Good News and Bad News - RE Black Flies

Well the good news is that the rivers are getting cleaner in New England, unfortunately its not just people who appreciate clean running water.


http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/06/23/black_flies_surge_in_maines_clean_rivers/

Of regional note, the Sugarloaf resort in Maine was doing "scientific studies" of water based Black fly suppresion methods for several years. Eventually the state of maine yanked their permit as the state decided that the studies were mostly a way of keeping the local golfers from avoiding the fairways.

"an Eastport resident who showed off four lumpy red welts on the back of her neck after climbing Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park last week.

Click to expand...

You can't take facts from a Mainer who calls it Mount Katahdin.

What an atrocious bit of pseudo-scientific writing! They took a few legitimate but generalized comments from scientists or others in the know and then the writer formed her own sweeping conclusions to make a good story. Where's the evidence that populations are up?

I spend a significant portion of my summers in the woods working and swatting them buggers, but ask me in October or February and I'll tell you they weren't too bad. A few days ago the welts on my neck scared Joanna when I got home... and I eat deet for breakfast on field days.

Now, as a fun, get-them-riled-up kind of piece, I enjoyed it

Maybe the reason for the increased bugs is ...... the fact that Maine had one of the snowiest winters ever and there were lots of moist breeding grounds for the mosquitos this spring and early summer? The author just threw together two items that were correlated, but maybe not directly correlated. Heck, I remember when the Adroscoggin flowed in a brown sludge instead of a blue river. Doesn't look like there are a lot of facts in this story.

Aw, c'mon, folks. This is classic American mainstream media. Never let facts obstruct an opportunity for panic!

The true story here is nothing but positive news about the environment, which cannot go without adding some environmental gloom and doom to make us panic. That's mainstream media protocal.

Clean water is obviously good news for the environment. Black flies are good news for the environment because they are fish food. I am thrilled that a positive story about the environment was even published in the Boston Globe, maybe a result of plummeting sales.

This brightened my morning!

forestgnome said:

Aw, c'mon, folks. This is classic American mainstream media. Never let facts obstruct an opportunity for panic!

The true story here is nothing but positive news about the environment, which cannot go without adding some environmental gloom and doom to make us panic. That's mainstream media protocal.

Clean water is obviously good news for the environment. Black flies are good news for the environment because they are fish food. I am thrilled that a positive story about the environment was even published in the Boston Globe, maybe a result of plummeting sales.

Click to expand...

Too true! Perhaps the Boston Globe can increase sales by instructing people to roll it up and use it as a fly swatter

I spent the weekend around my house cutting, collecting, splitting firewood and was not troubled by them at all. No ticks, and very few mosquitos. Life is good in Central New Hampshire.

Support staff

Paradox,

I laughed when I read your support staff. Makes me think you're a fan of "Click and Clack" or maybe Garrison Keilor.