Hi all,
I just found this:
"JIM PULLEN: ...We have some very serious issues here in the state of Colorado in addition to those normal flooding issues. We have the Rocky Flats Plant, or what was once upon a time the Rocky Flats Plant where plutonium is underground. And there has been extensive flooding in that area. And we also have tens of thousands of active oil and gas wells in the state, 20,000 alone in Weld County. The industry — a lobbying group is reporting 1900 of those oil and gas wells have been shut down, and including the two largest suppliers, Noble Energy and Anadarko are reporting about five to ten percent of their wells have been shut down. For example, Noble Energy owns 7600 wells in Weld County itself, which is right to the northeast of us. So, there are a lot of contaminants potentially floating around. And in the case of Rocky Flats, I spoke with a Kristen Iversen last night and she said it is going to take weeks for laboratory results of plutonium and other contaminants to become available to the public."
Goodman, Amy and Jim Pullen. "The 1,000-Year Flood: Did Global Warming Worsen Colorado's Unprecedented Rainfall?" Democracy Now! 18 Sept 2013. 24 Sept 2013. <http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/18/the_1_000_year_flood_did>.
Maybe we should travel to Colorado?
On another note--excellent posts for Chapter 7. I'm really impressed. I've commented on your blog posts when you may have not quite exactly perfected the MLA in text citation, so as to better aid you. In any case, I'm really, really pleased. Great work. Here are some common readings:
ENVIRONMENTAL DENIAL
Gerard: “There has been another fire in the plant, this time during the cleanup operation. There…[is] a growing indifference to the cleanup operation. [As Iversen writes,] ‘People aren't so concerned about the site. If the people don't care, the elected officials don't care’ ( 288). This reminded me of what our class is working on right now, saving Barclay park. I think it's an important lesson, and that we can learn from the fire fighter’s observation. The public needs to care…”
Gabby: “I was surprised to read of the possible tear down of Rocky Flats and extremely surprised that the government canceled the military mission. Rocky Flats had been there for so long, done so much damage and the government had denied any issues for so many years, why would they just give up now? People did the work though, even though it was for a different cause… How many people have to get sick and die before Rocky Flats receives the blame it should?”
IVERSEN’S MOTIVATION TO WRITE THIS BOOK
Dana: “While reading this book, I thought the life of Kris was a story made up to correspond with the story of Rocky Flats. She states after quitting that ‘…my relationship with Rocky Flats has only just begun’ (Iversen 283). This book is a not just a connection to Kristen Iverson’s life, but an exact story of it. … Now that she has been inside the walls of Rocky Flats, she has a fuller understanding that also might help her understand the secrets of her family.”
Mike G.: “Maybe it was because of our discussion in class, but now I have a lot better understanding of why she wrote this book. Iverson says, ‘I want to write about the two things that have frightened me most in my life, I say. Rocky Flats, and Dad's alcoholism’ (283). …I think that Iverson wrote this book in order to spread awareness. She grew up in Rocky Flats back yard, and I believe that she feels guilty. She never paid any attention to what was going on… I was surprised that she quit so subtly; I thought that her curiosity would end up getting her in trouble.”
Chad: “…She begins to assess the furtive nature of day-to-day operations of the plant and this enables her to truly capture the essence of Rocky Flats. Kristen describes it best in a conversation with her co-worker Diane who says, ‘‘They cover things up and make them look better than they are,’ she says. Her face flushed. ‘The whole plant. You know what I mean? I’m not supposed to talk. My husband’s not supposed to talk, either’’ (Iversen 276). It is quite apparent, especially from this conversation, how Kristen could formulate the parallel between her own life which was filled with dissimulation and that of Rocky Flats.”
COMMUNITY (LIKE LAUREN’S IN PARABLE OF THE SOWER?)
Alex: “When reading closer into Iverson’s Full Body Burden, I have come to realize something. There are a lot of things that could bring people together. One of which- the one I think Iverson is trying to point out- is danger. The people who work at Rocky Flats have formed a sort of family. It is a dysfunctional family, but they are still a family. Iverson states that the employees ‘looked out for one another on the job’ (274). This made me question how could they not? When working in such a dangerous place one needs outlets. They need people who they can rely on to keep their spirits up on a day to day basis… When Iverson realizes that she wants to write the book about Rocky Flats, she comes to the realization that her whole life is connected to Rocky Flats. [She writes,] ‘I can’t tell the story of the plant without telling the story of my family’ (Iverson 283)…. The dysfunctional makeshift family that the employees have made and all the secrets really mirror her childhood. As a child Iverson couldn’t talk about her dad’s alcoholism. It was the biggest secret her family had and by keeping it a secret they tried to ignore it. Rocky Flats has a ton of secrets too. Their secrets just affect a lot more people.”
SICKNESS
Jenny: “Diane’s conversation with Kris about leaving Rocky Flats made Kris realize it is time for her to get out of there. Diane states, ‘You’ve got options. I don’t. You’re in school, you’ll get your degree…if I were you, I’d get out of here, understand?’ (Iversen 276). Is it too late for Kris and is she already contaminated from the chemicals at Rocky Flats? Kris begins to feel sick and worse every day. Her left lymph node is constantly swollen. She is worried that it may be cancer but in the end it isn’t. Iversen explains, ‘No cancer. I cry with relief. My mother brings the boys back home and we spend the afternoon planting spring flowers in our front yard’ (285). I felt Kris’s happiness when she found out she didn’t have cancer.”
Kasey: “Throughout this whole book I’ve found it ridiculous that Rocky Flats at least as the government is concerned cannot be blamed for employee’s health problems. It is obviously caused by the things that go on there. After and during her time there Kris has an unexplained medical problem. Iverson writes, ‘I see yet another doctor, and they can’t figure out what’s wrong’ (276). Eventually she is diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, but then has surgery removing a tumor from her lymph nodes.”
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