Page 52 - Scrimshaw1980-81

~~~~~c\w Ecology: abandoned ch iId of the '80's This is the dispose-all society. We love to throw things away. Take, for instance. the ordinary shaving razor. For generations, it was enough to discard only the blades after several uses. But some clever entrepeneur. perceiving the American consumer's love lor waste. decided upon an improvisation. Viola: The entirely disposable razor, That it is made of plastic, a petroleum based material, only makes it tnet much more satisfying. Ahhh, the sweetness 61 affluence Don', try rationalizing thai fewer scarce resources go into the prcouction of 100 bic shavers than one of those stout metal shavers that dad used which held his Wilkinson blades. It's the principle that counts! What ever happened to ecology? Remember when: 1) Kids used to collect returnable bottles lor deposit money? 2) Familes used to flatten their aluminum cans and take them to a recycling center? 3) It used to be a big deal class project to collect all the garbage and junk out of a nearby stream? Does anybody do that kind of stutt anymore? Sure, the Boy Scouts still have paper drives. (But they don't count because they are always doing things like that) The Ecology movement, born in the wake of the social upheaval of the 1960's, has become the abandoned cnno of the 1980's. What happened to the-spirit of concern for the environment which moved thousands to participate in the Eartn Day celebrations of the early 1970's? Has the "me generation" forgotten this worthwhile cause? There has been some talking about ecology lately, in light of the recent energy shortage. But installing insulation in order to save 50 dollars a year on your bill just isn't the same as writing letters to friends on 100% recycled paper to protect our forests Granted, there are exceptions to this generally apathetic trend last year's WOW paper recycling program stands as a lonely What happened to ~co/ogy example. But this is. after all. college. And who has time for that kind of thing? Has our concern for the environment taken a backseat to Beth Piscora ment. But Earth Day also was a Vietnam War more deserving issues like the economy or national security? Or did Whatever happened to Earth Day? protest against many things including Although it was celebrated all over the programs initiated by the enthusiasm of the '70s solve these Or, perhaps a more pertinent ques- smog, coal dust, fallout from bomb the country. one of the biggest problems once and for all? This week's articles concerning ecology tion: What is Earth Day? Earth Day testing, pesticides. nitrate's, fungi- celebrations was at the University of related issues won't begin to solve all these issues, but they may was an activist demonstration that cides, radioiodine, and most impor- Pennsylvania. Students there set up stimulate some discussing. And that might be time well spent was held in the late sixties and early tantly, pollution. booths with P'lmphlets and volunteers On the other hand. this issue might just contribute 1400 more seventies. The first celebration was The great majority of participants in to answer questions. In Fairmount pieces of trash to the Carroll County solid waste disposal problem. on August 22, 1969. The reason for the Earm Day festivities were stu- Park. there were guest speakers on a the formation of Earth Day was mostly dents. Others were those activists variety of topics ranging from alter- to promote a back-to-nature move- who had been protesting against the nate energy forms to anti-pollution to Safety First? pollution control. Several rock groups performed for the benefit of the many "flower children" who were present An almost 'unqual ified' disaster Other students activist marched car- rying signs such as "Stop Nuclear Power Now" and "Ban the Nuke. ' The amazing thing about these fes- Andi Yob consumers were forced to pay exor- work. was under the direction of one not Know if it was safe to use until it tivities at Fairmount Park was the theorists would acknowledge that bitant fees for the use of an alternate who had only been an inspector prior was put to operational use in a cleanliness of the park after the the State has profound flaws, thai it energy source even though they to his managerial position in Q.C. All nuclear power plant--at which time it celebration. One park spokesman causes enough destruction to furnish supplied the funds for the nuclear appointed were clearly inexperi- would be too late to remedy or said it was the "cleanest a park was motivaiton for a dozen revolutions. plant's construction enced, yet placed in charge of one of replace defective parts. Thus, the ever left after a demonstration of that But these flaws are not enough to Lying dormant aside the 150 foot Han's most perilous technological pieces should have been scrapped kind...they restored it back to nor- bring the machine to a halt so long Oyster Bay Creek plant is another advances for they violated the safety specifica- mal." This shows that the students as people accept them, so long as once promising nuclear power plant Construction Superintendent to the tions. In an effort to save money, the practiced what they preached people are convinced that despite which boasted of a larger service pending Forked River operation reactor head was kept as were other Now. returning to our first question' our troubles we ao- ....euer off than we capacity. Upon its completion it began work on the plant in November pieces. What ever happened to Earth Day? have ever been" So declares would be substantially bigger and of 1977. Upon his arrival. he found ''Work on nuclear power gyrates Well, Earth Day is still celebrated now Charles A Reich in his novel. The better equipped. The plant, however, that over $400 million of reactor much paper work. All must be filed in in conjunction with Arbor Day. The Greening of America. When we failed and now lies in a jumbled equipment purchased from France triplicate, processed and stored, but students who once organized the first compare this to the onslaught of 'heap. years earlier, had been stored in air the work in the field was quite Earth Day graduated from college nuclear power. a controverisal issue The failure of the plant is clearly buildings directly on the construction different. Out in the field you do more and became too busy to participate of our time, we find it most applica- attributed to the inept management site. As work proceeded an air or less what you feel like," admitted One activist who had protested the ole whiched failed to comply with those building collapsed, exposing much of the Construction Superintendent Vietnam War first said he "got disillu- Nuclear power, due to its serious precautionary guidelines that are an the quipment to the elements. "Ac- "The field is filled with inexperienced sioned and dropped out 01 all of nature and obvious danger from absolute must wnen dealing with a cording to their own specifications" workers who don't know what it is all those things" radiation contamination. requires that force that embraces the capability of (they being Stone & Webster and about." An example of this exists in a rigid safety guidelines be followed armihilating a good portion of the Morrison Kinudsen, the construction ~:Ia~t~:~~:es Oflen:~ge t~e\~~r:~ Exam week Specialists of every kind must be eastern seaboard management corporation in charge) relfection enlisted to ensure proper construction Managerial positions were filled by he said. "were to be maintained at lapse of the nuclear containment and talwless development for public the following: Project Manager-never specific temperatures, but they were building. Concrete pours, setting the Meek young men grow up in li- protec1ion No chances should be before held the position 01 prOlect exposed to the weather for at least foundations were carelessly instituted, braries, believing it their duty to taken when one considers tne results manager: protect Superintendent-had two weeks before they were sheltered forms were poorly constructed .ano accept the views wtlich Cicero, which of failure in fultilling these require- just finished eight years as a sales- again." The Construction Superin- most procedures were haphazardly locke, which Bacon, have giv_en: ments man for form equipment and had no tendent further went on to add, ''They eccrcecnec forgetful that a Cicero, Locke, and Hidden on the Jesey shore in the experience in a managerial position knew that the air building was deteri- a~:;~~;~~Mtlh7n~~aen~t,W~;n:~~ltz: small town 01 Forked River, New that reached beyond carpenter rela- orating, but they were unprepared." ~~~~r~esW:~e~lrhe~°U;~tem~~e~~ Jersey, stands an once operational tions; Concrete Superintendent-an as- Vital equipment, incluidng a $40 and Utility who owned all the power books. Hence, instead of Man Think- nuclear power plant labeled the Oys- piring bartender prior to beginning million reactor head was damaged ~:~~ainc~~ b~~ldi~;g~; t~:or~la~~ ing, we have the book worm. ter Bay Creek Nuclear Power Plant work on the plant; the Officer Man- The reactor head, used for control Due to cracks in the containment ager and OIIice Engineer were for- rods in prevention of a runaway Forked River, after many millions of Ralph Wldo Emerson tower and an obvious leak of radia- eign to their positions as well. Quality reactor. was damaged to such an dollars of expenditure, was pro- From The American Scholar tion. the plant was shut down. and Control, controlling the quality of the extent Ihat no one knew and would claimed defunct 1837