Just happened to catch this on the radio on the way home tonight, at the tail end of the Lehrer News Hour, a teaser for the reliably-lefty Hedrick Smith and the reliably-lefty Frontline. It's a show about how the Chesapeake Bay, among other waterways, is of course terribly polluted. Here is the gloomy opening: "Crabs have long been the trademark of Chesapeake Bay but the catch is now down more than 50% from 25 years ago..." All the news is bad, you know. Where the old spy Bill Moyers when you need him?
Only problem is, the WaPo reported this on the front page of the lowly Metro section today, "A Baby Boom Of Blue Crabs." It notes that the crab population is up by 120 million this year, a whopping 43%. Poor ol' Hedrick likely put this story to bed a few years ago. and hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?
Maybe Hedrick's fact checker went in the last round of cuts over at PBS.....
Comments (1)
Of course, both pieces of information are mutually exclusive. More baby crabs does not necessarily mean they will live to adulthood and be caught. Hopefully, the Bay is recovering and the catch will be up. But more baby crabs dying in the polluted water is also another possiblility.
Saw most of the program and the scientific evidence presented is compelling. Maybe there is more to the story. I'd be happy to have you be right and the Frontline people wrong.
Posted by Mike | April 22, 2009 2:54 PM
Posted on April 22, 2009 14:54