Today the Olympian has a front page article on ADAGE coming to Mason County. After reading the article in the Olympian I thought all of this scientific information about air pollution simply left me feeling overwhelmed and thinking that I should have paid closer attention in those chemistry classes in high school and college.
But then I happened upon an article in today's edition of the New York Times titled "It's Complicated: Making Sense of Complexity" by David Segal. The nugget I discovered in this article is that we find ourselves so in awe of the complexity in situations (just like ADAGE coming to Mason County) that we "pull away from the duty to ask simple questions". Questions like: Why is ADAGE good for the citizens of Mason County? And what are the risks involved?
As a friend pointed out to me yesterday why haven't we heard that our elected officials are preparing a cost benefit analysis on the proposed construction? I sure couldn't answer that question. I went back to him with my own question. Why, in the name of heaven, would Port of Shelton Commissioner Jay Hupp say it's a "subjective decision" whether to bring ADAGE to the port or not?
So, Mason County, we must ask the simple questions of our elected officials. And we must ask the simple questions over and over until we get our questions answered in a manner we can comprehend. Let's not let anyone dazzle us with their scientific background or fancy complex words and terms. Why is ADAGE good for us? What are the risks?
The following meetings will occur this week and each one is a great opportunity for "real folks" like you and me to ask the simple questions. Each of these meetings allows the public to speak to elected officials.
May 3 City of Shelton Commission Meeting 6 pm at the Shelton Civic Center 525 W Cota Street
May 4 County Commission Meeting 9 am in the Commissioners Chambers 411 N Fifth Street
May 4 PUD3 Commission Meeting 10 am in the PUD3 Auditorium 307 W Cota Street
May 4 Port of Shelton Commission Meeting 2 pm at 21 Sanderson Way
May 4 Joint Thurston/Mason County Board of Health Meeting 330 pm Thurston County Commission Chambers, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW Olympia 98502
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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Will there be a street protest at any of these? If so I'm in!
ReplyDeleteBTW here are some pictures from the Street Protest on April 28th
ReplyDeletehttp://sheltonwashington.blogspot.com/
I'm just getting back after being away for a few days so I'm not sure what's up with that. But I will say that while the street action is important, it's also important to keep asking questions of the elected officials in their meetings because then it's public record.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the pictures. Good job nabbing the prowler.
ReplyDeleteWe have to keep pressure on our local officials. I think the Port is the most likely to be able to stall or stop Adage. I would like to push them to "opt in" to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation process. It is expensive and Adage might just move on. As citizens, I think we have a right to know the big picture, all the possibilities and the EFSE should examine air, water, the highways, the forest, and the neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI spent the weekend researching AREVA/Adage and it is scary how big they are.
Connie, I don't know anything about the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Process but please do press on pushing this to the elected officials.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at how much smarter we are all becoming as a group. Thanks for working on this and keep up the research and analysis. Way to go!
What has the City of Shelton done to address the need for road upgrade on Wallace Kneeland and Spring Road for the heavy and numerous loads of wood fiber to the site at the Port?
ReplyDeleteEach road will need to be brought up to a "all weather road". The city is unable to maintain Wallace Kneeland at present. They do not have the knowledge or ability to fix pot holes. One said pot hole has been "repaired" over 30 times in a little over 2 years.
Lloyd on Johns Prairie Road.