Here at the Gene Pool, we always like to find a silver lining:

The amount of out-of-state garbage entering Virginia dropped last year by 7.5 percent, one of the sharpest declines since the state became a major trash importer in the 1990s, according to a report released Monday.

But of course, in the media, a silver lining is nothing more than clever camo for the dark cloud:

Officials with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, who compiled the report, attributed the decline to the national economic malaise. They predicted imports would likely rise again when consumers have more money to buy more goods and, subsequently, more stuff to throw away.

You know, there's just no winning. Declining garbage is presumed to be good, except when it means declining economy, in which case it is a bad omen. And increasing garbage is presumed to be bad, even though it is a sign of good economy. What kind of bizarro world do these people inhabit?