Review of Reading 16 "Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door"

Summary

This article was written by Becky Bradway. The main focus of this article outlines the author's childhood years growing up in Buffalo, Illinois, and the environmental challenges this little town faced. From the time she was 8 years old till she was 10, her and her family lived in Buffalo, right next to a chemical plant called Borden Chemical. The author claimed that although the town of Buffalo was very small, and dull, she loved everything about it.

As much as the author loved her hometown, she eventually developed cancer. Fortunately, she overcame her illness. Her mom and uncle, on the other hand, had passed away. Looking back at her life, the author question many things about her hometown and the influence Borden Chemical had on the people that lived there. She wonders why people allow these "bulbous monstrosities" to stay in their towns. She also wonders if the chemicals released by this chemical plant is what fueled the cancer to grow in both herself and her family members.

The author then emphasizes the stereotype of rural people. How rural people are nothing but hicks and inbreds who have no power, and are the "butt of jokes." She says that kids in these rural towns look to these chemical plants to get a job in the future, after they get married. She also talks briefly about the history of her town and how it hasn't changed much since the year 1900. Illiopolis, Illinois was another small town by Buffalo, where there lies another chemical plant. The author believes the Illiopolis Plant helped contaminate the environment in her hometown.

After addressing her first question she then goes onto her second question: Did the chemicals released by this chemical plant fuel the cancer to grow in my family and myself? She states that Borden Chemical's specialties are resins and formaldehyde. The plant in Illiopolis, on the other hand, produces polyvinyl chloride (PVC). She emphasizes that both toxic gases and flammable gases are used to make this product. These are the chemicals that are released in the air and into the town water lines. The employees that work in that plant have high rates of liver and breast cancer, and everyone else around the plant is affected as well. She ends the paragraph by stating the fact that there are too many plants and factories that pollute the environment that there is no way to be sure that Borden Chemical is to blame for her and her family's sickness.

This article comes to an end when the author talks about a conversation she had with her uncle Wade when she visited him and his family over Easter. He told her about employees that worked in a Taylorville factory and how they all have acquired or died from a rare cancer. He said that they are forced to clean various types of chemicals from the insides of tanks and if they refuse then they're fired. Since her uncle owned his own construction business, the author says he had to take on other "blue-collar risks." Her cousin Mike, who took over the construction business, told her that "if you don't become your own boss by 40, you'll turn into a cripple. Your joints stop working." This is because the factory workers are forced to do work that is often too physically demanding. The author concludes by reflecting on her thoughts as a child. How her and her family believed they were safe in their town because they were away from the city and all the pollution and violence it came with. But because of chemical plants such as Borden Chemical and the plant in Illiopolis, virtually no one is safe.

Terms List

Monstrosity - the state or character of being monstrous.

Resins - any of numerous clear to translucent yellow or brown, solid or semisolid, viscous substances of plant origin, such as copal, rosin, and amber, used principally in lacquers, varnishes, inks, adhesives, synthetic plastics, and pharmaceuticals.

Formaldehyde - a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water-soluble gas, CH2O, having a suffocating odo, usually derived from methyl alcohol by oxidation: used chiefly in aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various resins and plastics.

Polyvinyl Chloride - a tasteless, odorless, clear, hard resin formed by the polymerization of vinyl chloride; its uses include packaging, clothing, and insulating pipes and wires. Workers in its manufacture are at risk because of the toxicity of the vinyl chloride.

Idyllic - serenely beautiful and happy: beautiful, untroubled, and happy.

Coreopsis - any composite plant of the genus Coreopsis, including familiar garden species having yellow, brownish, or yellow-and-red ray flowers.

Munitions - war material, especially weapons and ammunition.

What Challenged My Thinking

This article was a bit more emotional than the other articles I've read because it is almost like reading an autobiography about the author rather than an article filled with cold hard facts. Reading about her family, and all the "small-town" people being affected by chemical plants made this reading a bit sad. I knew beforehand that chemical factories release many harmful substances into the environment but this article did present a new idea to me, the fact that "no one is safe." It seems like when you are in a rural area, in the middle of nowhere, such as you cabin or just camping somewhere, you feel as if the air you are breathing is so pure. I feel this way whenever I go camping or to a friends cabin. It's like these areas have been barely touched by man. But sadly, it's areas like these where many chemical plants are, and people don't even realize the harmful substances that they may be breathing or drinking. The idea of the fact that "no one is safe" really opened my eyes wider because next time I'm in a rural area, I'll remember to think twice before closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath of "fresh" air.

Click here for more information about this topic!

SHARE & VOICE: Real Life Wall-E's?!

Hey Everyone!

So, I'm hoping most of you have seen or heard of the movie Wall-E. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's basically about how us naive "humans" have polluted our own world to the point where we needed to be shipped to a different place. In the mean time,

hundreds of thousands of robots (or Wall-E's) are sent to Earth to clean up our mess. Well I was looking on the National Geographic website and found something for all you "Wall-E" lovers! 

Right now, all around the world, there have been six robots created to help the environment. These six highly-complex robots are considered "real-life Wall-E's!" Check out the site and the pictures!

6 Real-Life Wall-E's

Have a nice day!

EYE OPENER: Summary of Reading 34: Tricks of Free Trade

Summary

The article, "Tricks of Free Trade," is written by Mark Weisbrot. The main focus of this reading is the ongoing problem of free trade causing economic and environmental threats to mankind. The author defines free trade as "the absence of tariffs or other barriers that hinder the flow of goods and services across international boundaries." The problem is that international pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and the Free Trade Area of the Americans (FTAA) are bending the rules of free trade and using it as a marketing tool to sell property rights for investors and corporations. Environmentalists started becoming aware of this unethical behavior when they realized these trade deals weren't about free trade at all. 

The article goes on talking about different cases and examples of how these international pacts are affecting our environment. For example, NAFTA's biggest environmental threat revolves around a specific agreement called "Chapter 11." Under this agreement, "foreign investors may sue governments directly for regulations that cause a loss of profits." To drive this idea home, the author gave an example of a case between Canada's Methanex Corporation and the state of California. Canada's Methanex Corporation filed a Chapter 11 complaint towards the state of California because it was trying to ban a gasoline additive called MTBE. MTBE is known to be an animal/human carcinogen, which is highly soluble in water, and very expensive and difficult to clean up. California already has more than 10,000 groundwater sites that have been contaminated with MTBE. However, because of the Chapter 11 agreement, if California bans this additive, it may have to pay Canada's Methanex Corporation billions of dollars to do so.

The article also talks about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. These two are easily considered the most powerful supranational bodies out of all the previous ones mentioned. The IMF is the head of a cartel (or a formal agreement among firms) of creditors. To get an idea of how powerful IMF is, the author gives the analogy: "what OPEC is to oil the IMF is to credit." According to the text,"a country that does not win the IMF's approval for its economic policy will be ineligible for most credit from the World Bank, other multilateral lenders, governments, and very often the private sector." The IMF and the World Bank are causing huge impacts on the environment because their advocacy of export-led growth is using up vast amounts of non-renewable resources in developing countries. 

Another important issue the author talks about is the population of people with HIV/AIDS. Right now in the U.S. there is medication available for patients with HIV/AIDS, called "triple therapy," that can keep people alive and relatively healthy for a long period of time. Though this medication is life-saving, it costs patients who use it $12,000 every year. Recently, however, an Indian generic-drug manufacturer named "Cipla" has come up with a generic version of "triple therapy" and has offered to sell it for as little as $350 a year. This low price could save millions of more people with HIV/AIDS who can't afford to pay $12,000 annually. Sadly, the U.S. fought with the World Trade Organization to make it illegal for generic drug manufacturers to distribute these inexpensive, life-saving drugs to other countries for the sake of all the pharmaceutical companies. This supports the notion that these powerful supranational bodies could care less about "free trade."

The author closes by stressing the importance of breaking these trade agreements that are becoming too politically powerful. On top of that, he also says the public must work together to reduce the power of IMF and the World Bank. By using the strategy of "harm reduction" we can create new policies that protect the environment and more importantly, the overall well-being of mankind.

Different View Points

"Free Trade and the Environment" - This article by Deborah James supports the article I reviewed by talking about how all the "free trade agreements" are threatening our environment. The author mentions NAFTA, WTO and other agreements that were written to prioritize rights for corporations over protections for our shared environment.

"Is Export-Led Growth Passe?" - This article is written by Dani Rodrik who talks about the export-led growth hypothesis and whether or not it should continue or not. The article I reviewed said that export-led growth is devastating the environment in developing countries by using up all the non-renewable resources available to them. In contrast, this article supports the idea of export-led growth. The main reason the author supports export-led growth is because economic growth is abundant when this method is used.

Discussion Question

The author of the article I reviewed claims that we as a people must work to make such powerful bodies, such as IMF and the World Bank, less powerful. What do you think are some ways that we can reduce the power and authority of these supranational groups?

REVIEW:Diet for a New America

                                      

“At the present time, when most of us sit down to eat, we aren't very aware of how our food choices affect the world.  We don't realize that in the sizzle of our steaks there is the suffering of animals, the mining of our topsoil, the slashing of our forests, the harming of our economy, and the eroding of our health."  ~John Robbins

Summary of Documentary

The video "Diet for a New America" is about how the standard American diet has enormous affects on our environment. The author, John Robbins, emphasizes the fact that consuming large amounts of meat and dairy are not only harmful to our health, but also to our planet. This documentary presents problems dealing with disease, animal cruelty, and environmental concerns. 

The video relates high-fat diets to disease in a couple different aspects. First it talks about research that is showing that high-fat diets are strongly correlated to many chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and certain cancers. Along with that, it also talks about how the billions of tons of manure, from cattle and other animals, are getting into the water lines and dispersing nitrates into the drinking water. These nitrates can cause "blue-baby syndrome" and possibly certain cancers.

When talking about animal cruelty, the video pointed out the fact that many farms do not provide livable conditions for their animals. Part of the reason could be carelessness. But a big part of this is because of how Americans like their meat, juicy and tender. Unfortunately for animals, the best way to be "juicy and tender" is to barely move around, and eat lots and lots of food. Although this may sound like heaven to some people, think about being confined in an area so small that you couldn't even turn around (if you were on your hands and knees)! Some of the conditions these animals are in are just plain torture and brutal, and it is America's hunger for meat that fuels this sad reality.

John Robbins also talks a lot about the damage we are causing to the environment because of what we choose to eat. The amount of space needed to raise cattle and other animals is unreal. The amount of food needed to feed all these animals is enormous. The pesticides and other chemicals used on the fields are harmful to the environment. Along with chemicals, manure also gets in the air and water, potentially harming those around the farm.

Basically, the main point of this documentary was to make us aware of the large proportions of food (particularly meat and dairy products) we are eating without even realizing the affects it has to ourselves and to the world. John Robbins' ultimate goal is to convince America to include less meat in its diet. Apparently if everyone does this, it will play a huge role in saving our environment.

Terms

Atherosclerosis - a disease affecting arterial blood vessels.

Nitrates - a compound of nitrogen and oxygen found in many food items.

"Blue-Baby Syndrome" - newborns with cyanotic conditions due to lack of oxygen.

Pesticides - a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest.

Manure - organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture.

Hemoglobin - the iron-containing oxygen transport protein in the red blood cells.

My Thoughts

Growing up in a Korean family in America has been interesting for me. Learning how to live in 2 different cultures has never been a big problem, but when it came to food it was a little challenging. Unlike most of my friends and pretty much everyone else I know, I grew up eating rice and vegetables because that's all my mom ever cooked (she's a health NUT)! I remember when I was younger, I pretty much hated eating rice and vegetables because that's literally all we ever had for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner! If I ever had the chance to eat Mcdonald's, or go to a friends house for a spaghetti dinner, it was like a celebration for me because I got to eat "American" food. 

Now that I'm older and a little smarter (only a little), I come to appreciate the diet my mom offered for my family because now I'm aware of the risk factors related to high-fat diets and other unhealthy foods. Watching "Diet for a New America" has reassured my understanding that eating rice and veggies all the time is OKAY! Even though I have adopted the American culture, and pretty much drool whenever I smell burgers on the grill or pizza in the oven, I'm still glad that I grew up eating Korean food as well. Now that I'm in college, I miss Korean food more than ever and wish I didn't take it for granted as a kid. Also, after watching this video, I do think America could lighten their intake of meat. I know most everyone would die without meat (I'm guilty of this), but it wouldn't kill us to eat just a little less everyday. In fact, it would be more beneficial for our health, and the environment! Knowing that diets high in fat and cholesterol can contribute to serious illnesses, I think it's time that we as Americans have a little more self-control over what we eat. Even though foods like burgers, hotdogs, fries, and pizza taste amazing, sadly what tastes good is killing us.

Click here for more interesting facts!

EYE OPENER:CSPI

CSPI stands for the Center of Science in the Public Interest. This organization was founded by Michael Jacobson and its mission is to educate the public on nutrition, food safety, health, alcohol policy, and the environment. The CSPI website provides three different activities for the public to do to see how much their diet impacts the environment. I decided to do the Eating Green Calculator for this eye opener. Here are the results!

My Current Diet

After entering in all the information needed about my diet, the results showed a few different things that caught my eye. First of all, the biggest number by far was the pounds of manure created by the animals I eat (5,704 lbs.!) I didn't know that 3 servings of beef, and 1 serving of chicken and pork a week would amount to that much manure?!

 Otherwise, all the other numbers were relatively low so I was happy about that. Another thing that concerned me was my intake of cholesterol. The percentage of my daily values in cholesterol was 87%. That, I felt, was pretty high. I'm guessing it's probably because whenever I make eggs, I use pretty much the whole carton (since eggs are so small and not filling!). I think my diet is healthier than average but after using this calculator, I definitely see things I can improve on.

Should I Improve My Diet?

After calculating your diet, this activity gives you the chance to improve your diet by clicking on a button and re-typing/lowering the amount of servings you take in every week. So the question is, is my diet bad enough for me (and the environment) that I want to make changes? 

The answer is YES! My cholesterol was really high, so I especially want to lower that part. After re-entering some information about my diet (especially the amount of eggs I eat), the results showed much more comforting numbers. 

Just by decreasing a couple servings of meat, eggs, and milk, I reduced the amount of manure produced by the animals I eat by over 2,000 lbs.!! I also decreased the amount of eggs I eat a week, and believe it or not, my cholesterol dropped by 29%! 

Should I Pledge?

The last thing this activity asks from you is to "pledge to eat less meat and dairy." If you click this button (on the lower left corner), it has a written pledge for you to read. It's basically a promise to yourself to try harder to protect the environment and yourself by eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while eating less meat, and dairy products. I decided to take the pledge because I believe helping the environment and my health at the same time is like killing two birds with one stone (not literally). I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to do this.

Well I hope all of you guys learned more about yourself and the amount of impact eating meat and dairy have on the environment! I sure did. See ya'll in class!

SHARE & VOICE: Green Guide

Hey Everyone!

So I was just looking at the National Geographic website because it's pretty much my favorite organization and they have a really cool thing called the Green Guide. This guide is designed to help everyday people make small changes in their lives to help the environment! It includes tips for just about everything from food and gardening, to transportation and personal care. It's a very fun tool and useful as well! You guys should check it out!

The Green Guide!

REFLECTION: WEEKS 3 & 4

Week 3

During this week we reviewed 2 articles from our book.  The first article was called, "The Challenges We Face."  This article basically talked about all the shortages we are currently facing with the earth's natural resources.  It not only talked about shortages in space, food, energy, and water, but it also included the problems with our climate and biodiversity. The second article we reviewed was called, "Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment On Film."  I think it was agreed that this reading was a little more challenging than the first article but after discussing it in class it seemed like everyone got the gist of it.  This article highlighted the fact that even documentaries on the most "natural" environments are manipulated in a way to make it seem like nothing is wrong with our world.  This was an eye opener for me because I never thought about this concept before.  It is crazy to think how much of an influence the media can have on people's perceptions (brainwashing?). 

Week 4

During this week, we watched a documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore.  This video, I felt, was very powerful and different from a lot of other documentaries I have watched in the past.  The main focus of this documentary was the ongoing problem of global warming.  Al Gore basically has been traveling around the world to spread the message about all the problems mankind is causing, and the direction we are going if we don't act now.  He supported every word that came out of his mouth with raw facts and scientific data. After finishing this documentary we had a little class discussion about our thoughts, and feelings.

What I Learned

Compared to my first reflection (weeks 1 & 2), I can confidently say that I learned A LOT more over these past 2 weeks.  Like all of you, I feel like blogging is becoming more of an everyday part of my life (like checking my email), rather than a chore.  I also learned quite a bit about the environment. Actually, I should re-word that last statement...What I really meant to say is that I learned our environment really is in dire need of attention.  I already knew about the problem with global warming, and all the shortages we are facing with our natural resources.  I'm sure all of you guys knew about those problems as well, or at least heard about them.  But the 2 articles we reviewed, especially the first one, really impacted the way I think about our world.  "The Challenges We Face" was like a pop-up book that slapped me in the face when I opened it because it offered so many power statistics and facts that are often over-looked by many (especially me). Also, the documentary we watched in class made it evident that our world is not going to tolerate our behavior much longer.  If we don't change our habits, planet earth will eventually shake us off, like a bad case of fleas, and we will be gone just like that! So, I really hope mankind  eventually realizes that it is "screwing itself over" and that we have to act now before it's too late.

Share & Voice: ENVIRO-Cool Blog Award!

Hey everyone!  

So I recently received the EVIRO-Cool award from Steve for the picture I submitted in his picture competition.  Thanks Steve!  Now it is time that I pass on this honorable award to someone else.  Well, I was just browsing through all the blogs and stumbled across 2 blogs that really stood out to me.  So without further ado, I would like to give the ENVIRO-Cool Blog Award to.......... Samantha@RunningWithTheWild and Autumn@Autumn'sAtmosphere!  (clap clap clap clap) I decided to give this award to Samantha because of her amazing pictures she took on the lake in her Share & Voice post.  Everyone should look at them, they are really cool!  I also wanted to give Autumn this award because one of her Share & Voice posts included a video of Jack Johnson, and he is one of my favorite artists! So good job to both of you! 

So Autumn and Samantha, here are the instructions for passing on this award! Congrats!

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.

2. Create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).

3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).

4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.

5. Publish the post.

6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.

7. Continue the process...

See you all in class!

Share & Voice: To All You Orange Juice Drinkers

Hey guys!

I've been working at Tropicana in the Mall of America for about 5 years now and ironically right now Tropicana is working with Cool Earth to save the rainforest!  If you buy any 64 oz., 89 oz., or 128 oz. Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice, you can save 100 square feet of rainforest just by entering an 11 digit code on the container!  It's a fast, easy, and delicious way to directly save and preserve the rainforest!  

So far, I alone have saved 600 square feet of rainforest just by drinking my favorite breakfast beverage.  So, with all that being said, I encourage all of you orange juice drinkers out there to consider purchasing Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice and help save the rainforest one glass at a time!  

Click here to learn more and/or type in your code!

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

The Redefining Progress website is a place where people can go and find out roughly how much of the Earth's resources they are using. In other words, you can see how big your "ecological footprint" is on this earth. Just by answering a few questions about your lifestyle, home, car, and other various behavior, you can get an idea of how much your behavior really impacts the environment. I just took this quiz and the results were jaw-dropping!

According to this quiz, if everyone on this planet lived like me, we would need roughly 4.13 earths to supply my needs! This is horrible! During the quiz, I thought I was doing fairly well. I am pretty conservative with my water and energy use. I recycle frequently and drive a tiny Toyota Corolla. I was almost certain that my ecological footprint was more like a paw print, but in reality we would need 4.13 earths per person (according to my lifestyle), and that is NOT a good ratio. What is even more shocking is the fact that I was well below the national average in almost all the "footprint categories." Basically they break your footprint down to 4 different categories: Carbon Footprint, Food Footprint, Housing Footprint, and Goods and Services Footprint. I tied the national average for my food footprint size, but everything else was well below the average. This was shocking to me because I alone require 4.13 earths to meet my resource needs. If this doesn't already sound horrible, think about how many earths the average American needs to meet their resource needs? 

For me, taking this quiz kind of brought everything into perspective as to how heavily we use our resources, and how this issue is really turning into an exponential problem. Obviously we only have 1 earth so if everyone takes more than they give back, our resources will run out quicker than we know. I personally will need to work on not purchasing so many processed foods, along with foods that come from far away. This will help minimize the size of my Food Footprint, and ultimately make my ecological footprint much smaller.

Here are some links for more information and quizzes on your ecological footprint:

-Earth Day Network

-The Green Office

-Footprints for Kids