Don Young Responds

Don Young of FWCanDo responds to this morning's the Startlegram editorial:

From: Don Young
Date: September 10, 2007 11:33:13 AM CDT
Subject: Star-Telegram Editors guilty of greenwashing? Here's a way to fight back.

The Editors of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have published a short-sighted Opinion in todays newspaper that is filled with misleading statements and a few truth-bending assumptions regarding the Trinity Trees issue. Their over-the-top valentine to Chesapeake Energy is a blatant flirtation with greenwashing.

Even though this editorial hits a new low, it's nothing new. The Star-Telegram has endorsed gas drilling from the beginning. They wrote over 2 years ago that the benefits of drilling in our neighborhoods and greenspaces outweigh the losses. Even after the Forest Hill gas well blowout that caused widespread evacuation and a death, they continued to minimize the dangers,

It's important to remember that Fort Worth's only daily newspaper probably has significant mineral rights under their own properties. There is reason to believe that a gas well planned for the heart of downtown, near Lancaster @ Lamar, will be on S-T property. MOST importantly, a significant part of S-T advertising income is now derived from the gas companies, including Chesapeake. [Editor's note: The current TAD listing for the Lancaster property does not show the Star-Telegram as the owner. Furthermore, we do not know how much of the S-T's advertising revenue is derived from gas drillers. In the interest of disclosure, the S-T would gain more credibility on this issue if they disclosed their natural gas holdings in the Barnett Shale and the advertising revenue derived from gas drillers.]

You're all familiar with the Upton Sinclair principle, "It's difficult to get a man/woman (or a corporation) to understand something when their salary (income) depends on his NOT understanding it."

Does all this mean the editorial board is intentionally biased? Maybe, maybe not. It suggests to me is that there is, at least, the appearance of conflict of interest and that by owning the only daily newspaper in town there is more than a hint of corportae irresponsibility in publishing this latest editorial.

From my point of view, if the Star-Telegram editors and the gas drillers get their way, most of the undeveloped greenspace left in Fort Worth and surrounding rural areas will be managed and landscaped by the gas driller's to accommodate their needs. Are we supposed to be grateful for that???

That is not an acceptable compromise. It is a tragedy and a sell out of unprecedented proportion that we should continue to resist.

Don Young
9/10/07

FWCanDo
P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147
http://www.fwcando.org

"God bless Fort Worth, Texas. Help us save some of it."