Environmental Problem Solving and the Dangers of Junk Science: The Case of Ore Lake, Michigan

Treatment of sanitary sewage for removal of diseasing-causing organisms and noxious chemicals is an important part of public health and environmental protection programs. Most people assume that environmental protection is best served when treatment technology is pushed to its limit in efforts to remove as much material from wastewater as community finances can afford. Conventional wisdom holds that a principle of zero discharge is the ideal goal, to the extent that the goal is attainable. This case illustrates an example where conventional wisdom would lead to environmental consequences that are exactly opposite to those desired. It also illustrates how a scientifically unsophisticated but well-intentioned public is susceptible to flawed science that is promoted for specific economic or political agendas.