In chapter 5 of his book, Belton describes how politics and environmental issues sometimes clashed, and how it impacted the residents of New Jersey. In one scenario, he discusses how the Chemical Control fire left a damaging mark in the city of Elizabeth. Many of the first responders were left with serious health conditions, and the residents of the city were negatively impacted as well. In addition to health reasons, this fire left marks on the city’s rivers and landmarks, as the chemical waste flowed through the streets and into bodies of water. This then hurt many of the marine wildlife that can be found in these rivers and streams.
Companies were unlawfully dumping chemical waste into oceans, rivers, and streams, and they did not seem to care about the impact on the world around them. They simply cared about convenience, availability, and cost. It was inconvenient for them to travel to dump waste, as the waters were right there for them. Disposing of chemical waste properly used to be inexpensive for companies. However, as time went on, it became more and more expensive, so it became rare. It costs zero dollars to dump waste into the rivers, but the monetary value should be the least of the problems. It is simply dangerous and unhealthy for these companies to continue this process, and it is scary to think that it could still be happening today.
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In chapter 7, Belton discusses brownfields, which are plots of land that used to be for industrial purposes, but now are residential. These sites contain many contaminants, but can be cleaned with the right process and materials. However, this is expensive and is often overlooked. Because of this, the land is left with contaminants, and many people reside on it. This is a huge concern, as the contaminants can severely harm the people living there.
This chapter led me to think about an episode of one of my favorite crime shows, CSI Miami. In this particular episode, several houses are built on land that was previously used for some type of industrial purpose, and many of the residents were becoming sick because of it. None of them had any idea of what was going on, yet they lived there anyways. In another instance, of the movie Erin Brockovich, the main character goes out to help people who live on contaminated land. This is extremely harmful, so all future home-buyers should do their research when looking for a place to live. They could never know the history of the land. Chapter 4 of Thomas Belton's book discusses radiation, and how important it is to stay protected from it. Radiation can come from microwaves, certain types of paint, and even the sun, and it is extremely dangerous. This chapter specifically addresses the usage of radiation in paint, and how women were forced to use this paint in factories. There was no warning of protecting these women, so many of them suffered with cancer and unfortunately passed away. Of course, this was covered up by the government, because who would want that bad rep for simply not warning them about the radiation? Obviously not the government.
Even though there have been great strides made on equality for women, we still have a ways to go. Not warning these innocent women about the dangers of radiation poisoning was not a smart move, even though it was proven that radiation is poisonous. It hurt to read that the government tried to cover it up and letting these innocent lives become lost. In addition, this radiation problem led to even more problems, which all could've been avoided if there was a warning about the radiation. If only... Chapter three of Benton's book describes his experiences with water and how there are many issues with the water sources in New Jersey. Some of these issues include sources that are partly dried up, heavy pollution, and finding water that is suitable enough for people to drink. Droughts were common about 30-40 years ago, which immensely decreased the chances of finding drinking water, and when it was found, the water was filled with pollution.
Even though droughts are not common today, there is still a ton of pollution in New Jersey's oceans, lakes, and rivers. My family has a shore house in Point Pleasant Boro, NJ and I am disgusted at the quality of the water every time I visit the beach. The water itself is almost a green color, and is filled with so much garbage and sewage. It is not good for the animals and other creatures of the ocean, and as well as anyone who attempts to use this water for drinking purposes. It is almost impossible to find clean water in NJ, and it is something that needs to be fixed. In chapter 2 of "Protecting New Jersey's Environment", Thomas Belton describes the effects that PCB has on the fish of New Jersey's waters, and how it also effects the humans that eat these fish. PCBs are carcinogens that are found in certain species of fish that cause cancer and can lead to birth defects and learning disabilities. Belton begins the chapter with a description of a boat ride with a few other men. They come across these poisoned fish, and make a failed attempt to catch them. Later on in the chapter, he discusses how there was an effort made to stop the consumption of the fish. However, the residents of these towns did not cooperate with these efforts. Some of them did not take the efforts seriously, and continued to consume the fish, while others were afraid on losing money. Even though there were many efforts to stop the consumption, there are still some of the chemical in fish today.
While reading this chapter, I became confused about some of the reasoning behind the efforts to stop the consumption of the poisoned fish. My main confusion was the fact that nobody mentioned not poisoning the water in the first place. Yes, it is important to make sure that nobody consumes this poison, but it is better to start at the root of the issue and stopping the dumping, fracking, and whatever is causing the fish to be poisoned. It is also shocking to see how much this poison affects humans. Many people don't care about ocean pollution because they don't believe it has anything to do with them, but it does due to the environmental food web. The fish consume the poison, and humans consume the fish, therefore poisoning the human. The humans are basically poisoning themselves when they dump waste into oceans, lakes. and other bodies of water. If we were to stop this all together, this would not be a problem. |
Rebecca MarcinkoJunior at Seton Hall University, studying Elementary Special Education, Environmental Studies, and Applied Behavioral Analysis. Archives
May 2018
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