I posted the Love Canal story and an article about burn pits
on American military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Army bases burn everything
they want to get rid of, exposing soldiers to a myriad of carcinogens).
Comments:
1.
“This reminds of the BP oil spill . . . a series
of very stupid decisions leading to a bunch of angry, sick people.”
2.
“Big business doesn’t care about little people.
If it did would prevent stuff like this from happening.”
3.
“I’m glad this didn’t happen to my neighborhood.
Is that selfish?”
4.
“[shudder] – this is creepy.”
5.
“It sure is a shame that after all our soldiers
go through to defend our liberty that they should be getting cancer just
walking around their base! We should take better care of our armed forces!”
6.
“Was this really a disaster? There were only
five birth defects. Obviously one is too many, but they make it sound like
every pregnant woman was giving birth to Frankenbaby. It seems like the
disaster was just a bunch of bad smells and high-strung protesters.”
7.
“As annoying as the EPA is, I guess it’s a good
thing they exist – someone needed to get shouted at.”
8.
“Those posters that the little kids were holding
were really annoying. “I want to grow up, will I?” Exploitation of children to
get on TV: after you get off the phone with the EPA, go ahead and call CPS.
There’s more than one disaster in Love Canal.”
9.
“This [burn pits] is frustrating: now every
soldier for the next several years who gets cancer is going to blame it on burn
pits, which is fine if that’s actually the case. The military should have
thought this through a little better: they’ve got a real mess on their hands
now.”
10.
“Why do environmentalists worry about oil spills
killing ducks? This kind of stuff is affecting people!”
Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this
magnitude still exist today?
Yes. The BP oil spill was, of course, very high profile and
we still talk about the Exxon Valdez. I think the environmentalist presence in
the current politics/news reporting keeps this kind of thing relatively close
the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your
family today?
I believe it could. I am from the Gulf Coastal area (oil
spills) and I have relatives in the armed forces that have been deployed
recently (burn pits) – my family could definitely be affected by these kinds of
environmental crises, and possibly others. I live down the street from an oil
refinery: the air quality in my county is one of the worst in the country, as
is the emphysema and lung cancer rate. We live with this every day, I suppose.
Why should we care about something that happened over 30
years ago?
The Love Canal experience is important to remember because
it helps us remember why we have to go to such precaution to protect the
environment and ourselves. The EPA is an annoying presence in the workforce
(especially for people who work in oil refineries) but it’s a necessary
process. Public health is about prevention: we have to learn from past mistakes.
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