Apr
17
Blog Post #15 Andrew Chen
April 17, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Reading about the effect Hurricane Sandy had on New York City hit home for me. As some of my close friends had their homes destroyed from the storm, while I saw that many others were unscathed, I felt like it was unfair. While I saw the physical destruction of the storm, there were also underlying inequalities that were brought to light in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
It was reported that despite three billion dollars in federal relief to the city, lower income homeowners were getting virtually no government funding. Surprisingly, a lot of the New York City Housing Authority buildings had a bad mold problem, and Sandy only made it worse. This lack of treating the mold problem shows the lack of attention the government and perhaps society in general has in terms of addressing the issues of the poor. I feel like the insufficient maintenance of the buildings says something about current management, but it also leads to a larger picture about environmental awareness, and our impact on the world.
Gregory Zuckerman’s book on fracking really sounds too pompous and “it’s the American-way” like. Stating that fracking is able to exist in America because of the entrepreneurial attitude and risk-taking behaviors. He sounds like an American elitist – one who believes America is dominating everything and everyone. Because he states that the profits and rewards of fracking are part of America’s culture, he blatantly ignores the overall negative impact that fracking has on the population. Given the cost of contaminating drinking water and destroying habitats, is fracking really the right alternative for energy? Too add fuel to the fire, Mark Perry adds his bigoted comments about fracking making millions of Americans better off, and that it has created thousands of millionaires. Why is he advocating the masses to welcome the increased income inequality created by technological advances that often exploits whatever it can, at the expense of the people?
On the other hand, the MotherJones article depicting the correlation between high income mobility and the areas of shale activity was more insightful. Kate Sheppard noticed a correlation, but is quick to point out that a boom doesn’t last forever. Those areas that have increased employment and earnings are also the same areas that have current shale plays and prospective basins. Does this necessarily mean that shale plays and fracking lead to economic improvement?
With the move Gaslands depicting what happens to the environment due to fracking, the environmental toll is shocking and immense. Numerous chemicals are found in the people’s drinking water, and the ignorance of the advocates of fracking don’t think about the harmful effects to the environment. The documentary is a good example to show what fracking tycoons don’t want the people to see, the truth.
