[Sherman Logan]

IOW, there were many, many changes during the period under discussion. Latching onto one of them as “the cause” of the decline is not real science.

[InterceptPoint]

IOW, there were many, many changes during the period under discussion. Latching onto one of them as “the cause” of the decline is not real science.
++++++++++++++++
The phrase that’s most appropriate to your point:

“Correlation is not causation.”

A basic and important scientific principle IMHO.