All agreed. But the catchphrases and the bumper stickers and the view we give our young people are bogus. The problem is we divert attention from the real issue. Whales, rain forests and global warming are but threads in a tapestry; one that we are woven into. While important in addressing the main issue this stuff is fluff that does not focus on the issue at hand.
True enough - and I agree with your analogy about "threads in a tapestry". However, I submit that I agree only because I am both intimately engaged in the issues as a profession, and have years of study and experience behind me to support my understanding. The point of the bumper stickers and catchphrases is not to present the entire picture, but to engage the average person (who's attention span I fully believe is measured in nanoseconds). In the business we call the whales, dolphins, baby chimps, pandas, etc the "charismatic" species - the ones that average, non-ecologist/non-conservation biologists see and go "awwwww". Those are the images that stick in people's minds, and that are concrete enough (and let's face it, cute enough), to motivate people to donate or otherwise get involved. Without that, people will simply ignore the issues - because they have way too many other things to occupy themselves with. There's a reason why the World Wildlife Fund, for instance and among others, has adopted a charismatic as their logo.
Unless we are upfront, honest and adamant about it the heart gets diverted into (albeit important) minutia. The real drive needs to be stated clearly and precisely so there is no mistake about what is at issue here. The issue is not “Save The Dolphins” or “Save The Snail Darter” or “Save The Majestic Bald Eagle.” The issue here is “Save The Humans.”
Again, I agree with you. However, to "save the humans" as you note, we need to preserve as much as possible the natural ecosystems upon which we depend - whether the average person knows it or not. However, I completely believe that using easily visualized or even "cute" organisms or easily remembered catchphrases is far more effective in reaching the average person than lecturing about environmental economics or the value of ecosystem services. After all, the vast majority of people with "Save the Rainforest" bumperstickers are NOT going to be the ones teaching a Cofan village about integrated farming techniques as an alternative to traditional destructive exploitation patterns. The folks that ARE actually doing that, I can assure you, are fully aware of the, erm,
holistic nature of the problem and the complexity of the potential solutions.
Kids think whales are in danger and have been told this is not good but the reinforcement of “why” is left out.
I wanted to take this seperately. You're absolutely right. This goes back to what Taz said above, and I supported: education is the key to the future of both our species and a myriad of others. Unfortunately, most environmental ed that I've encountered (outside a university, at least), is sadly lacking in explaining the "why's". It is even worse in the developing world where the people are most directly involved in environmental degradation (at least of the tropics). Conservationists really only been focusing on this aspect of the issue for a decade or so. The best mix of practical alternatives, development, education, and conservation has yet to be discovered.
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