Eastside Air Quality Update
My intention is that this will continue to raise awareness and garner support for Justice for Beniteau Residents. When we stand in solidarity with the leadership of frontline, directly impacted residents, we can all benefit.
I’ve been doing more in the way of research and analysis in the last few months. We’ve been struggling and it’s an attempt to make sense of it all. Like many others, our family has been dealt a series of health challenges as we’ve attempted to adapt in a ‘post-covid’ world. We are trying to get back into a groove, but the needle keeps skipping.
Persistent illness keeps setting us all back, repetitive, and what I define as abusive power outages set us back, and we were also set back by the impact of this year’s ‘spring forward’ time change on our daughter with special needs. It’s been really rough this time around. The drum section keeps falling apart.
As out of sync as we are, I’m aware that we’ve got it together and better than others. That’s no point of pride, however, nor does it reduce my anxiety. It’s only a source of embarrassment for the lack of humanity and compassion that signs off on those suffering more.
My research has been more detailed using info from more respected sources. I’ve attempted to organize my analysis in a useful formats to stand against the onslaught of misinformation, disinformation, and accusations of such being thrown around by those in power. They’ll say anything to keep hold of the reins. I’ve got a running list.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to do it differently this time around. Maybe it’s an attempt to stop myself from freaking out, to occupy my mind, to intellectualize what’s happening so I don’t have to feel or process it. Maybe I do this so I don’t have to consider that like many of our neighbors, our family may not have the resources needed to weather these persistent political and environmental storms.
With these storms in mind, I’m sharing some recent personal posts that attempt to organize and advocate for better air quality and quality of life on the Eastside. Thank you for reading and sharing what is useful.
The first post gathers my research on the report that EGLE dropped last week on the air sampling done last October. The report is disturbing to say the least. So, what have we been breathing? https://edenbloom.medium.com/so-what-have-we-been-breathing-6eacc013499e
The second post is my public comment on EGLE’s request to clean the air quality data due to Canadian wildfires. This approval would clear the way for redesignation of ozone attainment. It would appear that for the highly touted next wave of reindustrialization to come online the Detroit area’s non-attainment status, and it’s expanded regulations and protections, are being targeted. Conflicting narratives emerge between air monitoring data, which fails to recognize and correct a steep decrease in emissions due to covid and public health data that documents a disturbing increase in already dire asthma rates. As I repeat too often in my public comment, this is not the time to be reducing protections or to be opening Detroit for further reindustrialization without expanded regulation, monitoring, reporting, oversight, and accountability. Public Comment on Detroit Area Ozone Attainment Redesignation https://edenbloom.medium.com/public-comment-on-detroit-area-ozone-attainment-redesignation-c36395d36d52
The third is from last year but still has some pertinent expressions. I’ve posted my testimony from the Congressional Oversight Committee’s Field Hearing on Air Quality last August. Testimony for Oversight Committee’s Environment Subcommittee Field Hearing https://edenbloom.medium.com/august-2022-oversight-committee-testimony-a82d0f4469ff
