After Niagara, we went to Providence Rhode Island which forms an important part of the history of the United States because it is one of the first thirteen colonies of America. Its architecture and city planning reminds me of Milwaukee because of the overall feeling that it gives. It truly provides a sense of history and understanding of our culture as monuments rise in a gala fashion. Rhode Island is a very charming city with a lot of artistic value, but it wasn't until the next stop that I witness a natural gem.
It was in New Hampshire where I realized that I wanted to live in a place like it. Mostly because of its scenic views. It is a place where the interaction of nature and civilization came together wholesomely and almost purely adapted to the living necessities of one another. I grew up in a major city in the world so this was a big contrast for me but one that I liked very much. In New Hampshire we went to Mount Washington which is one of the tallest mountains in America and the only one that lets you experience different climates as you get closer to its peak. At first, I thought we would hike up the mountain and my initial thought when doing something like that is the time that it takes to get up there. I imagined that it would take about an hour to climb to the top and then a local person explained that it normally takes an average of 8 hours to hike up the mountain. We didn't have a lot of time so we got on a van and rode the mountain which took approximately one hour the whole way there. Throughout the ride you could really submerge into its nature and appreciate the beauty of its existence there. We stayed there for a night and in the early morning I went out for a run. Doing so, gave me an additional feel for the place. Everyone there seemed very adventurous and ready to do something outdoorsy and exciting which also influences the viewer to appreciate a place for what it is. Its relationship from Person to Place. From Nature and its inhabitants. From Plants and Civilizations in context to the overall nature of the universe Who forms an umbrella underneath it all, and its course remains the same unless its effect can be measured and understood for the benefit of our responsibility in administrating what we need to take care of.
Interesting commentary. I think that part of me wants to visit Niagara Falls to see its grandeur, but there is also a part of me that does not want to get near it. Not for fear of the falls themselves, but for the environmental issues that surround them. In the late nineteenth century a whole series of factories were built adjacent to the falls on the waterway to utilize the power of the falls for energy. The problem is that many of the factories were also using the waterway as a means of disposal for waste materials, chemical, by-products etc.
ReplyDeleteOne of the major SUPERFUND environmental sites is in Niagara Falls. Love Canal covers 36 square blocks with two bodies of water defining the northern and southern boundaries. In the mid 1970s Love Canal became the subject of national and international attention after it was revealed in the press that the site had formerly been used to bury 21,000 tons of toxic waste by Hooker Chemical (now Occidental Petroleum Corporation).
Hooker Chemical had sold the site to the Niagara Falls School Board in 1953 for $1, with a deed explicitly detailing the presence of the waste, and including a liability limitation clause about the contamination. The construction efforts of housing development, combined with particularly heavy rainstorms, released the chemical waste, leading to a public health emergency and an urban planning scandal. Hooker Chemical was found to be negligent in their disposal of waste, though not reckless in the sale of the land, in what became a test case for liability clauses. The dumpsite was discovered and investigated by the local newspaper, the Niagara Falls Gazette, from 1976 through the evacuation in 1978. Potential health problems were first raised by reporter Michael H. Brown in July 1978. For more information on this site and the environmental impact see:
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/love_canal/lcreport.htm