Cassidy Hills- Reactions to the Love Canal Tragedy and BP Oil Spill

I posted the video about the Love Canal tragedy and one about the BP oil spill on my Facebook page, along with the question “Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?". Here are the comments I got:

1.     Tanner- Well anytime you drill for oil in the middle of the ocean you can expect and calculate some sort of risk to be emanate, but the benefits far outweigh the cons.. If America ever wants to become "Energy Dependent" on our country and territory alone then we need to drill more and more off of our coasts, until we can come up with some sort of sustainable alternative to oil. I don't know if I heard of the 'BP Oil Spill', but within the last 10 or so years I can remember newscasts of 5+ oil spills, it happens.. Whether minor or major, so of course I was aware that tragedies such as this exist, an oil spill is just part of the puzzle, a sliver, think about the hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods that have effected the U.S. alone in the last 24 months. We have excellent technology still, but for some time to come their will still be the 'human error' factor.

2. Victoria-  I had read about oil spills and learned about them in the past but this was the first one that I witnessed and personally saw the effects on the environment and other people.
3.    Lauren-Wow I didn't remember about that happening. Thanks for the much needed reminder.

4.       Ronda- I do recall hearing about this oil spill and being concerned about its impact, but it didn't take long for my mind to move onto other issues and I quickly forgot about this tragedy. It is easy to be concerned about those issues that personally affect me daily. It is more challenging to stay involved in the happenings worldwide that will affect me and my life in the long term, but are not currently pressing into my day to day activities. Media does help bring some of these tragedies into our living rooms, but as more recent or new events occur former tragedies are forgotten.

5.       Kenzie-I honestly had forgotten about this issue. Thanks for the info cass:)

6.       Audrey- I wasn't aware that things like this still happened, or the effects it could really have! Thanks for the info!

7.       Blake- I didn’t realize how tragic this was. I would think that by now we would have more control over things like this. Shouldn’t this stuff be preventable?

8.       Cathy-When I first saw the reports, I thought, "What a tragedy". Then I was angry at it taking 15 days to stop the leak!

9.       Sheila-I remember hearing about this tragedy and wondering why it took so long for them to get it under control - still not sure exactly why it took so long, but know that it was devastating to those that live and work in that area. We went to Florida that summer and there were lots of comments and talk about it while we were there. We weren't on the Gulf Coast, but it seemed to have far reaching effects for that area.

10.   Adam- I feel like this shouldn’t have happened. This seems like an event that could’ve happened centuries ago, but shouldn’t happen today. Thanks for the reminder.

Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today? I think I’m aware of environmental tragedies that get the big media coverage, but I’m sure there are many more happening than we hear about. I wasn’t aware how preventable some of these tragedies are though.

To what degree do environmental tragedies affect you/your family on a day to basis? I don’t think I’ve ever personally felt the effects of any environmental tragedy. I know that my family and I are indirectly affected through taxes, and that we do have the potential to be affected directly unless these matters are given appropriate attention and addressed in a timely matter.

Why should we care about something that happened over 30 years ago? We still need to study the Love Canal Tragedy because it is a prime example of what can go wrong. If we ignore stories like this, it will be too easy to become complacent or develop a false sense of security. This anecdote proves that we need to be cautious and on our guard to prevent illness and death.