There is no question that humans have inexplicably changed the landscape. The chapter opens with a contrasting image – the perceived splendor and awe of the Manhattan skyline that many revel – put in the background as the nature of the Jamaica Basin lies peaceful in the foreground. The chapter reveals a history of continuous struggle that humans face when it comes to buying time for their destructive behavior and practices. The author writes pages about different laws and acts that have been passed while not neglecting to note that these laws only marginally impact corporate and environmental behavior. Society, while acknowledging our presence and impact, can only write into effect so many statutes or coordinate so many efforts.
People will tend to want to maintain their way of life, sometimes by even unethical and impractical circumstances. Garbage piles up more and more, yet it seems to just get shifted from place overtime. As New York grows into a model world city with affluent periphery suburbs, garbage and industry must be displaced more and more. From inner city or underdeveloped NYC neighborhoods, to the Meadowlands, to water barges taking our garbage across states, our city keeps putting bandaids on the problems.
I understand the effects of our development and industry on our environment and country’s biodiversity may be irreparable. I also understand that at this point our own health and development are at risk here. As we stratify ourselves into different neighborhoods and different classes, our neighborhoods will adjust to our public service needs differently. While multi-million dollar apartments continue to be a trendy living and investment option for few, many working class New Yorkers have a history of getting stuck with the garbage. Many Brooklyn areas like Gowanus or Coney Island were mentioned in the reading for having slimy creeks with poor conditions for human growth. If this is our future, where most people get stuck with their own wastes and chemicals, and only a lucky few get to live away from the mess we created, there may be more at stake than bird or fish species. Our own lives are at stake now, and it will take more than displacement and marginal statutes to solve our environmental crisis.
