Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The juggernaut continues. In 2014, the European Union approved new legislation that would ban the
possession, transport, or sale of “alien invasive species” that officials deem to be of “Union concern.”
As of late 2014, there was no list of these species, but the phrase “alien invasive species” is gaining
favor. It is a catchall for nastiness and a recipe for muddled thinking. Calling a species “alien” describes
where it comes from or “belongs.” Calling a species “invasive” describes its behavior. Conflating the
two feeds the idea that all aliens are invaders and all invaders are aliens. There is, as we have seen, little
basis for either assertion.
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