Yesterday, Rhonda took Spivey and I on a special tour of Detroit. This wasn’t a tour of Comerica Park or Ford field, nor the Detroit riverfront or Belle Isle. We went on a tour to experience the industrial side of Detroit, a side that few people outside of Detroit have ever seen before. Across the Rouge River, on both sides of I-75 sits multiple industrial plants such as Wastewater Treatment, DTE, Marathon Petroleum, SeverStal, and US steel.
I understand that these industries provide Michigan with hundreds of jobs, but at what cost? Sacrificing communities and their quality of life in exchange for commerce does not sit well with me. Residents of River Rouge, Ecorse and 48217 suffer from abnormally higher rates of cancer, asthma and respiratory problems than other communities on the other side of the Rouge River. Although Marathon bought out 400+ homes near their refinery, we still drove past homes that were right next to the border of Marathon Petroleum. When I stepped outside of the car to take in my surroundings, I could feel a difference in air quality, however the most noticeable thing I noticed when I was outside was the sound pollution. The sound coming from the refinery was loud, constant and disruptive. I can only imagine how distracting the ongoing noise from the flares and machinery are everyday to the few residents that still live there.
We ended our tour driving past a few more industrial plants and debriefed a bit in the car. Yes, this is obviously a problem for the residents living here but what can you do about it when hundreds of people work there as well? Perhaps the industries can buy out the remaining homes. Sounds reasonable but then that raises concerns about who has the right to the land—residents who have called this place their home for generations or these expanding industries?
A solution may be a bit of a stretch at this point but raising awareness isn’t. Many of the surrounding communities have no idea what industries surround them and as a result, aren’t aware of their impact. On one block of a neighborhood we visited, 17 people died from cancer. On another block, 10 people had died from cancer. Pollution and its impact have no boundaries. Raising awareness and educating community members is a critical step towards demanding change.
WOW! Amy that tour sounds really incredible. Its amazing that you could feel the change in air quality. It sounds like this experience made you connect more with your project and more passionate about it. I have a similar experience at my placement after talking with the organizations members.
I am very glad that you were able to tour that area. Awareness really needs to happen. People do not understand how critical that environment is and the effects it has on the people. I hope you can spread the word so support can be gained from those in surrounding areas!