At 07:30 PM 4/22/99 EDT, MBlanchrd at aol.com wrote:

>Don Baccus, if he's got the time, is the man you want to talk to. He's got a
>way with words that cuts through pompous bullshit (excuse me, but I know it
>when I read it) right to the bone.
> Whoever that clown is who wrote the pro DDT junk must be high. Is he
>implying that usage of DDT INCREASED the populations of robins, eagles,and
>pelicans? Let's not mention Peregrines. I saw my first peregrine falcon LAST
>year, and ONLY last year. This, in a lifespan of over 40 (no, don't ask how
>many over 40) years, 30 of which were spent watching birds.
>Jeez, I hate it when idiots refuse to allow facts and truth to support their
>arguments.

I already did this service for the Seattle PI article I
mentioned in my previous post. The problem with skewering
articles like this is getting the data needed to hone the
sharp end.

So this AM I went to the Cornell site to look at the CBC
data the guy cited myself, but unfortunately they don't
have a database search function for "total numbers of
one species counted in the entire country for the decade
1960-1970". You have to restrict yourself to specific
count circles.

As it happens, I have all the CBC count data on one of
my PCs here at home, but as of yet haven't organized it
into a personal database so can't query my personal copy
either.

So I couldn't get the data on "eagles" (does the guy even
know there are two species in the lower 48 in different
genera?) for the period of time the op ed piece mentioned.

Which makes me very curious - where did HE get HIS "audubon
data"? Can't imagine he laboriously counted all the records
for all the count circles by hand...I'm sure he picked it
up off of some place like www.junkscience.com - obviously
a well-funded site. These folks are masters of selective
cites, out-of-context quoting of the "see, Stephen Jay
Gould doesn't believe in evolution" genre, and other dishonest
means of debate.

OK, if you're with me thus far, check out the new Environmental
Defense Fund site http://actionnetwork.org. It's a system
designed to alert folks by e-mail of legislative and other
threats to environmental sanity in their neighborhood. It's
powered by the web database management software written by
Philip Greenspun, the guy who gives me my web site space for
free.

So this gives me the opportunity to plug him, his software,
and the Environmental Defense Fund.





- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net