Hey Everyone!
Another 2 weeks have gone by and I have learned a lot as usual. We started off week 7 with a discussion of chapter 16 “The Chemical Plant Next Door”. This chapter is basically a story of how a factory called Borden Chemical has affected Becky Bradway’s life, the author of this article, and the lives of many others. It talks about the situation some small towns are in, living very close to big industries that produce so much toxic in air. Chapter 16 focuses one story, when we watched the documentary “Green” I realized how many more people were living in a similar condition as Bradway. The documentary “Green” was very heart breaking to me .It introduced me to “Cancer Alley”, an area along the Mississippi River, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, which contains numerous industrial plants. I was very shocked to find out the number of people that actually live in this area. I couldn’t believe the condition these people were living in; many citizens in these communities have been diagnosed with numerous cases of rare cancer. The most horrible part about this situation is that the government officials aren’t doing much to help them. In week 7, we also did an Eye Opener called "Environmental Working Group". This eye opener revealed a lot of health risks linked to cosmetic products. I didn't realize they were so many risks, the one that scared me the most was cancer. And it seemed to be linked with all the products most people researched. I hope I would be more careful next time while buying any cosmetics, no matter how safe they might appear.
During week 8 we discussed chapter 31 “Privatizing Water”; which was another heart-breaking issue. This chapter talks about how some countries want to privatize water; meaning private companies would run the water usage in communities and charge a lot of money for it. What in world? What about those that won’t be able to afford it? Are they just going to die of thirst then? As we all know, water is the most necessary resource after air. I hope that the countries that are on the verge of privatizing water would stop and think twice; and hear people’s voices, unless it’s going to become a disaster. The documentary “Thirst” gets into more details about water privatization and also discusses how the governor of California wants to privatize water in California, but not allowing the people to vote about such a drastic move.
So far all the readings we’ve done and videos we’ve watch in class have been a great learning tool. I am speechless about all the issues that are going on world wide with our environment.
Have a great Spring Break everyone!
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I agree with you, these two weeks really opened my eyes to the world around me and how so many things are happening everyday that I dont even know anything about. Great job, and have a nice break :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that the documentary "Green" was heartbreaking. I was shocked to learn that people actually are living under these horrible conditions. This is appauling. I also am shocked that the government isn't doing anything about these conditions. I was also blown away by the Environmental Working Group, Eye Opener. I had no idea that cosmetics were so bad for people and the environment. This really has made me think about whether or not I should change what types of make-up I buy. I found week 8 very interesting. It was really cool to learn about water privatization in both a reading and a documentary. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteNice Post Valerie! I was shocked about all the people living in cancer alley too, its so sad and I can't beleive I never knew about it before. I learned a lot as usual from the documentries and the discussions we've had in class and I feel better about knowing what I can do to help the environment! good job
ReplyDeleteThese two weeks were very insightful for me. I somehow have never heard of cancer alley until we talked about it in class. I'm glad I'm caught up with the situation now. Good reflection Valerie!
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