On Steve Irwin

I've been gone a while, but I felt obligated to write a brief blurb about the late Steve Irwin, who died Monday of a stingray strike to the heart while filming a television special on marine creatures.

I liked Irwin. I felt he was a bit overexposed, but I felt he had an enthusiasm about nature, including some of the most unloved creatures out there, that was extremely important, and likely turned countless children onto an interest in the animal world.

There are many who did not like Irwin's methods, or felt he acted too juvenile to consider him a real conservationalist. This dislike saddens me, and I feel people in this mindset are missing the point.

To turn an average child onto science, one has to show the exciting parts of it. There are boring parts to every job, but if you show them the rewards of the work then it will outweigh the lackluster. When trying to turn on the average person to Chemistry, one does not pull out a chalkboard and write the equations to show chemical reactions... one rummages through the chemical closet and blows stuff up. Irwin did this for biology, trying to show the interest and the risk of the animal kingdom. And like it or not, Irwin did constantly raise awareness for the conservationalist cause, and not just the “cute” animals either.

Love him or not, the loss of Irwin is a loss to future interest in the field.

Rest in peace, Crocodile Hunter.

CRIKEY!