Wyoming, a sparsely populated state of wide open spaces and conservative small town living, has the fairly recent discovery of natural gas in the state to thank for its terrible air quality.
It's a payoff known the world over - a place hits the 'jackpot' with a sudden find of a natural resource, only to find that the ecological and human health costs are often all too high.
It's yet another facet of the infamous 'resource curse'.
I feel for the people of Wyoming, even if they do mostly vote Republican, now that they have such poor air quality and all that goes with that. No people anywhere should have to put up with that.
And then I read a comment by a local science teacher, who states that, "They're trading off health for profit. It's outrageous. We're not a Third World country."
All indignant is Madam Science Teacher, of course - I mean, the fine people of Wyoming are not lowly Third World nincompoops, 'those' (usually 'dark, obviously non-American) people who shouldn't expect to have clean air, now are they? Of course not - the fine people of Wyoming deserve clean air, unlike those 'Third World types'.
What a bloody cheek. As if anybody in the world, whether First, Second, Third or Other (read: USA), should ever have to forfeit their local natural environment and own health in the name of progress.
Environmental racism - always a joy to see it so alive and kicking. Even in the most subtle, off-the-cuff ways.
Do you get my point?
No comments:
Post a Comment