Environmental Injustice Case Study Sarnia, Ontario, July 2021
Notes on "Everyday Exposure"
-denial of environmental heath issues, blaming the sick
-box ticking ans cover up, red tape bureaucracy
-"sensing policy": embodied, place-based,relational, responsible
Safe Side Off the Fence
EfeCengizThe documentary is missing because the documentary is as safe as the fence it mocks in its title.
In the beginning we are asked to bear witness to the construction and use of the most devastation weapon of indiscriminate death the world has ever seen, and all the harm the construction of such a tool, yet its construction and its use is justified near instantaneously by repeating the same old propaganda.
In continuation, we are asked to bear witness to the continuous production of similar weapons and the devastation caused by the mishandling of the waste that accumulated in their production, yet why such a production took place is not only left unquestioned, but simple hints of cold war propaganda is left in their places for safekeeping.
In the end, we are asked to bear witness to a sombre victory, same spectres of patriotism and nation-of-God watching over our shoulder, yet how the pitiful situation of being forced to celebrate even such a small victory is never explored.
To sum up, we are shown people, good people, who struggle against the symptoms of a disease, yet this disease itself never named, nor challenged. It could not have been challenged, as it would force a complete change in their discourse.
If we sincerely would like to critique how the bodies of these workers were made disposable; used, harmed, dislocated and discharged as deemed necessary; if we wish to explore this topic as the necropolitical issue it is, we cannot stop halfway through. This inability to stop chasing connections, relationalities wherever it fits our ideology, is not a call for “objectivism”, it’s a call to respect the term of Anthropocene with all its rhizomatic connections.
An investigation of nuclear waste, that does not factor the use of its product, the socio-political effects of said product, and the historical conditions that even led to the possibility of producing it in such ways and such quantities, are of no use for us. It cannot penetrate the barrier of capitalist realism. If it could, at least a single mention of workers unions would have existed. Instead, it has confessionals by atomic weapons lawyers whose heart goes out to these workers.
An America that refuse to face up to the fact that it is what it is by the great necropolitical project it led for hundreds of years, I struggle to accumulate sympathy for, what I can easily accumulate is rage however, which this documentary is missing..
Wish the documentary would have at least attempted to say something radical, instead of praising these disposable bodies for being patriotic about it. There are lives who never had false fences built as idols for safety, the collective idols of old America, the patriotic nation under God were built upon their broken bodies, what would you ask of them?
pece_annotation_1524602978
sydne.nanceThis bar graph shows that blacks have the lowest median household income out of all races. This means that they are at most risk of hazards, they are most affected by poverty, with Hispanics being the second most affected.
pece_annotation_1524628955
sydne.nanceThis study is published the Environmental Health Perspectives. The journal helps explain the continuity between human health and the environment. They publish topics like toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, and risk assessment. The publication is ranked highly among professionals and has a rating of 8.44.
pece_annotation_1524604401
sydne.nanceFood stamp (SNAP) rolls increased over the years, and the article addresses that this is a sign of poverty. The USDA is an agency that administers food stamps.
pece_annotation_1524606458
sydne.nanceThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are two agencies that many low-income families are enrolled in. WIC provides nutritious food for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to the age of five; it is specifically available for household up to 185 percent of the federal poverty lines. SNAP provides low-income families with nutritious food.
pece_annotation_1524628479
sydne.nanceThis study determines if childhood blood lead levels correlate with educational achievement. They studied this through standardized test scores.