one story cuts down biofuel, while the ad next to it promotes rival clean coal...
My jury is still out on the issues of climate change and alternative energies. And while some things are encouraging, I realize that there is no "magic bullet" that will make all of our climate change, pollution and national security questions, et al, go away in an instant. I, like most, am not an environmental scientist, nor do I play one on TV. So, I, like most, depend on what I read, hear and see to form a viewpoint based more on other's expertise than my own. Unlike some other areas, this area is one where I depend on others for knowledge and such. Environmental Science is not my specialty or expertise by any means measurable. I know a few things, but like with most people, it's all 2nd hand.
Much of that information comes from our news reports of various mediums. Whichever side of the debates you are on, odds are you more likely know what you know from what you have read, heard or seen in a report of some fashion rather than researched it yourself in any serious way.
And while I expect that every news source, reporter, editor and so forth have their biases, I am fine with that. It is only when viewpoints cause that bias to slant their work unfairly that I have a beef. Or when outside influences slant the news to their favor.
And a major cause of that bad reporting stems from the influences of commercial sponsors. All of the major news outlets rarely ever play any kind of real "hardball" with big corporations unless it's Enron or some other picked out scapegoat that is available for pile-ons. When push comes to shove, even otherwise reputable news agancies have known not to bite the hand that feeds them. That is, if they wish to be in business, and/or on the air.
today, I was doing my usual rounds of internet news, hitting various sites, pretty much at random, to see what they were saying and featuring. I came across the MSNBC website.
Their headline (updated 9 minutes ago.) was "Biofuel Barrier...U.N: Impact On Environment, Food Prices, May Offset Benefits.
O.K. That's fine. I'm sure hardedged pro-biofuel people won't jump for joy at that, but the UN is entitled to report it if a study found that (which i'm sure will be microscoped later by everyone who is active in that debate) and MSNBC is certainly entitled to report it if it's news to them and they feel their readers would be interested. After all, that's pretty much what news is.
But what troubled me was a real slick video ad that I hadn't noticed there before. Right next to the headline was an ad for one of the last "let's not abandon fossil fuels so quick, we still have money to make and investments to collect on" dwindling crowd, clean coal.
What a coincidence. On one page. A GE ad for clean coal and a story ripping on biofuel seemingly independent of each other.
But wait, who owns NBC? the "NBC" of "MSNBC?"
You guessed it, General Electric. Well, actually, to be totally forthright, GE owns 80% of NBC Universal. But as controlling interests go, that's an iron-fisted measure of control.
And unfortunately, it looks like their iron fisted control is showing up in their news, which is supposed to be independent of GE in it's reporting.
But why would GE fear biofuel so much?
Maybe because the people and companies exploring biofuels are rampant with independent, small start ups that GE won't see a dollar from. Much like the pharmaceutical industry knows that legalized medical marijuana would keep (and has kept in states where it is legal) a lot of their products are collecting dust on the shelf while Americans grow their own medicine for free.
They (GE) are heavily invested in coal tho. Just like Pfizer and Merck and their ilk are hevily invested in synthesizing heroin 20 different ways, not to mention their drugs derived from the same places junkies get their fix...when a substitute won't do.
Coincidence...maybe. But while i'm not one to quote Star Trek, especially Deep Space Nine very often, I do find fitting an old Cardassian expression...
"I believe in coincidences. I just don't trust them."
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