Love Canal Report - Emily Kapral

Environmental/Occupational Health Assignment:

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

My Link: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/04/as_third_anniversary_of_bp_oil.html

Kasandra Portice – “My family has come seen some of the negative affects of environmental tragedies, but nothing extreme. We tend to be a family that continually remains informed about any environmental plans, studies, disasters, etc.”

Lauren Faber – “My family isn't affected by these tragedies on a very day to day basis because we live in a very clean place. The story of the canal is devastating. My family has not really been exposed to such situations because we live in an excellent area. Put the air that we breath and water that we drink affects us every day. If something were to happen to it then our health and our lives would be changed.”

Sarah Olson – “I don't know if I'd say I feel directly affected by environmental tragedies at all--aside from the irritation of people treating the world we live in with such ill-consideration. However, I do have family and friends that have asthma, and suffer greatly when there is a large number of pollutants in the air. I've never come in contact with something as extreme as Love Canal, but I think it's not unlikely that the small things I witness and do have a larger effect on the environment than I fully understand.”

Karl Ewert – “On a day to day basis, they honestly don’t seem to affect us at all.  But I know it will/can be a classic example of “Tragedy of the Commons”; though we don’t necessarily feel the effect now, that doesn’t mean we won’t or our future generations won’t.”

Charlie Roberts – “I have two brothers that suffer pretty severely from asthma so my family is always concerned the sanitation level of the community we live in. The story of the canal is more devastating than I have ever dealt with personally. The most we have had to deal with is taking a drive into the mountains for some fresh air during heavier smog times.”

Erik Lovell – “I don’t think that this affects me or my family. We live in a desert where there isn’t much to contaminate in the first place.  While sure, air pollution is an issue, I don’t think there is a conceivable solution to it. I honestly don’t think about it that much and I feel that the government is doing its part to control corporate waste creation.”

John McMullin – “Environmental tragedy is a broad term. I think global warming is an environmental tragedy that affects my family every day. The economy is adversely affected through the increased droughts in some areas and excess rainfall in others (rainfall in my family’s case). It also makes my dad’s job more difficult since he works in irrigation.”

Codie Walton – “While my family has never witnessed a tragic event such a Love Canal we are constantly bombarded by environmental issues out of our control. Most obvious is the lack of clean air that we have to breath, specifically in Utah valley. Growing up in Colorado, I didn't understand the obvious impact of living in a valled which condenses the smog and hazardous chemicals. I can definitely notice my the impact of bad air when I climb the stairs south of campus or go for a run during the inversion. It is unfortunate that we live in an area which precipitates such hazardous effects on our health.”

John Kapral –“ I graduated from Niagara University in 1975, which is only miles away from Hooker Chemical and Love Canal, and when the wind blew in the wrong direction, your eyes would sting and lungs burn a little as you walked to class form the fumes wafting over the campus.  This tragedy came to fruition after they realized the high incidents of birth defects concentrated in that small area.  Chemical dumps are identifiable from the documented history of industries, and the results are horrific and the clean-up has been slow but steady.”

Vanessa Kapral – “I believe that environmental pollution that occurred at Love Canal raised my awareness that chemicals can be present in our food, water and air – without our knowledge.  I’m grateful that when I turn on the water tap in my home, I know that the State of CT public health department is out there every day doing their job to ensure it’s safe to drink and use.  When I shop at the grocery story – I’m aware of what country I’m buying fruit from and if it was organically grown.”

My 3 Questions:

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

I wouldn’t say that environmental tragedies affect my family on a day-to-day basis.  I would say that they are extremely important issues and deserve more of our attention.  We should care about them because they have the potential to affect the lives of our children and grandchildren even though we may not see the full effects of the disasters ourselves.

2. Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?

I was aware that tragedies like this occur every day.   One of the most popular incidents I had heard of was the BP Oil Spill a few years ago.  I remember how outraged the public was and also how that rage fueled a speedy start to the clean up efforts.

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

We should care about an event that happened so long ago because we can only learn from our mistakes.  We can make Love Canal a situation to avoid and learn from.  If we don’t pay attention to the events and mistakes of our past, how can we move on and become better?