In the same way that a "derelict dump" can be called a "renovators dream", these words or phrases can often skew the overall message taken away by the reader. All too often this is the intention of the author.
Here you will find a list of the terms most commonly misused.
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Economic Growth - There are two meanings for economic growth that are often confused with each other but have completely different connotations. Meaning 1 refers to when the economy grows in size physically (more people). Meaning 2 refers to the growth of some thing or activity that causes benefits to increase faster than costs (yields a net benefit or a profit). Be careful - A larger population does not necessarily equal a larger economic profit. Population growth that increases costs faster than benefits can make an economy poorer. Nevertheless, it is a common assumption that a bigger economy must always make us richer.
Source: Herman Daly - http://steadystate.org/two-meanings/
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Economic Growth - There are two meanings for economic growth that are often confused with each other but have completely different connotations. Meaning 1 refers to when the economy grows in size physically (more people). Meaning 2 refers to the growth of some thing or activity that causes benefits to increase faster than costs (yields a net benefit or a profit). Be careful - A larger population does not necessarily equal a larger economic profit. Population growth that increases costs faster than benefits can make an economy poorer. Nevertheless, it is a common assumption that a bigger economy must always make us richer.
Source: Herman Daly - http://steadystate.org/two-meanings/
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Forest - The promotion of plantations as a type of forest is very misleading. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs states that Australia has 164 million hectares of forest. Included in this figure are plantation "forests". However, plantations are ecologically and biologically not forests and should not be included in forestry figures. Plantations are large farms of a particular crop, such as rubber trees or oil palms. Areas, usually forests, must be cleared for plantations which result in loss of native fauna, loss of nutrient cycles and loss of erosion protection. Environmental damage caused by plantations can be irreversible.
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Global Warming - Let us look at the definitions of both Global Warming and Climate Change. Dictionary.com defines Global Warming as "an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect." Climate Change is defined by Britannica.com as "periodic modification of Earth’s climate brought about as a result of changes in the atmosphere as well as interactions between the atmosphere and various other geologic, chemical, biological, and geographic factors within the Earth system." These two phrases are commonly confused with each other.
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News - Everybody watches the news or hears about it. Unfortunately, a lot of people receive the information they are told is news passively and do not question what it is or where it came from. The "news" that we read, hear and watch is simply information that has been selected and edited by other people and formed into a package for you to receive in a certain way. News bulletins have a myriad of stories to choose from, but due to word/time limits and competition with other bulletins for your attention, they will only select particular stories. Stories that may not even be of any importance, but will guarantee an audience. So when you watch, read or listen to the news, don't think you are being provided with the main issues of the day - there is so much news that is ignored. Try to be aware of the news you are not being told.
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Organic - It is a common misconception that meat products labeled as "organic" indicate that the livestock were farmed cruelty-free. Organic simply means that the food was made in a way that excludes the use of synthetic materials during production i.e. without pesticides or the unnatural feed to livestock. Although organically farmed meat is healthier and has environmental advantages, it does not necessarily mean the animals were raised or slaughtered via humane conditions. For example, organic chicken eggs does not mean free range chicken eggs.
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Plantation - See Forest
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Email any findings or suggestions you may have for this page to tara.ecofieldtrips@gmail.com
