Daphne Zuniga: The Toxic Trenches: Making Environmental Justice a Priority
These days, pretty much everyone seems to know about the energy crisis. And, by now, most people also know a little something about Global Warming. But despite the increasingly vocal green movement, far too few know anything at all about Environmental Justice and the communities it aims to serve.
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"It's about the poor neighborhoods where mountains of empty, hydrofluorocarbon emitting, cargo containers are piled high on residential city blocks... "
Cargo containters don't emit hydroflourocarbon. A google search of hydroflourocarbon and "cargo container" doesn't turn up anything related to the article.
BTW, there's a cargo container shortage in the US due to decreasing inports and increasing exports. If you find these "mountains" of available containers, there are buyers waiting to purchase them. Sounds like there's money to be made.
"It's in these places that childhood asthma is epidemic and lower test scores are the result of deadly toxic fumes children inhale regularly."
Asthma has increased in all populations and researchers are still trying to figure out why. This increase has happened at a time when air polution has been declining. So if there is any corelation, it's inverted.
As for the test scores argument you're not going to find any studies that are properly controlled for other variables, that show this to be a significant issue in the United States. The fact is today's children living in poor neighborhoods face greater challenges due to other factors such as crime, missing parents, economics, school quality, etc.
"...prevented the City of Vernon from opening a massive new fossil fuel power plant we all won."
Yipee, skippee. Does she really believe that Vernon will use less fossil fuel because a (clean) gas fired power plant couldn't be located nearby? They've reduced local jobs and increase the cost of energy which must be delivered from a farther distance away. And who pays for that policy? Those who can least afford it, the poor.
"...granite quarries that leave gaping canyons miles in diameter."
The largest open-pit granite quarry in the world is in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It is one mile long and 1/3rd mile wide. A far cry from "gaping canyons miles in diameter". Puh-leeze.
"I watched as an elderly woman ...She never looked at the massive Conoco oil refinery that loomed behind her at the street's end. Nor did she take notice of the freeway racing by at the other end of her block. But I sure did. And it's changed me'
So what didn't bother her, bothered you. All the story teaches me is how insulated quasi-celebrities can be to life in the real world. Either that or how gullible they are to hucksters preying on their ignorance.
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