[MAIPC] What you can do about claims that invasive species aren't a problem

[Stephen Hiltner]

For everyone involved in habitat restoration, there are simple ways you can
discourage the false revisionism in books and news media that claim that
invasive species aren't really a problem after all. One way we can reach
beyond our bubble of relative agreement, and interact with other people in
very different bubbles, is in the review section of online book sellers
like Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. It's books like The New Wild and Where
Do Camels Belong that serve as rationale for environmental editors and
writers to publish denialist articles about invasive species. The recent
article in the Boston Globe that I reviewed
<http://newscompanion.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-latest-false-revisionism-about.html>
on
my website referenced the authors of these books as authorities.

Reviews at Amazon that point out the fallacies are currently very rare, so
these books get very high ratings from gullible readers. It makes sense
that people with experience and knowledge should be participating in the
discussion.

Below are two ways to communicate interbubblely (best done with a glass of
prosecco in hand). The second way is easier than the first.

1) If you've read one of the four books below (there are probably others),
please post a review to Amazon.com and/or any other online bookstore that
sells them. One question is how to read a book you don't want to support
through purchase. For one book, I read the portions accessible online and
wrote a targeted review of those portions only, then was later able to
access a free copy and expand the review. One woman, without claiming to
have read the book, wrote a "review" that simply encouraged everyone to
read Daniel Simberloff's book. Since one of the problems with these books
is that they demonize people like us, it's important not to demonize them
in return, but simply to point out the flaws in their logic and content.

2) If you haven't read these books, you can still go to the bookstore
websites, read the reviews, and click on whether you found each review
helpful or not. Some of these reviews lash out at people like us, and you
can simply click on the button for "not helpful". Reviews marked as
"helpful" rise in the list and will then be more likely to be read.

For instance, I posted an extensive negative review at Amazon about "Beyond
the War on Invasive Species". It wasn't hard to give the book a one star
rating, given how misleading the book is. You can go to this link
<https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-War-Invasive-Species-Permaculture/dp/160358563X>,
scroll down through the comments and, if you find my comment helpful, click
on the "yes" button. There's also a one star review someone posted about The
New Wild
<https://www.amazon.com/New-Wild-Invasive-Species-Salvation/dp/0807039551>
that points out that book's biases. It's easy to support these reviews.

This really is a quick and easy way, in the fullness of time when you have
a moment here and there, to have an impact on the public's perception of
invasive species, and maybe even break a few bubbles. Amazon and Goodreads
seem to draw the most traffic and reviews, but there may be others.


*Bonus holiday tip:* If you buy stuff at Amazon.com, they will divert a
tiny but semi-meaningful portion of your purchase to the charity of your
choice if you log on via smile.amazon.com. Same price for you, but a
slight, slight donation, so why not.

Steve
PrincetonNatureNotes.org
NewsCompanion.com


https://www.amazon.com/Rambunctious-Garden-Saving-Nature-
Post-Wild/dp/160819454X/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&
psc=1&refRID=DASS134HAW1WSRCS5HV8

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Do-Camels-Belong-Invasive/dp/17
71640960/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/New-Wild-Invasive-Species-Salvation/dp/0807039551

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-War-Invasive-Species-Permacult
ure/dp/160358563X
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