I posted the Love Canal article
along with an article about the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011
which can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21737910.
I asked the question: Why should we care about something that happened over 30
years ago? Here are the comments:
Jeremy: Because it can still happen today. Its effects can still be
felt.
Cory: We should care because we have to learn from our past mistakes
to change the future and continually progress.
Matt: By understanding what has caused these tragedies we can be
better equipped to prevent future incidents and fix current problems.
Rebekah: History repeats itself. We can learn from previous
accidents and tragedies so that we can prevent future tragedies which can have
a negative effect on society.
Daniel: We need to be aware of how what we do now could affect
those in the future.
Eric: The consequences of the past can and will affect us in the
future—it is a universal ideal.
Stephanie: We can learn from the past and learn how to prevent
situations like this from happening in the future.
Lacey: History repeats itself and there is the likelihood that this
will affect more communities in the near future.
Austin: These types of disasters affect more than just those people
directly impacted. For the good of everyone who may be impacted directly or
indirectly, we should work harder to practice prevention.
Tanner: The purpose of studying history is to learn from it, and
prevent its repetition. In this case, there are hundreds of locations that have
the potential to create the same issues.
Scott: You shouldn’t care! Abraham Lincoln said, “The dogmas of the
quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high
with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. As our case is new, so we
must think anew and act anew.” Technology has advanced, and will keep
advancing. I say that we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then,
don’t worry about it.
Questions that I answered:
Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still
exist today?
I
knew that these circumstances happened; however, I did not understand the scale
to which they affected people and the danger these situations presented. I
think I often feel complacent and that things like Love Canal and Fukushima happened
to other people. These articles showed me that they could happen to me and that’s
scary.
Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your family today?
Yes! I believe
that my family and I are very much affected. The one that I think of most is
the smog and air quality in Utah. It often gets so bad in the Valley that kids
have to stay in from recess—not because of rain or storms but because the air
is so polluted. It makes me wonder about the long term affects it could have on
my family and my health.
Environmental tragedies still exist today; what can we do today to
mitigate these problems?
I think the greatest thing we can do
is to raise awareness and educate people that these problems exist because it
is only when the community is aware and has knowledge of the situation, can
legal action be taken to promote better safety and prevention of environmental
tragedies.
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