Contributed by Teresa de Lima
It is a human right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and not be trespassed against by a toxic neighbor.
My last contribution to the paper on this subject was an article about my experience with PM2.5. It is first hand experience from 28 years of living in Fairbanks underneath the stacks of the power plant on First Avenue. And you ask- WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE THERE??? Well, because...it's my family home. Of generations.
It's where Gramma Hutch brought up around a dozen kids, to include some of Alaska's Pioneers. I'm not sure the year it was built, 1910 I think, but it's the home of James and Helen Hutchison, for whom the The Hutchison Institute of Technology was named. It's where my mom grew up, where her children would go visit and run over to Lindy's and get groceries for Gramma. It was the safe haven for a single mom to come home to raise a couple of boys.
So right after I contributed the PM2.5 article to The People's Paper in August, I had the incredible opportunity to listen to a broadcast on NPR about Air Pollution and Adult Cognition. The radio show was Freakonomics and entitled "This is your brain on pollution". They posit that it is "well-established that air pollution has significant negative effects on the human body. And many places do require a public announcement when pollution levels are high. But is it possible that on a given day, high pollution can affect your brain, your cognitive abilities?" It was fascinating. And sad. And scary. And it sure made me feel depressed that in Fairbanks Alaska coal is the main thing being burned to generate electricity. It's outdated, antiquated and there is a better way- or ways... ways that do not exact the human toll of coal.
I look forward to learning more about what is going on in Fairbanks to address the pollution of both air and water but the ground as well. I'm sure that several coal fired power plants don't help things at all. Because whenever coal is burned, waste is generated. Toxic Waste. And that toxic waste is taken from the powerplants -hot and steamy- and dumped on the ground- in unlined areas- upstream and adjacent to wetland and wildlife refuge(s). This is a human rights issue and it needs to be treated a whole lot more seriously than what I see currently.
Respectfully, Teresa