In keeping with the spirit of Node Your Homework, I have decided to post my troll response paper which earned me an A+. This paper is in response to a video called "Trade Secrets" published by PBS. To get PBS' side of the story (which I agree with) visit www.pbs.org/tradesecrets. To hear the chemical industry's argument, read this troll.
To call this video 'journalism' would be an insult to the chemical manufacturing profession. This video is little more than 90 minutes of slander for the honorable and brave chemical industry. The very fact that the chemical industry knew and documented these dangers as far back as 1958 shows how they cared deeply for their valued employees; had they not, no studies would have been done. Employees claimed they had not been told; however in a hazardous environment, it is your responsibility to take appropriate precautions - a fact which is sadly lost in today's "it's-not-your-fault-you-tripped" lawsuit-happy society. Climbing inside a chemical vat literally naked after being told by a corrupt supervisor that it was safe is boneheaded.
PBS is well known for supporting radical liberalistic journalism, and the next part of this video is no exception. The fact that chemical corporations contribute to political campaigns bears little, if any, relevance to the video's supposed topic. Campaign finance contribution is a God-given First Amendment right that has repeatedly been upheld by both the district courts and the Supreme Court, and this video serves to demonize those who exercise this right. It would be in my best interest to help elect a candidate who supports my interests and not some ignorant environmentalist's.
Another scare tactic exhibited by this video is the 'blood test'. Yes, Bill Moyers may have 80+ chemicals in his blood, but those are trace amounts. Had he had any more than that, he would have been dead right there on the spot. Indeed, PBS would have you believe that his blood is made up entirely of chemicals - another absurd liberal myth.
The video also mentions Union Carbide. As you may or may not recall, the Union Carbide accident in India was caused by a disgruntled employee who sabotaged the plant. 2,000 people were killed because the population density of India is very high, but the video obviously doesn't mention this. It is a sad day indeed when PBS would have you believe that the gas leak in India was Union Carbide's fault.
The video also points to a study commissioned by the brave and just chemical industry that concluded there were no dangers in chemicals. The video points out some supposed 'flaws' - that the scientists were not allowed to interview families of employees who had died, and the selective interviewing of people. What this liberal video fails to mention is BIAS. If I were doing a study on milk, and asked PETA for answers, they would give me radical left-wing propaganda. If I asked the dairy industry, they would give me extremist right-wing propaganda. If I asked an average joe on the street, I would get a truthful answer, and so this is how studies are truthfully conducted.
There is a term for what this video presents - junk science, or science which has little or no basis in reality. Examples of junk science include: the idea that power lines give you leukemia in the early 90's, saccharine causing cancer, global warming, the idea that the moon affects the earth's ocean tides, and so on. Junk science is used to further a political agenda, and PBS' agenda in this case is to ruin the economy like the terrorists did by having the goverment impose strict new environmental regulations which would cost millions to implement. PBS forgets one simple fact: CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. This is an extremely important fact to remember when interpreting statistics, a fact which PBS forgot.
In conclusion, PBS has lost any shred of moral dignity which it may once have had. This is all too evident in the liberal bias that this video presents. It is my prayer that one day, PBS will pay reparations to the chemical industry for the inevitable damages that will result from this video