America's Failing System

The area in which I live is a toxic industrial site, aka a ‘sacrifice zone.’ A ‘sacrifice zone’ is a residential district in which toxic industrials such as Boeing and industrial manufacturers are allowed to move. The reason that these areas are targeted is that these areas are mostly lower-income and minority working-class areas. Residents do not have the time (or energy) most times to fight back. Nor do they normally have the money, which richer communities use to keep industrials out of their neighborhood. This is not just an isolated incident or something that only happens in ‘blue’ or ‘red’ states, but all over the world. The life expectancy for my community is 10 years less than the rest of King County (conservative estimate), might be more like 15 by this point.

Despite not having the money to go head-to-head with these toxic industrials and the new issues of developers helping cause flooding in my neighborhood, there is a surprising amount that one can do to help one’s neighborhood. Having said that, one person can can only do so much, and I can’t free my neighborhood, but I can help them by giving them tools to stand up for and free themselves. I write flyers for the neighborhood, and update my website frequently with new educational info with the supporting sites attached so that people can make their own decisions. I want to teach people to critically think about themselves and realize that their lives have value, even if we are not as ‘rich’ as other places.

https://happydiyhome.com/vermiculture/

Aside from just writing about problems that the community faces, I also sell media artwork in an attempt to raise money for a seed program so that residents can grow their own gardens and cut down on at least some expenditures, while also educating themselves on plants. Books as well, since I am a self-published author. I am also a journalist, as I have now gotten a few of my articles published in alternative papers. I don’t use the mainstream ones, as they tend to be more favorable towards toxic industrials. I care deeply about my community, and if the local or Fed government isn’t going to do anything to help preserve my community, then I will.

It was never the position I wanted to be in, but the position I needed to take. I am trying to educate our local youth on ways to remediate the toxins in our soil (will post a follow up article on remediation plants), until the times comes where toxic industrials are forced out of neighborhoods like mine and they themselves become an endangered species. Our youth deserve a better future, as do our families living here. Our homes need preserving, as do our remaining trees and wildlife.