Watch Your Language

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Woko
Woko's picture
Watch Your Language

Araminta, apropos our discussion on Triker's thread in "Best Photos" here's a brief article I wrote for our local newsletter in 2007:
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
Language is often used in manipulative ways to create a particular impression. This has been particularly so in the environment area.
For example, in an application for a mining lease earlier this year the purpose of the mining was the “recovery” of sand, as though the sand had been lost or injured and the applicant was playing the role of Good Samaritan by rescuing it.
On TV weather reports strong winds and dust storms are often blamed for poor visibility on the roads. Bush clearance is never the culprit.
Avalanches are caused by torrential rain, rarely are they caused by deforestation.
Wetlands are called swamps by developers. Swamps are called wetlands by conservationists. “Swamp” has a much nastier connotation than “wetland”.
“Management” and “exploitation” are interchangeable, depending on who’s using the word. Foresters always talk about managing forests, never about exploiting them. Irrigators talk about managing ground water, never about exploiting it.
Even the term “global warming” was discarded by the White House in favour of “climate change”.

Araminta
Araminta's picture

Too right Woko, it's not only the language, it's also the interpretation and application that differs. What words mean to you and me,can have a completely different meaning to some agencies. Take "road maintenance", to the council it means: get 4 workmen out with one shovel, to fill every 10th pothole. A "controlled burn" by the DSE will at least turn into double the intended size.Fire prevention in the bush, means slash and burn. (I have seen it in Cockatoo last year, a small intended burn turned into a "hot burn" .The trees are still blackened, and the only planst growing, are weeds .
The slogan" clean up before a bush fire does",= get the traktor out, clear, scrape off everything, and burn the rest!

M-L

birdie
birdie's picture

OMG watch out world I think we need to build a bigger soap box for these two LMAO!!
I totally agree with you both of course... just imagine if we all got together one day and put the world to rights...ha ha ha what a laugh that would be :')

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Woko
Woko's picture

As long as that bigger soap box is made from plantation timber I don't mind at all, birdie! And, yes, it'll be important to have a laugh as we put the world to rights. After all, the world wouldn't be to rights if we didn't have a few laughs.

Araminta, I really like your exposure of the cover ups & tokenism that seem to be rife. You do it with passion.

Araminta
Araminta's picture

Back on the soap box! I have to vent my anger about the DSE again. Most people on the forum will remember "my Koala", the one that sat in my tree one day with her baby.Skinny and frightened, with a blue tag in her ear, No 478. As I found out later ,released by the DSE, one of 600 Koalas so far.DSE didn't fess up to knowing anything about her, didn't care.... Just then ,I red in the local paper, DSE is going to release 250 more Koalas into the Kurth Kiln area, just outside Gembrook.THAT IS CRIMINAL in my eyes! The Koalas in the Bunyip State Park have been found wandering on the roads,starving and emaciated, and turned up in people's gardens, like mine.The eucalypts are not the same as they were used to feed on French Island. To make this as short as I can,it is said, " As part of the relocation, DSE will monitor the Koalas, to make sure they adapt to the new location."
YES??? JUST AS THEY DID with Koala 478 in my garden, starving, carrying a baby, and DSE knew nothing about her, although it had a tag!??
Who are they kidding? This is outrages! I have to think about what I can do fast!! M-L

M-L

Araminta
Araminta's picture

sorry, got the No wrong, it was Koala 487, as you can see on the tag!

I followed her and her baby for days, I don't think she survived. I would have wanted her to have a good life, but I doupt it. And now DSE is releasing 250 more unfortunate animals? How can the ever justify that, and sleep at night? M-L

M-L

Araminta
Araminta's picture

sorry again for the poor spelling," doubt"!! M-L

M-L

Owen1
Owen1's picture

Use of words is everything and can change how people think about things. I am surprised that the department of environment and sustainability are releasing more koalas when people who aren't even involved in the project like you M-L have noticed they are doing badly.
What's going on there???

Cheers, Owen.

Araminta
Araminta's picture

Most of the Wildlife Carers in the area are up in arms, they have already looked after emaciated Koalas.But, there is no stopping DSE from releasing more, they say French Island has too many Koalas. I don't think bringing them in large numbers over here, and let them starve and suffer is the answer!!
On Monday I will try to contact the person who wrote the article in the paper, he is a Wildlife Carer.

M-L

Woko
Woko's picture

From what you've said, Araminta, it seems to be a very crude approach to koala conservation. I wish you luck in your efforts to bring about a more helpful approach.
On a similar note, posters may know that Kangaroo Island vegetation has been severely threatened by koalas that were released there some years ago. Koala controls have been introduced with much angst from folk who can't see beyond the cute & cuddlies to the importance of a healthy environment for all the creatures that live there naturally. (Koalas don't live there naturally.)
Koalas were also realeased into the Mt Lofty Ranges where koalas also don't live naturally & most people go oooo! aaaaah! when they see one. But they make no connection between the damage to native vegetation on Kangaroo Island & the potential threat to the Mt Lofty Ranges native vegetation.
It's a strange contradiction & shows that we have a long way to go before we get appropriate environmental policies & actions in place both here & over your way.

Wollemi
Wollemi's picture

Words are so very important to us all and the biggest problem with written words is that there is nothing to help a person understand the true intention of the writer, we don't see facial expression, or body language and so have to rely on the meaning of words and phrases. The major problem with that is that every person who reads and writes English will interpret the written word through the lens of their own experience. We all have different experiences in life!

Worse still is when people misinterpret the meaning altogether.Many words that look similar to the eye can have vastly different meaning.

One 'benevolent' company in our area is Boral. What a wonderful company! (sarcasm intended) Down the road from me is over a thousand acres of what was once the most arable farmland in the area. Dairies and orchards and vegetable farms were interspersed with clumps of native scrub and it all happily existed alongside the Nepean River.

Boral bought out the farmers, fenced it all off and began pillaging the land, first selling off the top soil, then the sand and gravel, over a thousand acres of farmland and bushland was replaced with whopping great holes in the ground. They continue to pillage the land and will keep doing so. Very cleverly this wonderful company built up banks along the roadside so that passers by would see these lovely banks of planted natives and not beyond them. Even more clever was the development of the Regatta centre and Lake Scheme! Oh how pretty! What else does one fill a hole with when they have taken all the natural soil and gravel? Water!

If a passerby should venture up along Springwood Road to the lookout in the mountains and cast a gaze along those acres they will see the truth behind the pretty banks of natives. Large vast holes in the ground with giant machines digging and loading everything that they can sell.

So many people have said to me. "Oh the regatta centre isn't it great!" and I reply by taking them to the lookout and showing them the truth behind the Regatta Centre. I give them a short history lesson on the area along the way and let them come to their own conclusion. 100% of people I have taken to the lookout change their mind about the regatta centre.

Google Earth the Regatta Centre at Penrith (Castlereagh) and then explore north of there!

They will tell you that they are creating wetlands for birds, they will tell you that they are helping the environment!

Google it and decide for yourself.

Words! It is all in the words!

Regards

Cheryl

Woko
Woko's picture

That's all so aggravating, Wollemi. And there's so much of it about. Boral's banks abounding with natives are sheer tokenism & tokenism is a blight on our nation.

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