Viewing post #1184548 by RickCorey

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Jun 16, 2016 12:10 PM CST
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
Hi vindon, and welcome to NGA!

I read those, or scanned them, and did not see any suggestion about what SHOULD be done with composted human waste. If those authors oppose spreading it on land, are they suggesting dumping into rivers or the ocean? They do have to go somewhere.

I was more concerned that they kept repeating that "some scientists have concerns", but never mentioned whether 95%, 90% or 80% of scientists were confident that they were safe. There was some rhetoric that sounded (to me) distrustful of contrary evidence, and I started scanning faster each time I noticed that.

They kept repeating that there is lead in soil, and suggesting that some of that came from biosolids, but I did not see them acknowledge that there was some lead in biosolids before it was regulated, but now it is regulated and tested for. Now, the following is only my conclusion, but I thought to myself: "If they are trying to make people distrust biosolids by hiding the difference between the 1950s and the 2010s, should I respect their objectivity?"

Did they mention how many megatons of lead went into the air and soil and water from "leaded gas"? I didn't notice that, and yet complaining about lead in soil without mentioning the huge, well-known source, is actively misleading in my opinion.

They never said that XYZ level of lead was present in N% of biosolids tested. Not even from their own labs. That lack convinced me that I was not getting balanced information from them - that their goal was to push an opinion onto people, not to give them balanced facts so they could reach their own conclusion. That absence turned me off like a light switch.

Those authors might have had some information (not emotional rhetoric) that would have increased my concerns about biosolid safety, but I didn't notice any balanced information or any documented information present.

To my ears, the articles seemed to be pushing an agenda, not presenting facts in a balanced way.

(BTW - these guys were paragons of virtue compared to "popular 'science' writers" about GMOs, climate change, and many other "hot topics". I've been bashing them pretty hard because I thought they were presenting their article as "science" when it was rhetoric or propaganda (persuasion).

If their answer was "No, we ARE advancing an agenda, DUHH!" I would have to say "Good job, guys, you're better than most and not totally misleading."

I didn't notice any overt lies, but I thought I heard a very strong slant in almost every paragraph. That's their privilege, but if their goal is to persuade, not educate, I'll keep looking for facts from unbiased sources. The only facts that I took away from those articles with confidence were that the authors had a very strongly held opinion and not too many scruples about how they were willing to present their case.

They might be right or wrong. (But they use mostly emotion to persuade.)

The large majority of scientists who think biosolids are "safe when used as directed" might be right or wrong. (But they quote lab results.)

I become extremely skeptical when reading anything on any side of any debate, when the authors reveal that they will say and not say whatever advances their position, instead of presenting facts fairly and in a balanced way. Of course, that means it is very hard to find "good information" about anything that people are passionate about!

I apologize if this seems directed at you. It's directed at the authors, and who am I to complain that someone wants to advance an agenda instead of writing a scientific paper?

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