In 2006 marine ecologist Boris Worm of Dalhousie University suggested that the oceans would be empty of fish by 2048. His prediction made for good sound bite science and the media ran with it. The problem is his prediction was wrong. And now he's admitted as much.
A brand new study published in the journal Science today finds Worm saying he plans to be "hosting a seafood party" in 2048 instead of mourning the loss of all marine ecosystems.
At the first sign of even minimal apprehension about the state of any fish stock many environmental extremists go right to the only page they know in the Henny Penny playbook and scream-collapse.
Some, like Greenpeace, do it to raise money while others do it as a simple matter of routine-if there isn't a crisis they're not needed so let's announce a crisis and then work backwards from there.
On Saturday the New York Times editorialized on the issue of mercury emissions from America's coal-fired power plants in the wake of a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin a rulemaking that could result in reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants by 90%.
Yesterday the New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope of the blog Well, linked to a piece on shopping for sustainable seafood over at True/Slant written by Seattle food writer Kim O'Donnel.
Two things-- #1 I like Slate.com, it's usually fresh, illuminating and not afraid to call a spade a spade; qualities I tend to look for in a publication. #2 I am used to being left on the cutting room floor. My feelings are not hurt when a reporter doesn't include me in a piece for which I served as a resource. It's nothing personal, it's just my job, it happens.
There’s more action over at John Stossel's blog when it comes to our open letter to the media about distortions found in reporting on seafood. In response to Stossel merely linking to the open letter and mentioning her flawed report on sushi tuna and mercury, Marion Burros left a message with a 20/20 producer claiming our open letter was “filled with half truths and out-right falsehoods.”
You'll recall earlier this week that NFI issued an open letter to the news media that highlighted common errors and distortions in their coverage of the seafood community. Earlier today, John Stossel of ABC News' 20/20 linked to the letter on his blog and had some interesting comments. Give it a look.
If you've ever poked around the internet in search of Sushi sites you may have come across http://www.sustainablesushi.net/ . Sounds innocuous enough-a sushi lover helping other sushi lovers chose their favorites wisely, right?
Wrong.
Just in case you all did not notice we've added an open letter to Journalists. We're hoping writers, reporters, producers and editors working on stories about seafood who come across custom-built, sound-bite science from activist organizations will pause before they buy their rhetoric unchallenged and do a little homework. Sites like Shaw's Eco-Logic have already weighed in on the letter.
