Brian Adamson_Love Canal

I emailed a few of my friends and family.  I was able to get these comments from them about the video on the Love Canal and also the reading.

Please respond with a short comment about the video and/or reading and how you feel about environmental disasters happening today.

Comment #1:  This is a crazy video.  I’m glad that I was not living there at that time and hope nothing happens like that again.

Comment #2: I hope that there are regulations to stop these types of catastrophes

Comment #3:  Many people suffered during this event.  I don’t understand why some people wanted to stay living there even though they were living on chemicals

Comment #4:  I’m surprised that I hadn’t seen this video or even heard of this event.  I hope that I don’t live on a chemical mess and also hope that these types of things don’t happen again.

Comment #5:  This video opened my eyes to the possibility that something similar could happen anywhere.  It just takes one major mishap and thousands of people could be dead or suffering with health problems related to it.  That is why I do not want nuclear power plants to be constructed near communities.

Comment #6:  What a mess!! I cannot even imagine what I would have to go through if I were a resident there.

Comment #7: I think I lived in a chemical mess in South America.  The black goop reminded me of a city I served in.

Comment #8:  Disturbing Video!  But I feel bad for those people affected by that incident.

Comment #9:  I would have guessed that this happened in another country, but it is shocking that these things happen in our own backyards.

Comment #10: I have actually heard of things like this happening and I feel that this happens more than we realize.  It is sad that we live in a time that has to deal with things like this.  It’s hard to comprehend it all. 

Why should we care about something that happened over 30 years ago?

Although this tragedy happened so long ago, there are lessons that we can learn from this experience.  Since that tragedy there has been more laws and regulations put in place to help decrease the amount of tragedies that happen.  These things are preventable and should open up the eyes of other people about the importance of properly disposing hazardous materials.  Even though this happened 30 years ago, things like this still happen today.

To what degree do environmental tragedies affect you/your family on a day to basis?

It is difficult to put yourself in a situation similar to others who are going through a tragedy without you experiencing a similar tragedy beforehand.  However, I feel sympathetic for those who go through tragedies and want to help them out in any way that I can.  It is hard to measure to what degree other events impact me, but it does impact me to a good extent. 

Environmental tragedies still exist today; what can we do today to mitigate these problems.

I believe that the best way to combat these issues is to not only pass laws and regulations, but also enforce them.  There are people out there who want to cheat the system and dump waste in an area that is forbidden or other situations that come up.  This is an issue that needs to be addressed and enforced more extensively.  Those who cheat the system should be penalized heavily, while those who follow the law should be rewarded.