The death of Steve Irwin is being reported as the biggest story to have come out of Australia in the last 25 years. According to Jeff Wall writing for On Line Opinion in a piece entitled 'Steve Irwin- Even larger in death than life': The Los Angeles Times, for example, reported the story extensively … and the story has been the most viewed on its website. Every major USA newspaper has given his death prominence.
The Crocodile Hunter died yesterday while filming: struck in the chest by a sting-ray.
Here is comment from me at the blog of BBC broadcast journalist Chris Vallance:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/podsandblogs/2006/09/irwins_death_sparks_conservati.shtml .
I have also written a piece for On Line Opinion entitled Steve Irwin's 'Legacy to Conservation'.
Agreed with you there, rog.
I was having a discussion elsewhere with a self-professed eco-extremist.
She asked me "out of interest" what I thought of Steve Irwin. I told her that I thought that he was a great guy from what I've seen on TV, although I side with the positive view of sustainable use that we see in Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and at the IUCN etc., rather than Irwin's ideals.
While Steve Irwin might have been on the other side of the fence with regard to the conservation debate, I pointed it out to her that he had never called any nation of people a "rinky-dink" "nation of whores", as another anti-sustainable use advocate did recently (http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_060511_1.html).
Indeed, a sad loss.
Did I mention Germaine Greer? She writes that Irwin had 'That sort of self-delusion is what it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin'
Sour puss
http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,1865124,00.html
Whilst Steve Irwin was passionate about conservation the grief expressed by the public has more to do with their loss of a positive engaging life affirming role model rather than the loss of a conservationist. Contrast this image with the negativity of "activists", the No No No of Bob Brown, the threat of hell fire and damnation by terrorists and you can see why the world needs more Steve Irwins.