In the chapter titled, "Environmental Justice", we returned to Camden. Being from New Jersey, I have heard about Camden before and how dangerous and impoverished it is. The book confirmed this idea when it said, "Camden is a city denounced by the federal government as the murder capital of America and one of the most dangerous places in the country" (Belton 133). So, it totally makes sense to put all of the nasty, pollution spewing, cancer causing quarries and automobile shredders in that one city. The poor people there won't make a fuss. They don't care. There won't be any lawsuits to worry about. It's a flawless plan. (Sense the sarcasm?)
It is really unfathomable to me to read about this city and how polluted it is do to the amount of businesses there that cause such huge amounts of pollution. No matter the country or time period, the poor people always draw the short straw and are forced to live in the dirtiest, most undesirable locations because the more wealthy people have the time and means to fight against such operations to be located near them. It is truly sad. I feel so terrible that these people have to live in these conditions, and do not have the means to better their situation, which is why they are living there in the first place. The stories the author told about his time as a social worker broke my heart, especially the one where he walked into the slanted house. How could anyone live in such terrible conditions where their house it not even level, and the floor boards have snapped from the pressure? How could government officials not do anything about that? Who was the landlord collecting rent from that house - I mean honestly, the landlord should be paying them to live there. I want names!
It was nice, I have to admit, to hear that there were some organizations, and the governor, working together to try to bring Camden out of the dumps, but it unfortunately didn't work in the end. They were trying to do the right thing, but they weren't going about it in the right way. You can't just force people out of their homes in order to build newer homes and businesses to bring life back to that impoverished city. Those people are living in this way in this poor place because they have no where else to go. How could you expect to just have them move to a better place? If they could, I'm sure they would have a long time ago. But, despite it no working out, it does seem that they will be getting what they want after all in the form of a 132,000 square foot community center with the help of the Ray and Joan Kroc Foundation. How cool is that?!
Finally, I found it so sad how there were so many brownstone locations in Camden as well as active companies, like the St. Lawrence Cement Company which spewed 100 tons of pollutants each year, 60 tons of inhalable particles, and 30 tons of dangerous, fine-size particles which cause the most problems. The people living near these places had no idea how bad they were for them, even when they continually saw their family members suffer from cancer, asthma, and learning disabilities resulting from it. I only hope that with all this awareness and legislation this problem will be solved not only here, but in every other poor city that has the same problems