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Consumed by air pollution
I grew up in rural western Massachusetts, in an old farmhouse with a brook running through the yard and an old barn in the back. It sounds quaint until you find out who the neighbors were.
My grandparents bought the eight-acre property in the late 1930s, but in sometime before I was born the government paid my grandparents for the four back acres and put in the last stretch of the Turnpike. The location proved to be perfect for investors looking to put in a truck plaza, complete with diesel, a restaurant, and rooms for rent. As soon as the truck stop went in next door, the road in front of my house became a constant thoroughfare for eighteen-wheelers looking to fuel up, grab a bite, and catch some shut eye. Problem was, many of them didn't want to spend the money to rent a room. Instead, they'd idle their trucks while they slept. For hours. All night sometimes. During the winter the pollution was so thick that it made you want to hold your breath outside.
I grew up in rural western Massachusetts with the Turnpike in the back, a major, well-traveled road in the front, and a truck stop right next door, but it sounds a lot less quaint when you put it that way. By the way, I was three when I was diagnosed with asthma.
The diesel fuel used to power the eighteen-wheelers whose pollution I breathed growing up is much less dirty than the bunker fuel used to power ocean-going ships, and freight trains produce their own problematic pollution. It's called "Goods Movement Pollution," and it's a product of our enthusiasm for consumption. As a part of the American Public Media series Consumed, Marketplace ran a segment titled It's enough to take your breath away. Want to know who's responsible for goods movement pollution and what could be done to curb it? Have a listen, or read the transcript.
Comments
Thanks Amanda,
Great article! In the end, it all boils down to our urge to want to consume always more, regardless of the attached costs to the environment, and to our health.
Part of the problem, is most people are ignorant of the link between their purchases and their own health.
Thanks for doing your part, in trying to educate the public. That information needs to get out of the blogosphere, into the mainstream, however.
marguerite
http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com
Posted by: marguerite manteau-rao | November 13, 2007 11:04 AM
Thanks for the comment, Marguerite!
I think you're right -- most people don't think about or realize everything that had to happen to get them that $30 pair of jeans. I'm glad to see American Public Media doing a series on consumption, since I'm guessing they've got a much bigger audience than we do ;)
Posted by: Amanda | November 13, 2007 11:40 AM
Great post. On a road trip I stayed at a motel near a truck stop. I know what you are talking about.
A few other things about Diesel. Diesel exhaust is cancerous because of the large particulate matter in it. Long haul truckers have a higher rate of lung cancer than the general population.
Diesel truck spend 500 to 3500 hours a year just idling according to the Department of Energy.
Walmart and others are modernizing there fleets to use electric power or to allow cooling and heating to be pumped into cabs so idling can be reduced. It also saves Walmart money so its not just being done for environmental concerns.
It also seems to me that there are more full size super duty crew cab diesel pick-ups on the road being used as commuter car. I can hardly take a walk through my suburban neighborhood with out at least one diesel pickup going by. I hate the smell of diesel exhaust. Its like having a truck stop in my neighborhood.
Posted by: RB | November 14, 2007 10:08 PM