Comments before viewing "Troubled Waters" today.

I've followed the controversy online for the last few weeks. I anticipate this will be somewhat better than some of the "PC propaganda" on the more educational cable channels. My all time favorite worst was "life after oil" on the National Geographic Channel.

That said I still think that "Troubled Waters" could backfire in the long run. More after I watch it and tape it tonight but points to consider in advance.

1. The timing of the film. It "just happens" to be a month before elections. What a coincidence!

2. The funding for the film. A lot came from the lottery proceeds. The lottery helped fund the big windmills near Northfield and study of the aquifer in the Karst geological formation. A cursory view of the MN lottery webpage winners shows them to be the "hunting and fishing" types. I'll bet 90% of lottery users believe the money is used for DIRECT wildlife habitat preservation and restoration projects.

3. The opening of the film with the organic farm "plug". Best organics might top worst regular farming but organic typically gets half the yield with output selling at twice the price. The New York Times recently had an article on the Amish being a major polluter of the Chesapeake Bay. The Amish are extremely organic but they tend to have too much livestock for the land and poor basic runoff remediation.

4. As for the big (IE: corporate) farms versus "family farms". We have had almost 40 years of the EPA which tends to go after the largest first. Also, large and corporate can afford the latest technology. Basically, with GPS harvest yields can be mapped down to the square yard or less. When it comes to fertilizer, pesticides and such these can be customized to the same square yard areas. Beyond environmental pressure these chemicals cost money just as gas for your car costs money.

5. Watch for "global warming", "climate change" or anything "carbon" mention. This has turned into a "code word" for a political divide on environmental issues. Heck, Osama Bin Laden just came out against "global warming".

6. The "academic freedom" arguments seem awfully lame to the "public" I have bounced it off of. Most people think that the academic environment is "hyper-political" versus office politics and they don't like office politics. This has been a fourth rate public relations disaster and the academic world claims to be a repository of the best and brightest. Nuff said.

More after I watch the show tonight.