The news this morning said that Beijing’s pollution was “off
the charts”. But that’s usually meant as a positive, right? So they could
simply say it with an enthusiastic inflection. Or else, how about saying it’s
“off the hook”! Or maybe saying it’s “a new standard in pollution excellence”.
Or it could be said to be “raising the bar” for municipal pollution. Or how
about claiming they’ve just blown the previous record away? Or perhaps they’ve
finally reached their goal of “optimum pollution output”. Or how about calling
it “an amazing accomplishment unlikely to be bettered”? Or maybe even saying
Beijing is “leading the world in pollution”. There are really so many ways they
can try to spin it into a positive here.
“Whenever you fail to meet your goal, simply move the
goalposts”: Ancient Public Relations proverb.
Here’s the smoggy story:
