Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Love Canal- Brittany Hill


I posted an article about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, along with the Love Canal article. And asked the question “Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?”

1.     I knew that environmental disasters happened in the world, but I never really thought of them happening in America. I remember the gulf spill, but it felt far away. The Love Canal disaster happened in the United States. It seems obvious now that environmental disasters can happen anywhere, but it’s only just hitting me. It’s weird to think about.
2.     I guess I knew these things happened, but in the past you know? And like Rachel said, in other countries. The BP oil spill is really the only one I felt like had affected me in any way, and it was still far away. I feel like these are things you see on TV shows, but they don't actually happen for real. And Hanford seems like so distant from us, like nothing will actually happen to us living close; it's a closed issue. But I guess it's really not.
3.     I was not aware that environmental tragedies of that magnitude still happen today. I have only really heard of things like that happening in movies it TV shows, never in real life. It's scary to think that toxic waste could be in our backyards and we wouldn't even know about it until its too late.
4.     I was not aware that environmental mishaps like that happen today. It is amazing that even in the United States we still have issues like this. I would like to know when the last event like this happened because this happened about forty years ago.
5.     I’ve never really thought about things like this happening around us. It makes me sick what some people do. Building a playground and homes on or around something like this… come one people! Makes me wonder if I’m living on or around something like this! Yikes!
6.     I was aware that these tragedies exist today but maybe not to the extent of the Love Canal issue. It's very sad that it takes many people becoming ill, developing cancer, or a rise in birth defects limited to such a small area for someone to ask why is this happening? And then to find out that the cause could and should have been prevented but it all comes down to the mighty dollar and what can people do to cut corners or avoid responsibility. "Let's just bury everything and hopefully no one will find out!  Or it won't cause any problems! "What I find even more disgusting are those that then try to profit from someone else's misfortune of being affected by such a situation... we see so many lawsuits today and lawyers advertising on TV ... "have you been injured?"... People trying to gain from someone else’s tragedy. I really hope people realize that we need to take care of our precious earth and be honest and ethical in all our dealings.... not just try to save and make a buck when it involves others lives.
7.     The BP oil spill is a pretty recent one, so I was aware of that. I remember some other sort of oil spill happening years ago- I don't remember when or where. The Love Canal disaster is crazy, and I had no idea about that. It really makes you wonder about what kind of mess the Tri-Cities is placed in. It is right in between Hanford and the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot. Pretty scary to think that some sort of disaster like that could happen there, affecting our families and friends. You really don't hear about these kinds of accidents happening often, but it is sickening to think that they do occur, and that they could occur somewhere else. It isn't something I've ever put much thought to. I'm sure there is plenty going on around the country being covered up that we aren't aware of. When I stop to think about it, it is unsettling to think that we could be endangering our own families without even realizing it. I certainly hope that anyone in charge of a chemical waste dump, or anything similar, is taking all of the necessary precautions to keep their workers and the communities around them safe, and not cutting corners.
8.     I'm surprised I had never heard of the Love Canal Disaster. But I'm not surprised any of these have happened. Do we ourselves even know what we toss into the trash or pour down the sink? (And even down our own throats for that matter?) Probably not, and do we care? No, but hopefully sometime soon. It blows my mind sometimes to think how mindless we move about, consume, and dispose to feed our "desires and needs".
9.     I was aware of the environmental tragedies that were mentioned except for the Love Canal. I know there are possibilities that others could happen. We live in an area that is at risk- Hanford.
10.  Hadn't heard of the love canal before.. so scary, like horror movie stuff. Makes me afraid to leave near any body of water (ocean, stream, dump?). But definitely was aware of the gulf. The lady I nannied for was from a town near there, and was planning to go to her family's huge family reunion-- all on the beach. Of course this affected the resort they were going to stay at, so my nanny-fam was always freaking out and complaining that their whole trip would be ruined, and that where they grew up would never ever be the same. So sad.


My Responses:

1. Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your family today?

I totally believe that environmental crises can affect my family and I today. We live close to a site that had a radioactive waste take leak and contaminated a river than runs through our state. From that many homes and property were damaged. Even thought this crisis happened many years ago, clean up will last for many years to come. Due to living in close proximity, it can affect us, for those who don’t live close that may be a different story.

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

It’s important to learn and care about something that happened over 30 years ago because some things repeat themselves. We need to be prepared and if it occurs again, learn from our mistakes and remove or decrease the chance of it happening again.

3. In your opinion are environmental hazards something we should be concerned about on a daily basis?

No, I do not think that environmental hazards should be something we are concerned out on a daily basis. But I do think that we need to be educated and know that these hazards can happen and need to know how to reduce or handle certain situations when they happen. 

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