Keep Drinking the "clean water"

Orrington- What good are state and federal law do if it is not enforced? The Clean Water Act of 1972 was enacted to protect America’s water ways from pollution. Since then, manufacturing companies have been skirting around the CWA. HoltraChem base out of St. Louis, Missouri, closed down the chemical plant in Orrington, Maine in 2000. HoltraChem has been fighting the Maine Department of Environmental Protection over toxic chemicals leaching into the Penobscot River and surrounding aquifer since the plants closure.

While they battle this out in court, toxins are leaching into the waterway by the tons. In the past year alone, HoltraChem has been fined five times. One of the most prevalent toxins leaching out is Methyl-Mercury; it accumulates in the food chain, and environment. According to DEP’s study most of the lower Penobscot River and Penobscot Bay are contaminated by the mercury.Studies have shown that lobsters in this region contain high levels of mercury, this alone could have repercussions that are felt for many years. This could effectively wipe out whole communities that rely on bay for their livelihood.

Mercury does not break down over time. Once it is in the environment, it has to be removed by excavation. HoltraChem plans to remove 1/5^th of total contaminated soil. That means that 350,000 cubic yards of contained soil will remain onsite. That will allowtoxins to leach into the soil, river, and drinking water for years to come.

This is just a brief view of what is taking place in Orrington. If HoltraChem circumvents the law by out spending the regulatory agency, which could leave the door open for any manufacture to exploit Maine’s environment and its communities. Why bother to enact laws if companies can sidestep the legal system. That would be a sad affair for the state and residents of Maine. It could lead to are new state motto: Maine the toxic wastes state.

14-1 and 15-1 ab

13-2
Here a few links about HoltraChem in Orrington,Maine and my source. The company was toxic waste leaching into the river and drinking water.


[ http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/holtrachem/index.htm ]http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/holtrachem/index.htm

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=115602&catid=2

[ http://www.wmtw.com/news/23250090/detail.html ]http://www.wmtw.com/news/23250090/detail.html

http://www.downeast.com/the-tipping-point/2010/april/referendum-democracy

[ http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141415.html ]http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141415.html

[ http://www.cleanupholtrachem.com/ ]http://www.cleanupholtrachem.com/

[ http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141921.html ]http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141921.html

[ http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141921.html ]http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141921.html

http://www.cascobay.usm.maine.edu/pdfs/Toxics%20Chapter%209.pdf

http://maine.gov/dep/rwm/holtrachem/pdf/composthearingbrief3-22-10.pdf

Wikipedia

I chose to look how Wikipedia discusses the events that unfold in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 because I have limited knowledge of twitter. The 2004 tsunami devastated regions in the Indian Ocean affecting millions of people in many different countries. I am not sure how Wikipedia addresses the event as it was unfolding, so I am going to discuss what was done afterwards.

Wikipedia explains the events of that day in great detail. It breaks down the events that led up to the fault line rupture in great detail. It goes above my basic knowledge of earthquakes and their power.

Wikipedia has several different graphics on the characteristics of the tsunami. The most interesting was the propagation of the tidal wave as it moved across the Indian Ocean. Other graphics cover a wide range of statistical data and historical facts.

Wikipedia also mentions the rebuilding processes and the humanitarian aid. The rebuilding process has been hindered by separatists in some areas. Other areas have been hindered by countries not fulfilling their pledges.

This type of media provides the public with an up to date Encyclopedia. Before this type of media Encyclopedia’s where published every few years and the information was always dated. This evolving knowledge base keeps the general public informed. My biggest concern about this type of information is the belief that it is peer reviewed. I am not sure of the guidelines for writing or reviewing an article. Another concern to beware of is the qualifications the writers or the reviewers hold. When a hard copy is published from a magazine or professional journal there is someone to hold accountable. This trend of media is going to be around long after print goes the way of the Dodo.

“Think Globally, Eat Locally” initiative begins on March 1, 2010

Cliff Bennett
Friday, February 19, 2010

“Think Globally, Eat Locally” initiative begins on March 1, 2010

University of Maine Cooperative Extension program will discuss the history and role of food in our society today. It will cover: how food is grown; the nutritional value, social element, and environmental issues that encompasses the nation’s food supply

University of Maine Cooperative Extension educators John Jemison and Kate Yerxa will cover topics including but not limited to the following: threats to food supply: climate change, energy and water; relics of the green revolution; genetically modified foods; how food influences health; and how to grow food yourself and community.

The goal of the outreach program is to inform people about the source of the food and promote support for local farmers. The program will discuss some of the harmful farm practices that are taking place worldwide. It will also discuss the health risk of genetically modified crops. The educators hope to inform the participants of the value that local farmers provide to our communities. “The best-case scenario, after this program, is that people would be spending more of their food dollars on locally grown food, supporting local farmers and creating the need for more farmers,” said Jemison.

They also plan to ask participants to donate 25 hours of community service to a food related issue. Jemison and Yerxa would like participants to donate their time to a food pantry or some sort of gardening project. The desire goal of the community service is to promote more locally grown food.

The 25 hour course will be held over a four-week period beginning Monday, March 1, 2010. The first two meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. due to spring break. The remaining courses will meet on Mondays from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Coe Room in the Memorial Union. For more information, contact John Jemison at 581-3241 or jemison@maine.edu.

Resource:
http://www.umaine.edu/news/blog/2010/02/18/university-of-maine-cooperative-extension-launches

Cliff Bennett

Friday 5, 2010

This week Raiha has asked us to critique a local news broadcast. I chose to critique a news broadcast from February 4^th, 2010. The news cast was titled: 20th Annual National Toboggan Race Preview from WABI-TV5. I was having difficulty critiquing the news cast because of the speed in which the journalist was reading the script. I found myself following the story visually more than verbally. After rewinding the DVR several times I finally got something to write about.

The news article was set at the Camden Snow Bowl. The journalist was pretty dull in tone and not very excited about the news story. She seemed lost in her own story. The script was casual conversation in nature. The sentence structure was simple and direct without any large vocabulary words. The script was almost too simple. It bordered on the lines of boring. That might have been the reason why I was drawn to the video footage. Attribution was credited immediately. For example, the person was introduced then the journalists either questioned them or explained their affiliation with the toboggan race.

If I were the editor of this news broadcast I would have changed a few things. I would have sent a reporter that was more into the story or at least interested in learning more about the toboggan race. I would have requested more information about the construction of the toboggan, history of the race, and trophies awarded. This news story was very weak on details. This story could have been strengthened with a little more research.

Is Deregulation Killing Journalism?

The FCC’s move to deregulate media outlets may be a costly mistake to journalism and the public it serves. The current trend of media consolidation is a double edged sword. It is necessary from a business stand point, but may cause media outlets to become too moderate. Will the big news conglomerates pull back the reins on controversial topics? Corporations are concerned with the bottom line.

“When Big Media gets too big, local, independent and minority owners are pushed out of the market and off the airwaves.” (http://www.freepress.net/media_issues/consolidation) The local papers were recently merged only to be purchased by an out of state online news outlet. Now there is only one source of local print news, instead of three varying opinions of the news. In my community if you want local news channels on satellite television you have to pay extra per month. The programming package is for the northeast. Local news to the satellite company is New York City or Boston.

At the national level this could be very devastating. Just look back at the injustice of the 1950’s and 1960’s. If only a few news outlets where around it might have taken even longer to reach the American public. Look at China, few state controlled news agencies are in operation and the government can and does control information. All news in China is controlled by one power. Is there much of a difference if power rests in only three or four media conglomerates?

In the past, governmental deregulation has not benefitted the general public. Deregulation only helps big businesses become huge monopolies. Just look at the cable, banking, and power industries for the disasters that lay ahead for the media.

For more information on Media deregulation and other deregulation mention in the article are listed below.

Media Ownership Matters

http://www.freepress.net/media_issues/consolidation

Media Ownership and Deregulation

http://www.journalism.org/node/1751

Deregulation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation

1996 cable deregulation a failure for consumers

http://broadcastengineering.com/news/broadcasting_cable_deregulation_failure/

Jumping wolf photographer loses wildlife prize

Jumping wolf photographer loses wildlife prize

By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8470962.stm

The article was about a photographer who was accused of using a tame wolf to pose for a photo. The photographer then entered the photo into a competition for photographs of wild animals in their natural habitats. The photographer denied the initial accusation, but was unavailable for comment since the disqualification. The photographer was banned for life from the competition and the photograph was pulled from the exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, England.

The reporter did a fair job writing the article, but was lacking detail information on exactly how the committee made their decision. "They also considered the responses to specific questions put to the photographer.”. The reporter should have elaborated on the details of the questions and the photographer’s response. Another missed opportunity for the reporter was to strengthen the article. “The experts compared the winning picture to pictures of Ossian, a tame wolf that lives at a zoological park near Madrid called Canada Real.” …"You can see several very distinctive markings and the experts all agreed that, yes, it's the same wolf," …The reporter should have placed a photo of the wolf, Canada Real next to the photograph in question. That would have allowed the reader to see the similarities between the animals. I believe the reporter could have been a little more diligent in reporting more of the specific details that led the judging panel to its conclusion.

The reporter also failed to mention the name of the competition. The reporter seems to leave out many important details that would have strengthened the article instead of leaving me with more questions. The article was incomplete and I’ll have to continue my search for answer on other news sites.

Should reporters bring more supplies into disaster areas

Last night (January 14, 2010) as I watched NBC nightly news with Brian Williams, I watched as Mr. Williams delivered his story about the devastation in Haiti; I noticed a large water bottle in his hand as many Haitians walked past him. As the Haitians walked by I noticed several of them staring not at the news crew, but Mr. Williams’ bottle of water. These people have been displaced for several days with very little food or water and Mr. Williams is waving a bottle of water around in front of them. Reporters who fly into a region that has suffered a catastrophic event should take extra care not to insult the local population. Just imagine if you had been without food or water and a news crew from overseas landed with just enough provisions for the news crew.

To Mr. Williams’ credit, he did realize what he was doing and slid the water bottle into his pocket. Unfortunately not once did he offer any one water or assistance. He looked as if he was uncomfortable interviewing the victims. Mr. Williams’ report lacked compassion for the injured or the dead. If this had been a news paper article, I would have thought it was written for the sole purpose of selling news papers. Maybe that is why NBC extend the Nightly News, to sell more television ads.

If a major network is going to send reporters into a disaster area, they should send them with extra provisions since they seem to arrive days ahead of the first wave of global aide. This natural reminds me of the 2004 tsunami disaster in the south pacific, the region will receive global support for a short period of time and then fade to the background.

http://podcast.msnbc.com/audio/podcast/MSNBC-NN-NETCAST-M4V.xml