EiJ Global Record: Eastern North Carolina, USA
The eastern Piedmont and southeastern lowlands of North Carolina are the “birthplace” of the environmental justice movement (EJ) in the United States.
The eastern Piedmont and southeastern lowlands of North Carolina are the “birthplace” of the environmental justice movement (EJ) in the United States.
Emely Hernandez talks about her academic and career interests, where she sees herself in 2050, her interest in environmental issues.
This gas leak took place in Bhopal, India and I think that the location has an important impact on the aftermath of the situation. After the gas leaked people protested to be compensated for their lost ones but many died before they were able to be justified. I feel that if this happened in America, circumstances would have been different, there would have been more media coverage, and action would be taken more swiftly. The location of this occurrence had an impact with how it was handled after and if it had occurred some place else then it would have been different.
This film focuses on the environmental and social problem of having large gas (lethal) plants near cities or other populated areas where people can be harmed. Environmentally these gasses are no good because they are emitted into the air and are very soluble in the water which leads to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification makes it so that the ocean has a lower pH level, this can harm marine wildlife. Socially, the gas is toxic to people and as seen in the Bhopal tragedy, it can kill people or severely alter their lives. This could be seen through the immediate deaths of civilians, deformities of children born after the incident, and the families affected even years after hoping for justice.
From watching the video, I feel affected emotionally because it was definitely hard to watch so many people die, especially the innocent children. It is a hard pill to swallow to watch the lives of so many people taken away from them so unexpectedly in their own homes. I feel affected by seeing the photo of the unknown child because it was hauntingly touching as it was for so many people that advocated for justice after this tragedy. It was also really daunting seeing so many people being buried and burned in mass because they were not granted the ability to be respectfully honored for their death which I think is something very valuable. Intellectually I think that this film made me think about how this tragedy could have been possibly prevented if the plant had been maintained and checked up on regularly or if the plant wasn’t so close to a whole city in the first place. And I also feel gratitude to those who are still advocating for justice for the victims and trying to get people with government power to make that change.
The school parent was interesting - explaining that the public image of resiliance was paid for by the lungs of the children being sent back into the uncleaned schools.
The person in charge of sending out the EPA press releases (and heavily editing them) had previously fought against the EPA for large companies.
The doctors eventually noticed the issues and tried to get more of the first responders evaluated and treated.
The first responders that risked their lives saving others now can't get fair treatment or benefits to help recover. They want to work but can't.
They needed to testify that they were on the scene in front of a judge to get benefits.
"'Sometimes [the detainees] tell [the guards], 'we not locking in becuase its too hot,' Jackson says. Such refusal has often meant calling in the Emergency Services Unit, the jail version of a riot squad. REferred to as 'the turtles' by some detainees, the ESU is known to use extreme force when bringing people back to their cells"
This policy affects the insurance coverage for some populations, so that may impact how willing people are to be transported. The policy mostly deals with IMDs though, and those aren't as frequent for emergency responders, unless the individual was trying to harm themselves.