Well said and bravo! The degree of complacency by such institutions and organizations, the willingness to go along with current fads, the lack of courageous leadership desperately needed, and the failure to use the authority and incredible outreach potential of museums and organizations to sound the alarm, educate the public, and advocate in the political arena is difficult to understand. Sociologists, psychologists, and economists will have to unravel the why, but we must each do what we can to be agents of the kind of change you wisely call for. Taxonomists and museum professionals must step up, make clear what is happening to biodiversity and its consequences, how the knowledge they create informs conservation, and do their part to become forceful advocates for biodiversity exploration and conservation.
While I fully applauded the basic synthesis here, there is an elephant in the room. Compassion is not enough and I remain perplexed with the politics of may museum boards and those of other systematics organisations which seems to result in, even in the knowledge of the sixth extinction, these custodians of knowledge being reluctant to be genuine advocates for, and defenders of biodiversity, in all forums and especially political. While science knowledge is neutral, scientists and organisations appreciating this knowledge are morally bound in my mind to advocate the perils we and our planet face. While individuals do this many institutions seems be be only begrudging advocates when put under pressure. Why is this? And how can it change?
Well said and bravo! The degree of complacency by such institutions and organizations, the willingness to go along with current fads, the lack of courageous leadership desperately needed, and the failure to use the authority and incredible outreach potential of museums and organizations to sound the alarm, educate the public, and advocate in the political arena is difficult to understand. Sociologists, psychologists, and economists will have to unravel the why, but we must each do what we can to be agents of the kind of change you wisely call for. Taxonomists and museum professionals must step up, make clear what is happening to biodiversity and its consequences, how the knowledge they create informs conservation, and do their part to become forceful advocates for biodiversity exploration and conservation.
While I fully applauded the basic synthesis here, there is an elephant in the room. Compassion is not enough and I remain perplexed with the politics of may museum boards and those of other systematics organisations which seems to result in, even in the knowledge of the sixth extinction, these custodians of knowledge being reluctant to be genuine advocates for, and defenders of biodiversity, in all forums and especially political. While science knowledge is neutral, scientists and organisations appreciating this knowledge are morally bound in my mind to advocate the perils we and our planet face. While individuals do this many institutions seems be be only begrudging advocates when put under pressure. Why is this? And how can it change?