BP gets Go Ahead to Dump Mercury in Lake Michigan - Reminders of Minamata
Posted by Dominique on 02 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: Current Affairs, Environment, Science, Social Responsibility, Thoughts
“Lake Michigan is like a giant bathtub with a really, really slow drain and a dripping faucet, so the toxics build up over time,” said Emily Green, director of the Great Lakes program for the Sierra Club.
Despite this knowledge, an Indiana refinery of the global petroleum giant, BP, has been given a permit to continue to dump mercury into Lake Michigan. The permit overrides an existing limit of 1.3 ounces per year on mercury discharges into the Great Lakes. BP will be allowed to continue their practice of dumping 3 pounds of mercury through surface water discharges as it has been since 2002, according to the Toxics Release Inventory, an EPA datebase on pollution emissions. The permit, which accompanies the plant’s $3.8 billion expansion, gives BP until at least 2012 to meet the federal standard.
“With one permit, this company and this state are undoing years of work to keep pollution out of our Great Lakes,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., co-sponsor of a resolution overwhelmingly approved by the House last week that condemned BP’s plans.
This lack of corporate responsibility brings to mind the mercury poisoning of the Japanese fishing village of Minamata in the 1950’s. The outcome was tragic as the town was poisoned by mercury from industrial pollution created by the town’s main employer, the Chisso Corporation. The plight became known as Minamata Disease for its devastating effects on the entire population., and was famously documented by Life photographer Eugene Smith who, with his wife, Aileen, lived in Minamata for many years.
It seems neither pervasive environmental awareness, nor the regulations designed to “protect” our resources are strong enough to deter the circumnavigation of this knowledge. It is disturbing to recall the images of a time only a few decades previous, but perhaps in the end, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Entries RSS
How can this be? Is there any action that can be taken to prevent this from happening? The recent conference regarding “Taming the Giant Corporation” gives me hope that the public will awaken soon to the power that we have forgotten we wield as consumers, and begin to take these powers away from these soulless corporations who care nothing about what they leave behind for their own children and grandchildren. Down with neoliberalism! Peace in! Gary
gary, the audacity of this compelled us to write about it. it has gotten quite a bit of press, and with the power of the blogosphere, there is a sense that people will be called to action. the “not in my backyard attitude” does not get it - lake michigan is our backyard.
If turn-about is fair play, and they douse us with Hg then I suppose that dousing the responsibles of Bp Indianna by a group of vigillantes should go punished in equal measure in front of any fair minded American judge (if they are not all bought out by corporate america) - at least John Wayne taught us so, as did Ronnie Regan, and the noble Uberr-American George W. should champion such upright masculine American behavior, after all, look at his example of how to react to a threat in Iraq. We don’t need environmental laws, we need American citizens armed the same way we were at the Boston tea party, with rightious indignation and Balls!
Any individual who would willingly dump this poison on our beautiful America needs tarring, feathering, castration and boiling in oil by outraged vigillantie citizen bands. Please publish their home addresses so we can find and confront them in the same personal manner their coporately closeted actions confront us. If they were killed it could only be seen as self defence because Hg is one of the deadliest toxins known to mankind. America - love it or leave it, in a coffin if necessary.
Uncle B, to your point, it goes without saying that corporate responsibility includes thinking beyond the short term, and protecting long term viability, as a culture and an environment. This kind of disregard angers, frustrates and discourages. Let’s garner that energy for effective and positive change.
Brittany…
Great site! i\’m looking forward to reading more….
[...] yes, there are people in favor of “capricious destruction of the environment.” They just hope they don’t get caught and, more often than not, sluff off the bill and [...]
Juliana,
The idea that anyone would be in favor of “the capricious destruction of the environment,†is disturbing. Therefore, the opportunity to observe our own actions, and effect change is even more important. Keep writing. Peace.