This week when I read the book "Protecting New Jersey's Environment" by Thomas Belton. It discussed the contamination of water through PCBs which were found in the waters surrounding New Jersey and they were eventually found throughout the East Coast. Along the way, the group doing the research faced a lot of difficulties and realized that their job was going to have a lot of kickback, in particular from the people who own fisheries and make money off of them. The contamination of our marine life and water is from years and years of dumping that took place from the late 1920s to the late 1960's. People did not know about the contamination and constant dumping of chemicals into the oceans and other water sources. During that time, major rivers such as the Hudson were contaminated due to the amount of dumping done by GE.
During this time, big corporations such as Monsanto and GE did some really sketchy things. Some companies, such as Monsanto still continue to partake in environmentally sketchy activities, which shows a lot about their character and dignity as a company. In 1935, Monsanto purchased Swann Chemical company, which is actually ridiculous. This company began producing PCBs which took up a large part of our everyday lifestyle from then on. PCBs were used in electrical transformers and capacitors due to their fire resistant qualities. Only after a few years of use, people at the Swann Chemical Company location began to produce health problems that are now well-known as classic symptoms of PCB poisoning. Eventually, Monsanto owned up to all of its sketchy behavior, but they obviously learned nothing.
I was absolutely shocked and horrified by the amount of sketchy behavior that has happened with these companies. They knew what they were doing, but they did not think twice and probably did not care of the consequences or maybe were not even educated on what could possibly have happened. The ignorance is the scariest part of it all. I also was shocked by the fact that Liberty State Park was one of the biggest wastelands before it became one of the most beautiful parks (which I love). Another thing which I was very shocked about was the amount of time it took for this research to be conducted and how many people were doubtful of it. Nonetheless, I am very happy that this research was conducted. Last but not least, I was shocked by the fact that the government did not fund the environment agencies enough. They lacked the funds to conduct projects. Which is another thing that has not changed. Military defenses have had an increase in funds and the EPA and other government funded environmental laws and funds have been cut during our most recent administration.
It's absolutely horrifying and this is why we need to make a change and stand up for the environment which cannot speak for itself.