cumbersome information out from a subject area, in order to achieve, also, a wanted result, rather than a true result.  This discussion centers around result-oriented situations, and hopefully explains the challenges common-folks, such as you and I experience daily, within today’s rat-race of greed, ignorance, and self-proclaimed experts. .  i.e. controversies.  Diversions that suspend truth into a confusing quagmire of endless different results, most destructive to our environment, as well as our personal well-being.

    We have history that shows us, the inconsistency of science, for example.  More often than not, on our planet, we cannot use a “one-size fits all science” within our Wildlife Environments, across the United States, as well as internationally.  Going back to Ben Franklin and flying his kite, that generated Static Electricity, and he was sheltered from the storm while flying the kite.  Later, a Russian Scientist reviewing Franklin’s discovery, flew his kite into an electrical storm, and was hit, directly, with lightening – the bolt transcended down the kite line, hit the scientist’s head, and blew his shoes off.  He sacrificed his life, unknowingly, due to lack of information, or ignored the truth of the information.  So much for Peer Reviews. 

    Psychologist Catharin Morris Cox deducted, through extensive profiles and Scientific Deductive Reasoning (formula’s et al.) Franklins IQ was around 160 (IQ tests were not done at that time of his life span).  Through Deductive Reasoning, with all of evidence available, nothing set-side due to being an Uncomfortable Truth, or, not equitable within a disinformation context, left out, we see a truth developed into what we refer to as “Fact”.  We find today the term “Fact” is not necessarily a truth to depend upon, when used by itself, and left non-referenced.  The confusion we see today, not just in politics, but within science, as well, and many folks confused.

    Many American wildlife “facts” are distorted by bad science, outdated studies, or myths, often influencing management policies negatively. Common misconceptions include the myth that opossums consume large amounts of ticks (proven false by diet studies in some habitats when stomach contents examined) and that porcupines can shoot their quills. Misinformation extends to policy, where wolf delisting or animal control actions sometimes rely on flawed or non-peer-reviewed data.

    Notable Circumstances of Misinformation / Disinformation

    Wolf Management: Wolf delisting in some areas was based on 2012 research that many wolf biologists did not consider accurate or conclusive.  Yet still referenced, often, by many who do not understand, nor can really tell the difference between poor-science, accomplished by lack of experience in data gathering, and again, a lot of information left out of the data, as well as relied upon myth, or information from those whose finances may be lowered, by Factual-Truth.

    Wild Horse Impact: Evidence tells us that BLM studies have overstated, continuously, the impact of Wild Horses on grazing land while understating the impact of cattle, all the while noticeable, a lot of data not gathered, or ignored, or manipulated, should have not passed Peer Review, due to so many flaws within the data collected.  Severity of sending Wild Horses to Slaughter developed, and still exists to current situations we see today.

    Bad Science in Management

    Misguided Management: A study of 667 wildlife management systems found that many lack clear objectives and evidence, suggesting management is often not truly science-based.

    Wildlife Services: The USDA’s Wildlife Services program has been criticized for killing over a million native animals annually, sometimes based on broad, indiscriminate policies rather than specific, effective science.

    Survivorship Bias: Studies on falling cats (a common “fact”) often only include those taken to a vet, ignoring cats that died at the scene, resulting in skewed survival data. 

    Common Misinformation Sources

    False Narratives: The idea that hunting is entirely necessary for population control is frequently pushed, while studies, with complete details rather than conveniently left out details, show it can disrupt natural self-regulation in ecosystems.  The evidence of destruction within Wilderness Areas, as well as many Forest Habitats and Wildfires attest, equate to results showing us this to be true.  Limited attention given to regulated-permit hunting (as a priority over environmental health) and chosen Wildlife, remains non-scientific, as much as reflects the greed, ignorance, and avarice of hunting and bad science combined into their complex of misinformation – disinformation campaigns . . .

    AI and Social Media: Artificial intelligence and viral videos can create false portrayals of animal behavior, misinforming the public about wildlife needs, and attribute their science as necessary (as incorrect and cumbersomely void of facts)

    We can Conclude

    We see, you and I, many questionable situations today that require our attention, and knowledge, on how to distinguish between truth, and ignorant ranting, yet calling it science.  At the advent of AI becoming much better than over the past couple of decades, we find their truth, notably to be fiction, often developing into what some assume to be reality – or truth.  The more we know about Aristotle’s Dramatic Structure Paradigm, within storytelling, we can assimilate these fictional AI creations, and identify them as what they are, fictional-story-telling – that has indeed overlapped into complete fiction re-mastered as science. 

    But many do not, nor have not, studied story-structure, or Physics, or Biology, but rather learned it through life – as incomplete as that may be.  Cherry-picking, so to speak, what we understand, compared to taking the time to learn the things that are a little more difficult to understand, remains the status-quo; whether, directly or indirectly (social media a good example.  Then derive our own conclusion – once again, facts left out that can be critical.  Destruction does follow, make no doubt.  Perhaps not as dramatic as taking a lightening bolt to the head, and your shoes being blown off, but the results for our Wildlife, our nation’s forests, as well as our entire Terrestrial environment, suffers greatly.  And none of the above, I mention, can defend themselves – So it is up to us, to step up and defend it all.  The priority must develop into all life on this planet to coexist – ignorance picks and chooses life of their choice, yet we see through history, that these types of bigotry are very destructive,” — John Cox M.A. C/M

  • Nature, Sustainability, Happiness, and Us Common Folks

    Editorial by
    John Cox, M.A. C/M

    We live in a society, currently, and so much over the past couple of centuries, that we can go and purchase what it is we want to be, during the day or into the night.   In doing so we have, in reality, grown apart, or away from Nature…  Yes, ultimately, if one has the cash, we can be whatever one wants to be – Business, rather than Nature, gives us a very false world to live within.  Often the obvious becomes just that, and people simply appear out of place, in both action, or, in deed, style, and natural occurrence, distant from one’s appearance.  Within many aspects, the person, simply, does not fit in the realm of their iconic adventure into what they are not.

    When we, as people, want to steer away from our mundane, and often sad life (an personal assumptive psychological dynamic) many live today.  They go to the store, in this assumptive life-changing event, purchase pairs of e.g. camouflage pants, shirts, and yes, even underwear.  (i.e. as if Mr. Peabody, in the 1960’s Saturday morning Mr. Peabody and Sherman, sends Sherman to whatever Iconic adventure he wishes, and often finds he is unqualified to be there, and just as often the Wizard pulls him back to reality when life and death situations becomes Sherman’s reality).  Undaunted, Sherman then attempts to be something else, and life goes on. 

    Often, people do search for what they indeed are, rather than just be what they are, and can find real-happiness in it, within the natural flow of things, and no other life form nor habitat need be sacrificed to do so – Yes, Nature also plays a roll in this, but in Real-Time – not fakery, mirrors, or false persona’s. 

    But all people are different.  One aspires toward being a businessperson, easy remedy, go out and buy a suite, or buy a business-type dress; suddenly, as if a request from the Wizard of Oz fulfilled, one becomes a business person, whether qualified or not.  This can go to various satiation’s, a Rodeo Star, a motorcycle rider and outlaw, a deep-sea diver, an action-adventure  parachutist, and even paraphernalia to become James Bond and a spy.  I think Sherman had tried all of these, and come out calling, oh wait, comes out pleading for Mr. Wizard to save him from assured death.

    Within all of this, many of us see, sadly, the disconnect from Nature the human species have indeed created.  When we study the problems on how to resolve the issues and conflicts of today, with Nature, one very prominent situation arises, again and again.  Not just the money.  But rather, all those implied situations, yes, that money can provide, falsely, a better life – but the fact that the physiological dynamics conflict, and often destroyed. 

    Our conflicts with Nature numerous, some psychological, some physical, some very psychotic and with bias, hatred, or worse, apathy – and the knowledge that perhaps, the only reason we are so destructive, is that we had a choice, with our opposable-thumbs (the factor that separates us from other life on this planet).  Yes, the Universal Factor of “Choices” we human’s had chosen, beyond survival.  These choices conflict with Nature, and often.  As if God’s or something, that we can pick and choose what other live-forms can live, and others sacrificed, for the way we, the human species, lives. “  — John Cox, M.A. C/M