For this assignment,
I asked the following question: To what
degree do environmental tragedies affect you/your family on a daily basis?
Posted below is
the article I shared with my friends concerning the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill:
The Responses I
got were as follows:
1.
Kristen Blackham – I don’t think environmental tragedies
affect my family on a daily basis. While they may affecting neighboring
families that are close to the cite of the tragedy, I have never been a direct
victim of environmental tragedies.
2.
Micaela Merrill – I think that they don’t affect me on a
daily basis, but in the long run the environmental disasters will affect my
family’s health in the future. For example, if a nuclear plant is spilled/exploded,
my family may have increased rates of cancer because the air will blow the
radiation closer to my house.
3.
Carli Udall - We have a nuclear test ground in
Nevada (my hometown). My family and I have never felt the affects of the test
ground or other environmental tragedies.
4.
Barbara Christensen – Various spills result in increased gas
prices. Those affect me on a daily basis as I fill up my car.
5.
Steve Christensen – I did not directly feel the affects of
the Love Canal Tragedy, but I know the surrounding families were devastated. I
remember the tragedy was posted all over the news – families had serious
physical tragedies in the form of birth deformities and death. I am glad that
the families were in a very small way repaid as they were located with new
homes. However, the suffering those families endured can never be truly repaid.
6.
Alex Cattich – I don’t think they affect me on a
daily basis. Like global warming, it may affect me in the long run, but I don’t
feel the affects right away.
7.
Stephen Chipman – I think environmental tragedies do affect
my family on a daily basis. They change the demands of various products and
raise prices in all different ways. I really don’t know a lot about how exactly
that happens, but I do believe that I am influenced everyday.
8.
Abby Walborn – I think it’s very possible that I could be impacted everyday in minor
ways. I think as shown by these articles and the video, my being affected is
nothing compared to these people. They are far more impacted than I, as I think
mine are more socially-constructed affects. Like what people as a whole think
of the environment, our government, etc.
9.
Tyler Christensen – I’m don’t think it affects me daily. Now
don’t get me wrong, I do believe that I could be impacted by such events, I
just don’t see how it impacts me and my family on a daily basis.
10. Jackson
Shubin – I think yes and
no. While they do affect me by my distant relatives and friends in other areas,
they do not directly affect my family. If a spill happens over two thousand
miles away, what does that exactly do for me?
My 3 Response Questions
1.
In
your opinion, are environmental hazards something we should be concerned about
on a daily basis?
I
think the key word in this would be aware.
While I do think everyday we should be aware of various environmental hazards
and how they are progressing, I don’t think living a life in fear or concern
over a possible hazard is completely
necessary. When it gets to the level of threat or definite hazard, then yes, I
find it totally rational to be concerned. I personally would go as far as
moving away from an area if it meant my family was going to be moved away from
a dangerous situation. While I do think we should be aware, I don’t think we
should be necessarily concerned everyday.
2.
Environmental
tragedies still exist today; what can we do today to mitigate these problems?
I
think like any social, biological, or public health problem, it comes down to
awareness and informing the public that these environmental tragedies still
exist. It was not just a one-time deal what happened in the Love Canal, but a
very serious issue that could easily happen today. I believe that by informing the
public and making them aware of what is going on, you can mitigate these
problems. Furthermore, instilling certain programs and groups (such as seen with
the Love Canal and EPA), you can gain support for containing, controlling, and
ideally, preventing these problems.
3.
Where
you aware that that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist
today?
Honestly,
I had a slight inclination that it could still happen, but I didn’t realize
that, like the film said, “multiple” other areas across the United States are
like time-bombs just waiting for an opportunity. It makes me a little nervous and
anxious to increase awareness to stop what could be another economically tragic
event in our history.
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