Friday, April 24, 2015

Blog #10: Unabated Environmental Destruction in Niger

Summary: Madalla, a small town in Nigeria, is experiencing some local environmental problems due to local industry. This “industry” consists of burning tires to extract and resell metal bands. The thick smoke created from the burning has been a source of soot, smoke, and other airborne nuisances for some time now. Houses are constructed right next to the burning area, and are caked with the soot, indicating just how bad the conditions can get. Residents who have lived in this area are reporting many side effects from the fires. Most of the problems are related to the respiratory system, as they are constantly inhaling the fumes. The people who live here collect their drinking water from roof runoff. This runoff comes off of the roof, which is covered with soot, resulting in blackened drinking water.

Response: This final blog is a bit of a contrast against the previous ones. Instead of a money grubbing corporation destroying the environment, the destruction is being done by the poor doing what they can to stay alive. If this source of livelihood were taken away from them, they would not be able to support themselves. If they continue to burn tires to make their living, they will continue to pollute their living space. The only way for this dilemma to be solved is for someone to step in and help these people to a better place. This could come in the form of relief by the authorities, or from a philanthropic source from somewhere else.  

http://allafrica.com/stories/201504170452.html

Zachary Jay
04-24-2015
8:50 P.M.

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