Faulty logic

“Associated with!”

A change in environment may be associated with an action but that does not mean it is caused by the action.

The fact that an environmental change is associated with a human action does not mean that the action caused the change. The association or correlation could instead be due to chance or some other underlying factor.

For example, the establishment of a marine protected area may be followed by an increase in fish populations but this does not mean that protecting the area caused the change. Another underlying factor may be responsible and a fair comparison with an unprotected area would be needed to test for cause and effect.

BEWARE of claims that an action has an effect because the action is associated with environmental change.

REMEMBER: Think about whether you can be sure that there aren’t other reasons for the association.