First the NY Times, today, the Star

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about an article The New York Times wrote on the little town of Treece, Kansas and how it had been exploited by companies and corporations for its lead and zinc and then abandoned. (http://moravings.blogspot.com/2012/05/kansas-corporate-america-and-their.html).

Apparently, it inspired our own Kansas City Star because today, they ran virtually the same article: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/01/3638174/life-goes-on.html.

I don't know if it was a guilt trip or professional embarrassment or what.

Maybe the folks at the Star figured, sure those New Yawkuhs beat 'em to the punch but it was "their" story so they should do one.

Or whatever.

Kudos to the staff at the Star, though, really. New York City beat you to what should have been your story.

I guess I'll get a Times tomorrow and see what the Star will be bringing me in a few weeks.

Or months.


Have a great weekend, y'all.

Kansas, corporate America and their poisons in the NY Times today

Yes sir, the little town of Treece, Kansas--or what and who is left of it--is in The New York Times today:

Last Ones Left in a Toxic Kansas Town

It seems this little town on the edge of Oklahoma was a zinc and lead area for decades and many big profits were made by companies.

Trouble is, no one held those companies responsible for the clean up:

"Then there’s the water. The local Tar Creek is the color of orange juice, and it smells like vinegar. This is because when the mining companies left, they shut off the pumps that kept abandoned shafts from filling with groundwater. Once water flooded the tunnels, it picked up all the trace minerals underground — iron, lead and zinc — and flushed them into rivers and streams. Fish and fowl fled or went belly-up. 'The only thing polluted in Treece,' says Rex Buchanan, interim director at the Kansas Geological Survey, 'is the earth, air and water.'”

And the thing is, there are lots of corporate-made Treeces all over the US.

Do you suppose America and Americans will ever learn?

If we do, do you suppose it won't be too late?

Here's hoping.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/magazine/last-ones-left-in-treece-kan-a-toxic-town.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120520

Missouri's connection to "The 9 Most Polluted Places in the World"

There is a slideshow out right now on The Huffington Post, showing, as said above, "The 9 Most Polluted Places in the World". Fortunately, none of them are in the 4-state region (though two--Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles, are here in the US). There is, however, in fact and unfortunately, a Missouri link. It seems "Missouri metal mining and smelting company, Doe Run Peru has contaminated La Oroya, Peru. Over 35,000 of La Oroya residents have been affected by lead, zinc, copper and sulfur dioxide pollution from the company's metal mining and processing. According to Time, 99 percent of the mining town's children have blood levels that surpass suitable limits of exposure. Since 1922, the town in Peru's Andes Mountains has been polluted by mining missions." Ah, yes, Doe Run Company out of good old St. Louis. While they say on their website that "We are committed to environmental leadership and safety and are proud of the acknowledgements we have received for our efforts...", they are known for pollution in plenty of places. From Wikipedia just now: "Doe Run has been cited regularly by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for infringing emission limits, contaminating roads and generally polluting the immediate vicinity of the smelter. Exceeding of emission limits has resulted in the reduction of the permitted capacity of the Herculaneum smelter. Road contamination has resulted in orders to clean up certain roads and to wash down vehicles before they go onto public roads. The company has also been ordered by the EPA to address issues relating to elevated lead blood levels in the community and lead in community soils adjacent to the smelter. It has also spent US$10.4 million on buying up to 160 residential properties close to the smelter that are contaminated and is to clean up contaminated soils. The company has paid for research developing a chemical replacement of primary smelting, Flubor But what the heck, right? It's only Peru. And it's only poor people. Links: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/photos-most-polluted-plac_n_693008.html#s130953; http://www.doerun.com/ABOUTUS/COMPANYINFORMATION/tabid/60/language/en-US/Default.aspx