(Printed Version -- 'Metro' Section, page B5 -- Early and Late Morning
Editions)
September 30, 2000
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G.E. Switches Its Web Site About PCB's
By KIRK JOHNSON
hree letters. On the surface,
that's the only difference between Hudsonwatch.com and Hudsonwatch.net
-- two Web sites devoted to the subject of the General Electric Company
and the controversy over PCB pollution in the Hudson River.
But appearances are deceiving. The dot-com site, run by General Electric
for the last several years, is stocked with scientific reports and glossy
pictures that are part of the company's multimillion-dollar campaign to
convince people that dredging the Hudson to remove PCB's is neither necessary
nor wise.
The dot-net site, set up two weeks ago for about $24 by a disgruntled
G.E. shareholder, is essentially an anticompany screed — stuffed with every
reason why the company should be forced to dredge the Hudson at
an estimated cost of $1 billion.
But this week, television viewers and newspaper readers in upstate New
York were told that what had become a familiar Internet address in G.E.'s
advertising had changed. On Thursday, Hudsonwatch.com became Hudsonvoice.com.
Typing in Hudsonvoice.com will take a Web surfer to the identical site
as the old Hudsonwatch.com.
A spokesman for G.E., Mark L. Behan, said the name change was strategic
and had been planned for much longer than the two weeks of the competing
dot-net site's existence. "It's a change in the emphasis of our advertising
program," Mr. Behan said. "We hope that people will speak out about Hudson
River issues, and we want to point out that now is the time to do it. That's
the reason for the change in the name -- that's the exclusive reason for
the change in the name."
But the owner of Hudsonwatch.net, Glenn Heller, a self-described wild
man, who trades stocks and fixes up antique cars for a living, claimed
victory. He said that in this case a guy with nothing but a soapbox and
a diatribe had won out over a big budget message.
"G.E. blinked," he said.
PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used for years in making electrical
components. An estimated one million pounds of the chemical, which has
been linked to cancer in humans and reproductive problems in wildlife,
was discharged by G.E.'s factories into the Hudson River over 30 years.
The river bottom was designated a federal Superfund site in 1983.
This summer and fall, the company has been spending at least $2 million
a week on its anti-dredging advertising campaign, according to estimates
by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a private conservation group. A final
decision by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is expected
later this year on a cleanup plan for the river.
Copyright
2000 The New York Times Company
(Internet Version)
September 30, 2000
|
|
G.E. Switches Its Web Site About PCB's
By KIRK JOHNSON
hree letters. On the surface,
that's the only difference between Hudsonwatch.com and another Web site,
Hudsonwatch.net, both devoted to the subject of the General Electric Company
and the controversy over PCB pollution in the Hudson River.
But appearances are deceiving. The dot-com site, run by General Electric
for the last several years, is stocked with scientific reports and glossy
pictures that are part of the company's multimillion-dollar campaign to
convince people that dredging the Hudson to remove PCB's is neither necessary
nor wise.
The dot-net site, set up two weeks ago for about $24 by a disgruntled
G.E. shareholder, is essentially an anticompany screed — stuffed with every
reason why the company should be forced to dredge the Hudson at an estimated
cost of $1 billion.
But this week, television viewers and newspaper readers in upstate New
York were told that what had become a familiar Internet address in G.E.'s
advertising had changed. On Thursday, Hudsonwatch.com became Hudsonvoice.com.
Typing in Hudsonvoice.com will take a Web surfer to a site identical to
the old Hudsonwatch.com.
A spokesman for G.E., Mark L. Behan, said the name change was strategic
and had been planned for much longer than the two weeks of the competing
dot-net site's existence. "It's a change in the emphasis of our advertising
program," Mr. Behan said. "We hope that people will speak out about Hudson
River issues, and we want to point out that now is the time to do it. That's
the reason for the change in the name."
But the owner of Hudsonwatch.net, Glenn Heller, who trades stocks and
fixes antique cars for a living, claimed victory. He said he had won out
over a big-budget message. "G.E. blinked," he said.
PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used for years in making electrical
components. An estimated one million pounds of the chemical, which has
been linked to cancer in humans and reproductive problems in wildlife,
were discharged by G.E.'s factories into the Hudson for more than 30 years.
The river bottom was designated a federal Superfund site in 1983.
G.E. has been spending at least $2 million a week on its antidredging
campaign, said Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a conservation group.
Copyright
2000 The New York Times Company
