Dr. Henry Regier, an Ontarian and a true great in the annals of Great Lakes science and ecosystem thinking, has this wise offering on the official government term for invasive aquatic species (over 160 established in the Lakes to date):
The term nuisance as in nuisance species is obviously a euphemism intended to imply unimportance.
I checked the meaning of nuisance in The Canadian Oxford Dictionary and find two definitions:
a person, thing, or circumstance causing trouble, annoyance, or inconvenience; anything harmful or offensive to the community or a member of it for which a legal remedy already exists.
I judge that neither of the two meanings is apt for many non-indigenous species now in the Great Lakes.
Nuisance derives from the Latin nocere, to hurt. In turn, noxious derives from Latin noxa, harm.
The meanings of noxious: harmful, injurious; morally harmful, unwholesome.
I suggest that the term noxious is generally more apt than nuisance with respect to the suite of the Great Lakes non-indigenous species as a set.
It seems to me that USACE officers who use nuisance as a euphemism for noxious may well be sissies. They may not have the guts to call a spade a spade.
Posted by Dave at May 2, 2005 10:06 PM