Author Archives: sacklerbj

Day at Botany Bay

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This past weekend, I took a day trip to Botany Bay on Edisto Island, South Carolina, with the College of Charleston Outdoors Club. Although the trip was only a day trip, it served as yet another reminder to me of the importance of getting outside, in areas that are relatively untouched by humans.

Botany Bay is a wildlife preserve, so there are no permanent residents, no industrialization, and no noise pollution, something hard to come by here in downtown Charleston. Although Botany Bay was just over an hour away, the difference in the geology of the land, and the feeling of the land, was quite remarkable. Beautiful shells and marine life such as jellyfish were washing up onto shore. We found multiple sand dollars and obscure rocks. The fact that the land is uninhabited was profound because the thought of land being as it was hundreds of years ago is a powerful thought.

Leaving downtown Charleston often reminds me how it is truly necessary to get out of the hustle and bustle of a city. Throughout this year, I sometimes have felt a heavy anxiety coming from a source I was unsure of. The busy life of a college student, especially in a city, surrounded by industrialization, thousands of people, and the stress of school can sometimes be overwhelming. Our bodies are not evolved to sit inside and look at a computer all day, after all. This is why it has been so essential for me to leave the peninsula and go to a more natural setting every now and then. When I have put myself in this position this year, I have truly taken note of silence. I grew up in the woods of New York, and there were not many city noises.

Coming to Charleston is exciting because there is so much activity going on. However, I often need to be reminded that silence is curing. Sitting on the beach at Botany Bay was extremely beneficial for my mental health because it allowed me to be centered in a place of beauty. The fact that I was in such a beautiful atmosphere opened my mind up and let me reflect on the things that have been going on in my life recently. It is hard for one’s brain to keep up with all of the busy activity one does everyday, but putting oneself in a place of silence and natural beauty helps thoughts process and flow better.

There is great value, in addition, to sharing this type of experience with others. Although it’s vital that the group spends some time in silence, sharing this experience with other people often times amplifies the experience. Those who share the experience together can converse about the things they see, and the enthusiasm and excitement of being in a natural, beautiful place can easily rub off from one person to another. I have been on many trips with the Outdoors Club this year, and it has served as an inspiring community of people who also want to go back to their roots and experience nature the way our evolution would have liked us to!

Small Town Vs. Chemical Giant

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Ben Sackler

 

On March 6th, 2018, National Public Radio (NPR) came out with an article titled “After Decades of Air Pollution, a Louisiana Town Rebels Against a Chemical Giant.” The article highlights the town of St. John the Baptist Parish, specifically a man named Robert Taylor. In 1969, the chemical giant Dupont opened a plant in St. John the Baptist Parish due to its proximity to the Mississippi River and cheap land.

Dupont is a plant that produces the chemical chloroprene, which is the main ingredient in neoprene, a rubbery material that appears in wetsuits, computer sleeves, and other artificial products. The environmental determinants to this area since Dupont has opened have been extreme. At this point in time, the five census tracts that surround the Dupont plant have a cancer risk that is 700 times more than the national average in one tract. This is good for the highest cancer risk in the entire nation. Here is a graphic to portray this information:

The narrative in the town until recent times was relatively defeating. The town acknowledged that the large increase in cancer rates within the area was directly related to the Dupont plant. However, the people of St. John the Baptist Parish are typically poor, and felt as though they didn’t stand a chance against a large chemical giant such as Dupont. Robert Taylor, a resident of the town who is spearheading the current advocacy against Dupont, is quoted in the article, saying, “What’s wrong with y’all? Ya’ll trying to fight DuPont? Y’all crazy? You can’t win fighting DuPont!”

This narrative draws many similarities to what happened in Warren County, North Carolina, in 1982. Environmental justice marches took the streets of Warren County following long-term environmental injustice experienced in the area. A PCB landfill was placed in the area against the will of the residents, and there was nothing that could be done by the residents to solve the problem. Severe health problems were experienced by community members. Warren County was 97/100 poorest areas in North Carolina at the time, and 75% African American. St. John the Baptist Parish is also a low income area that has majority African American residents. These similarities express the fact that big business and government selfishly discriminate against low income communities who are typically minorities, in order to make their own money and not receive backlash from people who may have the power to overturn what their goal is.

Just like how Warren County eventually achieved change because of their recognition that they were being discriminated against because of who they are, and got help externally from people who also identified this injustice, St. John the Baptist Parish also got external help after internal realizations. Wilma Subra, the lead technical advisor for the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, contacted Robert Taylor, and Taylor became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit led by him and Subra in an effort to reduce pollution from Dupont. Taylor acknowledged he was the one who had the knowledge of how detrimental Dupont had been to the community, and Subra was the one who had the governmental power and influence to make change. When this knowledge and power come together, just like they did in Warren County, success occurs.

This issue is relevant today because Taylor has led efforts to reform in recent months. In result of the lawsuit, Dupont recently released that they are promising an 85% decrease in chloroprene emissions. Taylor also recently created a group called the “Concerned Citizens of St. John Baptist the Parish,” and they march weekly to show their discontent and anger about current conditions relating to Dupont. Taylor and the town residents are especially angry because of President Trump’s threat to end the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), which is run through the EPA, and was the program that exposed Dupont for their environmental health detriments. Republicans claim IRIS is failing, however, residents of the town don’t agree. Although NPR is seen to be a more liberal news source, the article is not wrong in acknowledging the fact that many Republicans would like to go on without IRIS.

This story highlights the poor relationship between big businesses and government, and communities of low income and minorities. Environmental racism and discrimination is an issue that is so important because often times, these residents don’t get the opportunity to make their voice heard; they must rely on others.

Conceptualizing the Dimensions of Earth Literacy

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This upcoming Spring Break, I will be leading an Alternative Break trip through the College of Charleston to Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center in Washburn, Tennessee. I was extremely pleased to be selected for this position in September due to my yearning to learn more about how to live in a more sustainable manner, and in turn gain more insight on how to teach others to do the same. The first semester of this school year consisted of a lot of preparation in regards to the proper way to teach the participants of my group, who are students, how to be more of an active citizen. However, this semester, every other week, I lead an orientation session for my participants in matters that are specific to Narrow Ridge.

This challenge I faced led me to reflect on what I thought was most important to teach my participants in the few meetings we have before we embark on our journey in March. I realized that although our trip is to an “Earth Literacy” Center, I was rather unfamiliar with the term. Educating myself on what Earth Literacy is seemed to be the most logical first step to take. I called the director of Narrow Ridge, a woman named Mitzi, and learned much more from that call than I originally imagined I would.

Prior to the call, I thought of Earth Literacy as a term that described reading about the planet, and being able to draw conclusions based off of scientific data. I was quickly informed that Earth Literacy is more than reading about the planet and its systems; it’s dedicating yourself to the planet in a profound manner. Mitzi described Earth Literacy to me as “being in a relationship with the Earth.” The concept describes one being able to read the Earth like they’d be able to read someone they’re in a relationship with. As one spends more time with the person they are in a relationship with, they learn more about the person. The same applies to spending more time with the Earth, outside. Mitzi described to me that although there is science involved with Earth Literacy-climate change/science deniers should be dealt with in a proper manner-most of what is involved with Earth Literacy is infused with wonderment and mystery. It’s essential to go into nature and be in awe of what the natural world has to offer. The concept of humans belonging to the Earth is also a vital part of Earth Literacy. Humans today, and historically, have thought of the Earth as a place that was made for us, for the functions that please us on an everyday basis. What many people don’t realize is that we belong to the Earth, it doesn’t belong to us. Therefore, we should nurture it, not harm it. What’s most important, however, is that in order to fully understand Earth Literacy, one must spend enough time in nature to truly understand the power that the Earth has.

This conversation certainly had an impact on me. Although most of what Mitzi said seemed so obvious, I had never thought so in depth about how I must be in a relationship with the Earth in order to truly nurture it and live in a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between myself and the planet. When I asked the group participants about their relationship with the planet, many said they wish to have a better relationship with the Earth, but living in urban Charleston has stopped them from doing this. This made me upset, so I turned to Mitzi for answers. She described how being Earth Literate is more than just what it appears to be; humans are a product of the Earth, so even nurturing relationships with others is embodied by the term Earth Literacy.

After all of these descriptions of what Earth Literacy entails, I truly had, and continue to have, a different outlook on the planet. Mitzi helped me realize that we, as a 21st Century society, continue to treat the Earth horribly, but it has become the new normal. Everyday activities that humans perform harm the Earth very much, but we have all become accustomed to this way of life being extremely normal. We must retrace our steps, and ensure that the relationship humanity has with the Earth is intense, profound, strong, and mutually beneficial.