In the news: Thoughts on 'balanced' reporting

Last night I cruised to CNN online to check out the status of the fires in southern California (my thoughts go out to the people living through this catastrophic event). I noticed a "Quick Vote" questionnaire asking, "Do man-made chemicals in plastics or textiles pose a threat to your health?" I couldn't resist answering, and when I did I was pleased by the results CNN showed: 84% of the 70,000+ respondents had said yes! Awareness is growing, and with awareness comes the ability to do something about problems.

CNN had included this poll on their website because they had run an article, entitled Tests reveal high chemical levels in kids' bodies See it here.

The article quotes Elizabeth Whelan, the President of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) to provide "balance". Whelan and other ACSH staffers and board members are regular balancers on news channels. In the article, Whelan says, 'My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it's leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false.' It goes on to say, "Whelan contends that trace levels of industrial chemicals in our bodies do not necessarily pose health risks."

Whelan may be right that a trace found in the body isn't proof that you are at risk of a disease from these exposures. But here's my thought on the subject: Elizabeth, you can have all the traces of industrial chemicals you want in your body, but I don't want them in my body. Whether there is absolute proof of peril or not, the overwhelming body of evidence points to the fact that these chemicals are impacting us in bad ways!

So, when it comes to "balanced" reporting, remember the old adage, "follow the money." ACSH is a nonprofit that bills itself as a consumer education consortium concerned with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. That sounds good. But their funding comes from a veritable who's who of corporations, from ALCOA, Allied Signals, American Cyanamid and the American Meat Institute to Union Carbide, Uniroyal, and USX.

SourceWatch, an online service dedicated "to documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy," is a good place to learn about the balancers. They say, "To its credit, [ACSH] has taken a strong public position against the dangers of tobacco, one of the leading preventable causes of death in today's society. However, it takes a generally apologetic stance regarding virtually every other health and environmental hazard produced by modern industry."

I guess 84% of the people who answered the question think like me: Better safe than sorry!