tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6601355103716900050.post6388038676089279740..comments2024-03-25T17:14:57.213+08:00Comments on Hands off Country: Baby Bilbies at James Price PointRed Handhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17147253130448944470noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6601355103716900050.post-84795513877200222302011-08-17T10:33:14.003+08:002011-08-17T10:33:14.003+08:00Bilbies at Prices Point
Recently, a healthy, matu...Bilbies at Prices Point<br /><br />Recently, a healthy, mature bilby was filmed by protesters near Prices<br />Point in the Kimberley. This is after Woodside Petroleum conducted an<br />environmental study which indicated that there were no bilbies in the<br />area. Woodside say they have spent more than $80 million on<br />environmental studies in the area.<br /><br />$80 million is a lot of money to spend, especially in an impoverished<br />region where youth suicide, glue and petrol sniffing are real and<br />significant problems. It could have saved a few lives, if it had been<br />spent intelligently, or it could have saved many animals. And lets be<br />clear about one thing, the threat to the bilbies is from cats, most of<br />whom would have started out in town and then escaped to the bush and<br />'gone feral'. These animals can be hunted and removed from the bush and<br />town residents can be educated about the damage inflicted on native<br />animals and birds by cats.<br /><br />Yet protesters, with no budget at all, have found a live bilby in the<br />area. Malcolm Douglas also found some bilbies around the general area,<br />but found that most of the bilby burrows were occupied by feral cats<br />and snakes, and that the bilbies were in danger of extinction in this<br />part of the Kimberley.<br /><br />Bad science, used to mislead the public and make an extra dollar, is<br />very dangerous because science is like a religion these days; people<br />believe in it. They make important decisions based on scientific<br />information. In this case there is a suggestion that the scientists<br />employed by Woodside examined an area of burnt-out bushland, and<br />concluded there were no bilbies in the area. If this is the case, this<br />raises the issue of corruption.<br /><br />Using science to deliberately deceive and manipulate the public is<br />dangerous. Any suggestion of it should be investigated. Woodside has<br />promised to keep the public informed of its evironmental studies in the<br />region, and they have spent $80 million on it, according to their<br />website. We need to see the details of these studies.<br /><br />Who are the scientists who couldn't find a bilby at Prices Point? Was<br />the land they looked at burnt out or not? Where is their evidence, and<br />how can they show that this money has not been used to deceive the<br />public?<br /><br />Another intriguing aspect of this concerns the Premier of Western<br />Australia, Colin Barnett, who has been closely involved with this issue.<br />What did he know about these surveys? Did these scientific studies<br />influence his decision to send in the riot squad? Because when you<br />combine rampant capitalism, bad science, lots of money and politicians<br />you often end up with corruption, and we all enjoy seeing corrupt<br />politicians brought to account.<br /><br /><br />Kevin Hawkins<br />14/08/2011Red Handhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17147253130448944470noreply@blogger.com