Gotta love Raffi... All I really need is a song in my heart.... And I need some clean air for breathing...
Wednesday night, I attended a symposium about air pollution in western PA. Speakers included the authors of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette series on Mapping Mortality, Don Hopey and David Templeton, EPA representatives, climate and pollution scientists, and most important, residents of communities who have felt first-hand the negative effects of pollution caused by coal-burning electricity plants. These effects are not small - they include chronic asthma and respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and significant property devaluation. The daily lives and futures of citizens have been damaged.
What did I know going in? I knew that, as Alan Kazdin, former president of the American Psychologist Association, has said - sustainability, climate change, and environmental problems are wicked problems that have multiple causes and no simple solutions. I knew that thinking about these wicked problems is challenging and often disheartening - they feel so big and unwieldy, so out of the control of individuals or communities. I knew that, nevertheless, it is important to keep learning and to keep talking to people who know what is going on and have ideas about what to do.
What did I learn? Many things - my head is still spinning - but here are a few:
Wednesday night, I attended a symposium about air pollution in western PA. Speakers included the authors of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette series on Mapping Mortality, Don Hopey and David Templeton, EPA representatives, climate and pollution scientists, and most important, residents of communities who have felt first-hand the negative effects of pollution caused by coal-burning electricity plants. These effects are not small - they include chronic asthma and respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and significant property devaluation. The daily lives and futures of citizens have been damaged.
What did I know going in? I knew that, as Alan Kazdin, former president of the American Psychologist Association, has said - sustainability, climate change, and environmental problems are wicked problems that have multiple causes and no simple solutions. I knew that thinking about these wicked problems is challenging and often disheartening - they feel so big and unwieldy, so out of the control of individuals or communities. I knew that, nevertheless, it is important to keep learning and to keep talking to people who know what is going on and have ideas about what to do.
What did I learn? Many things - my head is still spinning - but here are a few:
- big corporations that pollute will seldom initiate efforts to reduce pollution from their industries without outside regulation
- outside regulation is often not sufficient - enforcement of the regulations is necessary
- some companies would rather pay fines than make necessary changes
- many plants in western PA are becoming compliant with EPA standards.... from 1997.... they are nowhere near compliant with current standards
- the federal government is currently considering reducing the power of the EPA to deal effectively with threats to the environment, including threats to clean air
- this is in spite of the fact the the Clean Air Act and the EPA have had significant positive impacts on citizen health and longevity since their inception a few decades ago
- few electricity generating plants are built next to the homes of CEOs
- speaking up as a citizen is important - it is true that the squeaky wheel can get attention - it does take a lot of time and energy, but it can result in change
- there are lots and lots of good people out there - professionals and ordinary citizens - who are doing this work
Dedicated to Julie and Michael...
All I Really Need by Raffi
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family
And I need the rain to fall
And I need the sun to shine
To give life to the seeds we sow
To give the food we need to grow, grow
And I need some clean water for drinking (Drinking)
And I need some clean air for breathing (Breathing)
So that I can grow up strong and take my place where I belong
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family
All I Really Need by Raffi
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family
And I need the rain to fall
And I need the sun to shine
To give life to the seeds we sow
To give the food we need to grow, grow
And I need some clean water for drinking (Drinking)
And I need some clean air for breathing (Breathing)
So that I can grow up strong and take my place where I belong
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family
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