Dear Editor,
"A rose by a different name still smells the same"
But spoils will always be spoils no matter what clever Orwellian word tries to replace it.
(Reminiscent of Bush/ Cheney's attempt to sanitize the ugliness of their invasion of Iraq based on lies by naming it " Operation Enduring Freedom.")
On 3/1/2016 the Cape May Chamber of Commerce sponsored a conference which was very revealing of their ethics and integrity: How to change the publics' perception of Dredge Spoils by the simple means of a name change.
Words like crud, sludge or muck though accurate are not even being considered.
No, the PR guys are seeking an upscale word change and seemed to have settled on " resource."
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines " resource" as a place or thing of value. Try buying something with a bucket of muck. Good luck!!
Sludge spoils from the Ocean City bay is filled with toxic chemicals. These are the by product of nearly 50 years of BL England polluting both air and water in their coal burning activities.
Now the PR guys are trying to spray this toxic muck in a fine mist over the wetlands. What is the scientific basis for this? What possible unforeseen consequences? Clearly science is irrelevant to these PR guys empowered by their attempts at sowing seeds of confusion in the science of Climate Change.
We are being confronted with the greatest threat to our existence especially living in shore communities by rising seas and sinking land. The question is not how to keep the yachters yachting lanes open by further degrading the wetlands but how do we minimize and prepare for the catastrophe that is heading our way.
By spending millions and millions of dollars to dig out the dirt only to have the channels fill in a few years why not focus on the truly bigger issue of the main culprit to climate change. Extraction and burning of fossil fuel. Spend the money on renewable energy and the retraining of all the good workers from the coal and gas industries.
The hour is late but there is still time to halt the march towards our own demise. No more gas transmission lines and no more gas plants in New Jersey.
Sincerely yours,
Steve Fenichel, MD
