I emphatically agree with Dave and Mac. It seems to me that there has been more than a little unnecessary contempt for what Steve Irwin actually accomplished.
Effective communication to the general public typically does not succeed when it is done using a dry, dispassionate, University lecturing style and tone. Was Irwin sometimes over the top? Without question. Did he succeed in conveying his keen love for (and excitement about) animals to viewers having a tremendously wide variety of ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status? You bet. Has he left a visible legacy of enhanced public interest in animals and in animal conservation? I am convinced that he has. Many if not most of us in academia think about, speak to, and interact only with the converted. We perform our research in highly controlled environments; we give presentations at professional meetings composed of a highly selective group of (generally) like-minded individuals; and our personal and professional efforts typically influence only a vanishingly small proportion of the human population. Most of us have rarely written a letter to the editor of our local newspaper about science or conservation issues, much less write an op-ed piece that is seen and read by more than a very few people; creating an effective video, or creating an effective touring presentation designed for the general public like that of Al Gore is a P=10^-3 (or perhaps even rarer) event. There is room for the Carl Sagans and the David Suzukis of the world, and I argue that there is and must continue to be a role for animated and engaging individuals like Steve Irwin. Sincerely, Val Smith University of Kansas >Approved-By: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 11 >thread-index: AcbiQOUoKKB87P8JSXGaFDhkmadqAA== >Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:26:17 -0400 >Reply-To: "David M. Lawrence" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sender: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news" ><[email protected]> >From: "David M. Lawrence" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: How Steve Ir.win Could Have Used Entertainment in a Better Way >To: [email protected] >List-Help: <http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=ECOLOG-L>, > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ECOLOG-L> >List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Owner: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Archive: <http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=ECOLOG-L> >X-PMX-Version: 5.2.0.266434, Antispam-Engine: 2.4.0.264935, >Antispam-Data: 2006.9.27.71942 >X-PerlMx-Spam: Probability=7%, Report='__C230066_P5 0, >__CP_URI_IN_BODY 0, __CT 0, __CTE 0, __CTYPE_CHARSET_QUOTED 0, >__CT_TEXT_PLAIN 0, __HAS_MSGID 0, __HAS_X_MAILER 0, __MIME_TEXT_ONLY >0, __MIME_VERSION 0, __SANE_MSGID 0, __USER_AGENT_MS_GENERIC 0' >X-OriginalArrivalTime: 27 Sep 2006 14:52:40.0561 (UTC) >FILETIME=[949D0610:01C6E244] > >As I read this professional criticism (more appropriately referred to as >whingeing) about Steve Irwin I have to wonder how much of it is based on >envy that people like Irwin are popular and beloved around the world while >most of us work in relative obscurity teaching students who spend a lot of >time asleep in class. > >There is room, and a need, for showmanship. We need the Steve Irwins of the >world as much as we need those who go through committee review to obtain >approval of research protocols. Maybe more, as public support for >conservation is essential if we are going to save anything. The public >learns via the Irwins, not through us. Most of us, if we attempted to start >a television show to educate the public, would be miserable failures. He >wasn't, and should be commemorated for that. > >Dave > >------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com >------------------------------------------------------ > >"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > >"No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan > >-----Original Message----- >From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Sears >Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:52 PM >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: How Steve Irwin Could Have Used Entertainment in a Better Way > >Regardless of my thoughts on Steve Irwin, there is at least one big >difference between the harassment that Irwin imposed on animals and that >imposed by researchers employing the various methods listed by Sharif...we >researchers must have our methods approved by Animal Care and Use >Committees, meaning that a group of peers and laypeople review our protocols >to determine whether the welfare of the animal is endangered, whether the >methods are ethical, and that the scientific discovery merits the means used >to collect the information. I doubt the the croc hunter had to follow the >same stringent guidelines that many of us on the list must go through. > >Mike Val H. Smith Professor Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045 785-864-4565 FAX: 785-864-5321 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
