Pompton Lakes Gets the Sound Science Treatment

Which Statement Do You Think Got Reported?

[Update: 2/27/12 – I eat crow. Better late than never, the Record’s Suburban Trends writes the story – headline sucks, but the content is not bad:

• US Fish and Wildlife Service recommends more testing in Pompton Lakes

Bill Wolfe, of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said, “This is a highly significant move on the part of the FWS and it completely undermines the prior approval because of the statements it makes about the DuPont science, which it calls antiquated and not adequately protective.”

“DuPont has consistently told the public that its cleanup plans reflect sound science and the DEP (NJ Department of Environmental Protection) rubber-stamped that cleanup plan despite the fact that a DEP scientist raised objections,” said Wolfe.

“It is very important that the FWS recommendations be incorporated in the new cleanup plan that the EPA is going to be drafting and that the cleanup plan completely cleans up the site,” Wolfe added. – end update

The media pro’s likes to think that they are fair and balanced and objective (the Fourth estate abandoned the concept of “adversarial” long ago – and the search for “truth”? fahgetabouwdit, they are all Pilate’s now).

They also tend to think that the dirty hippie bloggers are not credible; are poisoning public debate with misinformed opinion; have caused the destruction of professional journalistic standards; and the internet has caused the economic collapse of the newspaper industry.

The standard criticism illustrating the absurdity of that institutional mainstream media illusion is the storyline quip “some say the earth is flat, scientists disagree”.

So, here are two diametrically opposed statements. Direct quotes.

One is true and one is false. Only one was reported.

So, which one do you think  got reported in today’s news coverage?

Send your answer in in comments.

Statement #1 – by Dupont spokesman Bob Nelson:

All our remedial activities will be based on sound science.

Statement #2 – by US Fish and Wildlife Service:

[Dupont’s remedial plan’s] thresholds to evaluate risk to both fish and avian fauna are antiquated and not protective

[Of course a major corporation like Dupont cares about their integrity and would never mislead the public and has no incentive to do so.]

And while we’re on the topic of sound science, I heard the Pompton Lakes planning board voted last night to spend taxpayer dollars to hire experts in esoteric public health and remedial fields like truck vibration.

My goodness, the Bergen Record tells us that Dupont Puppet Mayor Cole is on the case:

“Mayor Katie Cole said, “If there are safety concerns then by all means we have to address them and take it one step at a time. We were just hoping to see the process move along but if there is a question or a concern then it has to be addressed.”

The clear intent is to derail the Dupont Lake cleanup plan – just what Dupont ordered.

This is the same group of local officials who never hired experts to protect the health of their own people from the chemical poisons emanating from the Dupont site.

And the same group of residents and local officials who covered for Dupont for years now seem to have their panties in a bunch about all the hazards that will be created by the cleanup.

In the Bizarro Orwellian World of Pompton Lakes (and the Bergen Record’s coverage of same), it’s the cleanup that’s the problem, not the Dupont pollution!

IF Stone’s body lies a mouldering in the grave.

(on second thought, maybe I should have titled this post: “Why the mainstream media deserves to fail”)

Oops, now did I just bury the lede?