“Talking” With Tom Two
Last post, I was writing about the latest front page news from Sunday’s Press and Sun-Bulletin written by Tom Wilber. In that post, I called it an example of trash journalism and I continue to stand by that claim. This is activism, plain and simple. In discussing the first post with a friend today, he wondered aloud that “if this opens peoples’ eyes about the concerns, that’s a good thing.” I can agree with that statement, but journalism is meant to report, not to frighten or cause irrational discourse. Let’s go back to the Emotional vs. Rational started in the last post.
Let’s continue with the story “after the fold.” The first column starts immediately with “In rural Daisetta, Texas, last month, a staidum-sized hole opened up, swallowing everything in its path. Geologists suspect intensive drilling operations in the area triggered the massive implosion.”
Emotional
If it’s not exploding, it’s imploding! Whole sections of the Southern Tier are going to collapse.
Rational
Well, in being a “responsible” journalist, Wilber does say (three columns later) that geologists are not concerned about sinkholes because of different geological formations between Texas and the Southern Tier. However, he immediately launches into another risk to minimize this fact. Radiation. More on that later. Let’s face facts here. SInkholes are not going to happen here. Bringing them up at all is simply an attempt to scare readers.
Next paragraph is about explosions, and I have to salute the writer for his use of adjectives such as “spectacular, churning, and columns” here. Of course, people dying and homes being evacuated are par for the course, right? Well, in the next paragraph, he says “Explosions and sink holes are extreme and uncommon examples of what can go wrong, according to regulators and independent experts interviewed for this report.” Then comes his next sentence, “But they do happen.”
In other words, my friends…”regulators and independent experts be damned. I’m telling you these things happen no matter what they say.”
As evidenced in the next few paragraphs, when it comes to the words of activists, Wilber is much more likely to listen. Susan Obleski, spokeswoman for the Susquehanna River Basin Commission stated that drilling operations (hydraulic fracturing) drawing on headwaters in the upper tributaries of the river will “suck them dry.” Of course, the magnaminous Sierra Club expressed similar concerns. What gets me here is that even though the representative of the Sierra Club is a “lobbyist” there is not the slimy connotation here as there was when the Press and Sun-Bulletin was concerned about John McCain’s campaign staff.
The next portion of the article, after allowing a little fluff from company representatives, Wilber dives right back into the problems by quoting “warnings” from the Sierra Club and the Catskill Mountainkeeper. LUCKILY, the warning is part of a broader statement from lobbyists to state lawmakers that is coming at a CRITICAL time as the Assembly is considering a bill that would “effectively” accelerate the permitting process.
Couple notes here. First, when anyone uses the word “effectively” you can bet your bippy they are likely not telling the truth. Using the word effectively is (in my humble opinion) the first step toward making an outright lie “the truth.” Could be wrong on this, but it smacks of trying to smash something into the collective consciousness instead of letting the truth filter in. Second, isn’t it amazing that when some lobbyists talk, their statements are critically timed?
Sheesh. I just keep finding more and more to talk about… More again tomorrow.
“Talking” with Tom
Tom Wilber, the “environmental expert” of the Press & Sun-Bulletin has written what I consider the largest piece of trash journalism published in our hometown paper in quite some time.
Before I go any further, I have to say something (AGAIN) to make sure no one starts spewing. “Brent Beckley is a steward of the Earth. He does not litter, he does not dump chemicals into his drains, he recycles, and he believes strongly in appropriate punishments for individuals and institutions that (stupidly or callously) harm the environment.” However, there is a caveat to this claim. “We must try to be rational.”
So, let’s start at the beginning of the article, and try to break each portion of the story into two parts: the emotional, and the rational.
Photo & Headline
Mr. Wilber is thanking his lucky stars the Press & Sun-Bulletin publishes its paper in color. The photo is of an “unidientified bulldozer operator against the flame of a natural gas well near Dime Box, Texas.” It is a daunting image filled with flames. The headline: “Drilling carries a hefty environmental price.”
The Emotional
Hell on Earth. The eternal flames of Beelzebub will lick the carcasses of those greedy enough to sell their land for mineral rights in Upstate New York.
The Rational
Natural gas is…flammable. For those of you from Whitney Point, that means “it burns.” Accidents happen in all sorts of places, whether you’re drilling for natural gas, driving down the highway, taking a shower, or climbing your stairs. To show the very worst case scenario is the tactic of any activist.
The introductory paragraph to the story begins with a line that actually tells more story than all the rest. “The quest for riches in the Marcellus Shale Formation is off to a rocky start…”
The Emotional
“Greed will destroy the earth.” Don’t believe me? Check out the online comments on the article. Irrational environmental activism and anti-capitalism are – use your Greenbow, Alabama drawl – “like peas and carrots.”
The Rational
Thanks for the punishment, Mr. Wilber. I wish I could get someone to pay me for such wordsmithiness.
The next paragraph, in talking of current natural gas drilling operations in northern Pennsylvania claims that “There, companies drilling into the massive natural gas resource have drained streams and spilled diesel fuel onto pristine countryside.”
The Emotional
Our streams! Our pristine countryside! Streams that are hotbeds of life are now dried up! Diesel fuel is despoiling meadows! Birds and furry critters are dying everywhere!
The Rational
Actually, Wilber somewhat hurts himself in the next paragraph where he changes the wording to “…diverted tens of thousands of gallons from rural streams.” Draining and diverted have MUCH different meanings. When you say “drained” it connotes the stream is now dry. Diverted means you have altered the course of the stream and are using it for a purpose. Should they have done it? Probably not, and they got in trouble for it… But, they did not drain the stream.
On to the next… “And in Susquehanna County, about 800 gallons of diesel fuel – dyed bright red to help track it in the event of a spill – leaked from a storage tank at a Cabot Oil drilling site, threatening a nearby stream. Emergency responders were containing and cleaning the mess last week.
The Emotional
Our water supply will be ruined. A stream was threatened! How long before the threat becomes reality?
The Rational
First, I want to mention that when I typed that paragraph into Microsoft Word, the grammar checker about exploded. It is ironic that a paper which regularly publishes the work of grammarian James J. Kilpatrick never seems to push the lessons onto its writers. Second, the use of the word “threatening” is a powerful tool that allows just about anything to be used as “fact.” Just how far away was the stream? How close did the fuel actually get to it? The next sentence about the containment and cleaning crew is meaningless when pre-empted by the “threat.”
And on we go… The next two paragraphs sum up the first parts of the story and ensures that the front page (normally only part of the story most people actually read) imparts “the truth” that all this natural gas hoo-ha will destroy the environment. Referring to property owners as “giddy” gives the impression that only the money matters and that everyone “lining up to cash in” knows that with the rewards comes risks.
The story has been told (at least to those with time to read the front page). Let’s sum up real quick. Natural gas drilling is tantamount to, well, DEATH.
More tomorrow on the rest of the story.
AND ONE MORE THING!!! I am a proud graduate of Whitney Point High School, so don’t freak out like I’m the next Dick Cheney! It’s just a joke.
