Mason County, WA USAHAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine Price
Is it safe to go outside?
On Tuesday, November 23, 2010, there was much discussion amongst the air-breathers on what in hell to do about the climbing pollution index numbers, indicating the air in Shelton was unhealthy to breathe.
First, there was Connie’s story about not being able to complete her errands down town last week because she was having trouble breathing.
Then Shawnie was out Monday night with her children, taking pictures in the snow, and she was having trouble breathing.
Tuesday, as we watched the numbers indicating air quality climb all morning, my co-worker had the very real experience of walking two blocks around 10:00 AM to pick up our office mail, and the two blocks back to our office, after which her eyes were itching and burning.
Later in the day on Tuesday. she walked to Safeway and back, a one block trip this time, and when she returned to the office she was having trouble breathing. She has asthma, and is a member of one of the groups most likely to be affected by the bad air.
My son, Bill, heard me complaining about the air quality Tuesday night, and told me about what happened at the epic snowball fight at Kneeland Park on Monday, which lit me up so badly that I wanted to hit someone.
Bill and his friends met at noon at Kneeland Park for a scheduled “epic snowball fight.” Shortly into the fight, two of his friends, who both have asthma, were asking Bill if we had an inhaler at our house (which is only blocks from Kneeland), because they were both having trouble breathing.
Our friend Shawnie was watching the numbers Tuesday, to decide if her children could safely go outside to play in the snow.
With the sunshine, clear sky and sparkling snow, outdoors looked like the place to be. Since school was out, and there was snow on the ground, most of our children were outside Tuesday, slipping and sliding, and running and playing, and sucking in particulate matter that no one could see.
I can imagine our seniors putting on their boots, grabbing their ski poles for balance, and braving the chill for a nice walk on that beautiful clear, crisp winter day. And I can imagine them struggling to breathe after walking one block, and turning around to enjoy the beauty from the safety of their homes, because what looked like a lovely, harmless, winter day, was instead a deadly day in Shelton.
We have a lot of work to do.
There is no doubt that this is a war for our very lives and the lives of the vulnerable in our community. We must be vigilant, and we must continue to work together to do what we can to prevent any further biomass incinerators from coming online in our community, and then work to shut down the one in the harbor which is contributing to our terrible air.
We cannot stop working towards this goal, but we can take a few days to spend time with our families and to express gratitude and thanksgiving for what we have.
On Thanksgiving, when it is my turn to say what I am thankful for...this community, CCMC, IFMC, the bloggers, the watchers, the listeners, the researchers, the detectives, the photographers, the letter writers, the investigative reporters, the people I have met in this fight for our lives and our community, will top the list. I am honored to be in the company of such smart, dedicated people. It gives me hope to read the posts here, and to know that so many of us are committed to this cause.
Happy Thanksgiving, my very dear family of choice.
Keep it light and enjoy a few days of family and friends before we get back to the serious business of saving lives and saving Mason County.
Photo by Christine
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