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| From the August 2014 edition of Carolina Journal, a monthly journal of news analysis and opinion from the John Locke Foundation |
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Tillis Targeted in Backyard Charcoal Ash Spill Attack Ad (a CJ parody) By Buck Strickland Environmental Correspondent
The ad claims that the silence of N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis, the Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate, on what the NCLCV calls an "environmental disaster beyond description," shows that Tillis supports the endangering of drinking water and the pollution of ponds. The text of the ad reads: Gray sludge everywhere. It happened here in Durham. Ash threatening our drinking water and our ponds. But Thom Tillis has sided with citizen polluters by ignoring this environmental disaster beyond description. Extremely high levels of toxic pyroligneous acid are entering our water supplies. Tillis' reckless silence on this disaster has let polluters off the hook, leaving the people to pay with their health. Call Speaker Tillis. Tell him to hold these polluting monsters accountable and keep our drinking and pond waters safe. Carolina Journal hadn't heard of the "disaster," so it contacted NCLCV spokesperson Delta Smelt. When pressed by CJ, Smelt admitted that the "evironmental disaster" mentioned in the ad was the death of one koi from a pond owned by Zooey Ingelstedt, a performance artist living in Trinity Park in Durham. Ingelstedt claims a neighbor, who was in the habit of throwing the charcoal ash from his Weber grill onto his garden, killed her koi when heavy rains caused runoff from his garden. "As one of our most powerful legislators, Speaker Tillis has failed to use his clout to protect public health and our water from backyard charcoal ash spills," said Smelt. Tillis, however, said when contacted by CJ that he'd never heard of Zooey Ingelstedt or her dead koi. "I have no idea what the NCLCV is talking about," he said. "I've never even heard of this so-called disaster, so how could I be expected to have a position on it?" Smelt huffed that the koi death was the front-page story in the last edition of The Trinity Park News. "This was the largest fish kill in Trinity Park history. Everybody heard about it," she said. "There was even a candlelight vigil on nearby Duke campus for the unfortunate koi. He can't just claim ignorance and get away with it." The NCLCV is nonpartisan but has a political-action committee that makes contributions to political candidates that it believes are "pro-environment." It has run similar ads criticizing Tillis, who faces Democratic U. S. Sen. Kay Hagan in the November election, for not being tough enough on Duke Energy for the company's handling of coal ash generated from its power plants. Hagan was a featured speaker at the NCLCV's annual Green Tie Awards dinner in May. Tillis told CJ he was not very concerned about backyard charcoal ash pollution. "Charcoal ash is not a significant problem. I usually throw my ashes in my garden. These ashes are pretty much dirt, anyway. They always makes next year's tomatoes more healthy," he said. Tillis said he thinks other forces may be at work here. "The propane industry has an interest in curbing the use of charcoal in hopes of selling more gas," he said. "I think they're the 'dark money' behind this ad effort." The North Carolina Propane and Propane Accessories Retailers Association's government affairs director, Hank Hill, told CJ his organization was not involved with the ads, though Hill serves on NCLCV's board of directors. CJ |
