Open Letter to County, Port, and City Officials

Submitted to Shelton Blog by John Cox

Dear Mason County, Port of Shelton, and City of Shelton Elected Officials:

You may have noticed that the air quality in Shelton has been very "bad" lately. As I'm sure you know, that's very common in Shelton in the winter. I personally know several people, and have heard about more, who have asthma and have had to use inhalers on these recent "bad" days. That seems very sad to me. The air is too polluted for some of the people in our community to be able to breathe normally.

Most of us have bodies that don't react to the pollution with asthma attacks. Instead, our bodies absorb the toxins and one day, WHAM! Heart attack, heart disease, cancer or some other pathological condition that is known to have a direct relationship to the level of pollution in the air. The people with asthma are just the "canaries in the coal mine".

So what will happen when the ADAGE and Simpson incinerators start up? Do you think the air quality will improve? I doubt you do. You're not dumb. So you know it will get worse. You also know that more of our community will be affected by the drastic increase in pollution. More asthma, more hearts attacks, more heart conditions, more cancer, etc. The scientific evidence for this is clear. We will have thousands of people who will be put at greater risk for all sorts of health problems...and for what?

The "what" is a couple of dozen permanent jobs, and a couple of hundred temporary jobs spread out over two or three years. That's thousands of people put at much greater risk for ill health for 20 to 30 years versus 24 jobs. I just can't tell you what I think of that deal. It is obscene.

I know you think you have important reasons for the incinerators to be built. These all end up, one way or another, being related to money and profits, don't they?

I'm asking you, in the name of our community, to stop the incinerators. It is not too late. It comes down to a question of ethics. Do you think the health of the men, women, and children of this community are more important than corporate or, in some cases, personal profits? If you say "Yes"...stop the incinerators. If you say "No"...you are helping to drag this planet, and all of us, kicking and screaming, into a hell on Earth.

It's just that simple.

Graphic by Shelton Blog