[Coral-List] Gulf eco-conspiracy

Bill Allison allison.billiam at gmail.com
Wed Aug 11 21:08:02 EDT 2010


Somewhere in the middle I suppose, is this article in this week's Nature:
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100811/full/466802a.html

On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 9:22 PM, Osha Gray Davidson
<osha at oshadavidson.com>wrote:

> Bravo, Steve. There are always "journalists" (aka, hacks) who favor the
> sensational over the truth. But the situation, even for those of us who are
> trying to do our jobs, is made much more difficult when information from
> the
> government is withheld longer than is necessary. I know that much of the
> time there are legitimate reasons for not releasing information
> immediately.
> But, as you pointed out, the reality is that conspiracy theories flourish
> in
> a vacuum. As a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, I can
> tell you that this topic is a top priority of the group: the late release
> of
> information, and its counterpart: the difficulty of interviewing government
> scientists directly and on the record.
>
> These two problems came together for me recently while I was trying to
> write
> a story about a photograph of a decomposing whale that went viral (the
> photo) during the burn controversies.
>
> In early July I wrote a NOAA media officer:
>
> "I’m writing a piece for OnEarth magazine about the threats to Gulf
> wildlife
> from the BP oil spill. The picture I attached came from a blog complete
> with
> conspiracy theories about suppression of evidence. I wanted first to make
> sure that this was indeed the whale referred to in your site’s story at
> http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100617_whale.html."
>
> The media guy was great, very professional and helpful. I was referred to a
> more senior NOAA media person who wrote: "I have contacted my marine mammal
> experts about the dead whale, but I can tell you that I have heard them say
> on a couple of occasions that the burned looking skin on some dead whales
> results from floating under the hot sun."
>
> I explained that I needed to interview one of those marine mammal experts
> on
> the record. If I only quoted someone from NOAA media, conspiracy theorists
> would (rightly) have condemned my piece as inadequate. That PR person
> didn't
> respond to my request. In the end, I couldn't write about the whale photo
> (I
> had a deadline), leaving the field open to the sensationalists/conspiracy
> theorists.
>
> You want accurate reporting. I want to report accurately. If NOAA were more
> helpful in providing timely information and access to scientists for
> interviews, everyone (but the crazies) would be better-served.
>
> Cheers,
> Osha
>
>
> Osha Gray Davidson
> Phoenix, AZ
> 602-263-5582
>
> Correspondent, OnEarth magazine
> Editor, El Phoenix Sun
> Twitter @thephoenixsun
> Member, Society of Environmental Journalists
> Author of The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral
> Reef
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>  [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of
> Steve.Gittings at noaa.gov
> Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 6:46 AM
> To: James Cervino PhD.
> Cc: 'Coral-List Subscribers'
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Gulf eco-conspiracy
>
> I spent about 6 weeks working on the spill in one of the command centers,
> doing occasional overflights and field visits, and twice a week doing open
> houses with the public in towns from the Mississippi River to Cameron.  I
> have to admit that from what I saw, the sky does not appears to be falling,
> at least not for natural resources.  Yes, the crab observations are
> definitely worth more attention.  They are a possible mechanism for oil to
> get into the food chain.  I am hopeful, however, that the lack of fresh oil
> offshore and in the bays will keep it from becoming a long-term problem.
>
> The open houses that we started in June were one of the best decisions made
> on this spill, in my opinion.  People were, and still are scared by what
> they heard from the national media.  It was highly slanted to the negative,
> and often inaccurate.  Not their fault alone.  The lack of daily or
> periodic
> environmental updates from people on the inside made the problem
> inevitable.
> Until the open houses started, there was no way for even local people to
> hear from those on the ground or technical experts working on the inside.
> Along with the open houses, there should have been periodic environmental
> press conferences along the lines of what Kent Wells does for BP on the
> technical activities of source control efforts.  A lesson for any of us
> involved in these incidents in the future - don't hinder information flow
> from inside experts.  Fear mongering, speculation, and conspiracy
> accusations will gladly fill the space.
>
> Cheers,
> sg
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Cervino PhD." <jcervino at whoi.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 7:53 am
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Gulf eco-conspiracy
> To: andrew ross <andyroo_of72 at yahoo.com>
> Cc: 'Coral-List Subscribers' <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
>
> > Dear Andrew-
> >
> > The gas and oil think-tankers never ask the local communities how
> > truly bad it
> > is, or they underestimate the power that the over-whelming truth will
> > get out.
> > The "Sky is not falling" folks need to take a trip to a local community
> > gathering in each of the gulf states to see if the sky has not already
> > fell on
> > the tops of their heads!  The FOG is getting thicker and the articles
> > like the
> > NYT are already taking their toll on the American TV eye.....
> >
> > For evidence that the oil is already in the food chain:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > *************************************
> > Dr. James M. Cervino
> > Visiting Scientist
> > Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
> > Contact Information:
> > NYC Address: 9-22 119st
> > College Point New York, 11356
> > Cell: 917-620*5287
> > ************************************
> >
> >
> > Quoting andrew ross <andyroo_of72 at yahoo.com>:
> >
> > * Jim and Quenton,I'm not a conspiracy nut, but I have to ask:Why are
> > these
> > * (apparent cover-up) reports any more absurd then, for example (and not
> > * looking to tread on delicate toes), the non-existant WMDs in Iraq?
> > * This report is certainly not scientific, but I also don't read it as
> > trying
> > * to be. It's a collection of personal stories and no firm evidence,
> > which is
> > * also part of their story. Convenient and sensational, yes, but also
> > worth
> > * taking a moment over as on this list we all read weeks of bright &
> > * knowledgeable people talking of the terrifying toxicity of these
> > * dispersants.Again, I'm not a conspiracy-guy and we should all take
> anything
> > * like this with a grain of salt, but I'm also not fresh off the turnip
> > * truck. Immediately discounting it as "Jerry Springer" can't be
> appropriate.A
> > * --- On Tue, 8/10/10, Quenton Dokken <qdokken at gulfmex.org> wrote:
> > *
> > * From: Quenton Dokken <qdokken at gulfmex.org>
> > * Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Gulf eco-conspiracy
> > * To: "'Jim Hendee'" <jim.hendee at noaa.gov>, "'Coral-List Subscribers'"
> > * <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> > * Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 3:53 AM
> > *
> > * Jim,
> > *
> > * You are absolutely correct.  The absurdity of some of the rhetoric
> coming
> > * across the media has been mind numbing.  Unfortunately, we are the
> > nation of
> > * the National Inquirer and Jerry Springer; no matter how absurd,
> > there is an
> > * audience.
> > *
> > * Quenton Dokken, Ph.D.
> > * Executive Director
> > * Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Inc.
> > * PMB 51 5403 Everhart Rd.
> > * Corpus Christi, TX 78411
> > *
> > * Office:  3833 South Staples Suite S214
> > *                 Corpus Christi, TX 78411
> > *
> > * 361-882-3939 o
> > * 361-882-1262 f
> > * 361-442-6064 c
> > *
> > * www.gulfmex.org
> > *
> > * -----Original Message-----
> > * From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > * [ On Behalf Of Jim Hendee
> > * Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 11:04 AM
> > * To: Coral-List Subscribers
> > * Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Gulf eco-conspiracy
> > *
> > * Hi, Andrew...
> > *
> > *     Thanks for showing us that article,
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > * tml
> > *
> > * which the author of the piece calls the "crime of the century."  I
> would
> > * like to respond to the article referenced in your post, something I
> > * rarely do.
> > *
> > *     I should say here that even though I'm the Administrator of this
> > * list, and I represent NOAA in what I say and do, I am herewith hoping
> > * that I can successfully plop down a disclaimer right here and now and
> > * say that the view below is mine as an individual, and not an official
> > * (i.e., passed through chain-of-command) view.
> > *
> > *     I am so disgusted with this writer's type of non-scientific
> approach
> > * to observation and reporting that I had written a couple of pages of
> > a
> > * response, quoting the author and spelling out what was wrong with this
> > * type of writing.  However, I despaired, because this is unfortunately
> > * not new from these guys trying to get in "print" (actually, anybody
> > can
> > * put junk on a blog these days) and/or trying to bring attention to a
> > * subject, the latter of which is fine, but you have to wonder if the
> > * former is more important to some of these writers.  So, I'm just going
> > * to end with one quote.
> > *
> > * "The Gulf of Mexico from the Source into the shore is a giant kill
> zone.."
> > *
> > *     By inference I take it to mean that the ENTIRE Gulf of
> > * Mexico--radiating out from the Source to the shores of Louisiana,
> across
> > * to South Florida and the Keys, west to Texas, and down to the Gulf of
> > * Campeche--is completely devoid of life.  Big zone, big kill.  Bad guys,
> > * all in collusion.
> > *
> > *     How ridiculous.  We already know it's bad.  Why not put more time
> > * into describing the huge amount of science that is now, and for years
> > * ahead, going to go into figuring out the effects of this spill on the
> > * ecosystem, and the engineering to make the unfortunately necessary oil
> > * discovery process continue successfully.  Of course that would take
> > a
> > * lot more research on the part of the writer, making it much more
> > * difficult to make that deadline on Friday...
> > *
> > *     Jim
> > *
> > * On 8/9/2010 10:01 AM, andrew ross wrote:
> > * > Jim and all,Have you seen this?
> > * >
> > *
> > * tml
> > * > It's potentially a bit "men in black"-conspiracy, so I checked
> > with a
> > * friend who runs snapper charters in Texas- there are no fish in his
> > favorite
> > * spots, even spots many miles out that (to his knowledge) saw no oil.
> > * >
> > * > Little to do with coral directly, so I'll leave it up to you
> > whether or
> > * not to post to the list.
> > * > Andrew
> > * >
> > * >
> > * >
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > * _______________________________________________
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> > * Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > *
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> > *
> > *
> > *
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> > *
> > *
> > *
> >
> >
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-- 
________________________________
"reality leaves a lot to the imagination..."  John Lennon



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