Comments on: TV Preview – Discovery Channel - Shark Week 2009 - Blood In The Water http://www.bloggernews.net/121771 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:09:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: SharkNuts http://www.bloggernews.net/121771#comment-1375864 SharkNuts Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:14:40 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/121771#comment-1375864 Did you ever stop to think why Discovery Channel had to go all the way back to 1916 to drum up a shark attack horror story? Well, its because events like this are so rare they haven't really happened like that since 1916. The serious issue with Shark Week is that it panders to our fear of sharks. The reality is that you are more likely to get struck by lightening (multiple times) than be attacked by a shark. Meanwhile, sharks are about to go extinct. In 2007, there was 1 human death caused by sharks worldwide. In the same year, 100,000,000 sharks were killed by humans. Shark populations are down 90% in the past 20 years. Portraying them as a serious killers prevents anyone from doing anything about their pending extinction. The shark is the apex predator of the ocean. Without sharks, the oceanic food chain is severely disrupted. People need to wake up and realize Shark Week is a cheap thrill that continues to perpetuate the lie that sharks present a real danger to humans. It's simply not true. Did you ever stop to think why Discovery Channel had to go all the way back to 1916 to drum up a shark attack horror story? Well, its because events like this are so rare they haven’t really happened like that since 1916.

The serious issue with Shark Week is that it panders to our fear of sharks. The reality is that you are more likely to get struck by lightening (multiple times) than be attacked by a shark. Meanwhile, sharks are about to go extinct. In 2007, there was 1 human death caused by sharks worldwide. In the same year, 100,000,000 sharks were killed by humans.

Shark populations are down 90% in the past 20 years. Portraying them as a serious killers prevents anyone from doing anything about their pending extinction. The shark is the apex predator of the ocean. Without sharks, the oceanic food chain is severely disrupted. People need to wake up and realize Shark Week is a cheap thrill that continues to perpetuate the lie that sharks present a real danger to humans. It’s simply not true.

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