Renaming Dredge Spoils Won’t Change Anything

To the Editor: 
In response to a March 16 letter to the editor, this obtuse, rambling, “Chicken Little” diatribe by a political partisan eco-warrior is beyond the pale.
“Spoils will always be spoils no matter what clever Orwellian word tries to replace it.” Dredge spoils comprise all dredged material. One example of dredge spoils as a resource is beach replenishment sand: Think I’ll stroll down to the spoils (beach in Orwellian) and catch a wave!
“…Bush/Cheney’s attempt to sanitize the ugliness of their invasion of Iraq based on lies by naming it Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).” Despite the snide/erroneous comment about Bush/Cheney, OEF was designated in October 2001 to represent the coalition war effort of some 60 nations to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. President Obama stated “This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity.” OEF is now the U.S. government official name to describe the global war on terrorism with recent actions in Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Horn of Africa, Trans Sahara, Caribbean/Central America, and Pankisi Gorge. 
“…How to change the public’s perception of dredge spoils by the simple means of a name change. Words like crud, sludge or muck, though accurate, are not even being considered.” Scientifically, the “bay” sediments are composed primarily of clay, silt, and fine sand.  The sediments also contain plant/animal matter, shells, fishing/crabbing gear, bottles/cans, etc., the odd boat anchor, and minor manmade and natural toxins. 
“Sludge spoils from Ocean City bay is filled with toxic chemicals (based on the author’s beliefs). These are the byproduct of nearly 50 years of B.L. England generating station polluting both air and water in their coal-burning activities.” Apparently, historical grid ditching/“oiling” of the marshes, runoff of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fecal matter, etc., and spraying county marshes with over 500,000 pounds of DDT from 1946 to 1966 are irrelevant. Numerous available/ongoing scholarly studies of our marshes require careful consideration rather than “uninformed gut beliefs.”  
“Now the PR guys are trying to spray this toxic muck in a fine mist over the wetlands. What is the scientific basis for this? What possible unforeseen consequences? Clearly science is irrelevant to these PR guys empowered by their attempts at sowing seeds of confusion in the science of climate change.” Besides insulting professionals/experts, the author seems confused and unaware of phytoremediation via saltmarsh Spartina grasses.
“We are being confronted with the greatest threat to our existence – by rising seas and sinking land.” Critical thinkers understand the coming ice age, super volcano eruptions (Yellowstone), mega-tsunamis (Azores Islands collapse), asteroid/comet impacts, supernovas/solar storms/gamma ray bursts, and other potential “catastrophic events” dwarf gradual subsidence and relative sea level rise.
“The question is not how to keep the yachters’ yachting lanes open by further degrading the wetlands but how do we minimize and prepare for the catastrophe that is heading our way?” Indeed, the author ignores the recreational and/or commercial uses of the wetlands like fishing, crabbing, clamming, aquaculture, sail/paddle, boating/boarding, rowing/kayaking/canoeing, jet skiing, eco-touring, wildlife watching, hunting, etc. “Yachters” is clearly “Orwellian” and “catastrophe” is an exaggeration.
“…why not focus on the truly bigger issue of the main culprit to climate change; extraction and burning of fossil fuel. Spend the money on renewable energy and the retraining of all the good workers from the coal and gas industries. The hour is late but there is still time to halt the march towards our own demise. No more gas transmission lines and no more gas plants in New Jersey.” Finally, the true devout eco-monkey-wrencher bottom line agenda is espoused.