"Hey guys, I have an assignment that I need your help with! If you have time, can you read these 2 articles http://www.epa.gov/history/
These are the responses I received:
1. Tena Haines Daring: Yes I think these situations have to be managed closely and penalties for crossing some lines should be very swift and so unforgiving that big business would clearly see the cost/benefit of taking needed precautions. However, I do not think we need to go over board. Prudence and good judgement are key.
2. Ashley Sherer: In short while I think that we should care about the environment the truth of the matter is that the environment is cleaner now than it has ever been since the industrial revolution. Those 2 articles seemed more concerned with scaring people rather than informing. Also notice the numerous uses if words like could, maybe, and might. There wasn't a lot of good science about what could happen but quite a bit of "scary" stuff.
3. Laura Woodward Haines: In the case of Love Canal there was no understanding at the time of the hazardous conditions by the homeowners. I would like to think that the builders were clueless as well.
I think the agencies are in place now to oversee the proper handling/disposal of hazards. If they are managed with integrity the only hazards should be accidental. Unfortunately due to human error or circumstances out of our control accidents will always happen.
4. Sherri Roberson Custred: I think any company that knowingly or unknowingly creates a biohazard condition hurting humans or animals should have to pay for its consequences.
5. Bea Strong: We should be concerned with environmental hazards and their global effects every day. Having grown up in Mobile, Alabama, I heard and saw the impact of this environmental disaster. I vividly remember the fallout that resulted from the Love Canal incident. Both of these had a catastrophic impact on so many individuals. Sadly, these events were preventable. Unfortunately, corporate greed and the Washington lobby are effective deterents to the good of the general public. I live in Northport, Alabama. Hopefully, future generations will resolve environmental issues and help preserve our world.
6. Gene Haines: I have supervised maintenance procedures in the U.S. military and at the tire manufacturing plant. In these positions I observed situations that day in, and day out people are directly involved with manufactured products and our environment. Usually people do think very seriously about our invironment. Howerve accidentds do happen. Sometimes people act without concern for the ground, water supplies, air that we breath. My experienceas have generally left me with an opinion that more often than not, people act opinun the environment does not concern them until they have the opportunity to point a finger at someone else. Usually they have been involved with environmental abuses in some form. Examples: pouring gasoline, oil, cleaning agents,etc. directly onto the ground. Look at the cautions on any container of a cleaner or similar product, hazard warnings on a drain cleaner product, and you will find appropriate disposal instructions. Generally those disposal instructions do not include "just throwing it in the garbage can". We, citizens are responsible for the manufacture, consumption, asnd disposal of products. We are responsible for these hazards. Consider that all the componants used in a manufacturing plant for the plant building, the equipment used in making a product, transportation to the warehouses for prepositioning items, and finally to stores where we buy these products!!! We are responsible. However, I don't believe we can legilate these problems away. It will take personal responsibility.
7. Clara Tisdale Haines: I know we should be concerned about our environment daily because if we don't be careful there can be love canals all around us. I can remember when I was growing up they would cover land fills and build houses on it. I am sure that happened all over. I just hope and pray we can make the right decisions now about the environment so our children and grandchildren can live strong productive lives without fear of sickness and diseases.
8. Carmen Puente Haines: I do think it is a concern it seems as if more kids now a days are born with some kind of problem...austism, heart problems, liver, kidney and so on. There has to be something that is causing all this and I believe the environmental toxins have a lot to do with it.
9. Ari Tavolino Taylor: Yes we should be concern about environmental hazards. It can effect every aspect of our lives. From the way we grow food to the way we build houses. Even getting sick from contaminates are becoming an issue. Diseases are carried in floods, land fills, etc. We need to start making a difference or we will be in trouble.
10. Lainie Thompson: I think the issue about hazardous waste being merely covered and not properly taken care of we should be concerned but not crazy about it. We should be careful about what we do with the waste we are producing now. We should be mindful of the fact that we are human and we can't make things perfect and we can't get rid of everything perfectly but we can do the best we can. When moving into an area, we should check the ground that we are moving into. A firm foundation is most important after all. The oil spill, accidents happen, I thought it was interesting how they kept commenting on how bad the BP spill was but yet there was no direct results from that spill. anyway. I think there are more precautions we can make to stop the oil from spilling and ways to control the effects in the event that it does.
Why should we care about something that happened 30 years ago?
Mistakes of the past help us to learn and avoid repetition. It is important to assess the past from every angle to determine what went wrong and all the ways in which we can prevent future environmental crises. Additionally, it is possible that events from 30 years past, such as the Love Canal incident, can still have an impact on the environment and on the health of communities. Therefore, it is necessary to learn all that we can about what happened so that we can repair as much of the damage as possible and prevent people from illness or harm related to the incident.
Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your family today?
Yes. I believe that the serious problem of particulate matter polluting the air in the Salt Lake Valley is a detriment to my health and the health of my family members who live in the area. I believe this to be an environmental crises. Additionally, I believe that on a smaller scale, environmental crises are happening all around us and require attention in order to maintain a healthy earth and healthy communities.
To what degree do environmental tragedies affect you/your family on a day to day basis?
I would like to talk a bit about what I believe to be an environmental crises on a smaller scale. When I lived in Georgia, I lived in a house that previously belonged to a meth addict. The county in which I lived also had a significant meth problem. Environmentally, it is clear that this was not safe. However, my family experienced severe problems due to our house's previous owner's addiction. My little sister has a very rare and very severe form of epilepsy. She is now 12 years old, which is a miracle because she was not supposed to live this long, according to the doctors. When we were living in Georgia, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she went into what is called "epileptic status." The severity of her epilepsy is such that her brain is constantly seizing, even though it is not always obvious. Because there are so many kinds of seizures and she has all but a few of them, one might meet her and not be able to see on the outside that she is having a seizure. Living in that house is Georgia, we became concerned. We could not understand why she was having such a hard time and why her epilepsy was getting worse. Eventually, after talked to doctors across the country over the phone and through her main neurologist in Alabama, is became clear that the meth addiction of the previous owner was the cause of Gabby's "status." She became worse and worse and almost died. After we moved out of that house, we went back to Alabama and away from the house which had been contaminated by meth. Gabby's condition soon began to improve. She was no longer in epileptic status, though she is still epileptic and still has seizures every day. She is able to function though, in ways she could not while we were in that house. That house--the contamination from the drugs used in that house--nearly killed her. She is a beautiful and kind and happy little girl. She has quite a bit of brain damage due to her constant seizure activity, but she does not let go. She is so strong. She teaches our family more and more about love and life and faith every day. To think that we almost lost her due to the environment we were living in, is the most horrific tragedy concerning our environment we have ever experienced. I believe it is so important to be aware of the environment you are living in because I have seen first-hand what can happen when the environment around you is not quite what you think.
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