![Dr. Dolores Leonard of the 48217 district of Detroit points out the most historically
polluting industrial plants in her region of the city. STEVE FURAY PHOTO]()
By Steve Furay
Special to the Michigan Citizen
In October, The Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources and the Detroit River Institute hosted an environmental journalism training session for writers from around the United States and Canada, giving 14 journalists a detailed look at the health of the Detroit River and the region’s environment.
Jon Hartig, director of Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and author of book “Burning Rivers — Revival of Four Urban-Industrial Rivers that Caught on Fire,” contextualized Detroit’s socio-environmental history. “Detroit has led numerous paradigm shifts…not just (for) Detroit, but Michigan, the country, the continent, and the world,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_15695" align="alignleft" width="300"]
![Dr. Dolores Leonard of the 48217 district of Detroit points out the most historically polluting industrial plants in her region of the city. STEVE FURAY PHOTO]()
Dr. Dolores Leonard of the 48217 district of Detroit points out the most historically
polluting industrial plants in her region of the city. STEVE FURAY PHOTO[/caption]
Hartig described how the depletion of Michigan’s abundant resources and the contamination of its waters began with European colonists shipping beaver pelts and timber along the Detroit River and out over the Atlantic Ocean.
Detroit then became a leading city for ship-building, including the freighters serving the gigantic factories of the burgeoning auto industry, including the Ford River Rouge Complex. The massive shipping industry in turn allowed the city’s automotive businesses to grow, making Detroit the automotive capital of the world. Quickly, the environmental damage was as remarkable as the city’s industrial explosion. Detroit’s Rouge River caught on fire in 1969 as a result of heavy pollution. Hartig documents the river’s slow recovery in his book.
Although the health of Detroit’s water systems have significantly improved since 1969, there is still more to be done, says Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
“As we look at the major challenges and opportunities, we know that the water resources of Michigan will be fundamental to Michigan’s future success,” Wyant told IJNR journalists. “But we’ve got significant issues, and those are water quality, … invasive species and water use.”
In another conference session, Rhonda Anderson of the Sierra Club in Detroit explained the areas related to certain zip codes — “48217 (Detroit), 48218-River Rouge, 48229-Ecorse — have been designated as the most polluted areas in the State of Michigan.”
A bus tour showed the journalists the close proximity of houses, schools and playgrounds located in those zip codes to major factories and the Marathon oil refinery.
“When it comes to health-related incidents related to the pollution, the greatest impact is on the neurological system of the children,” said Anderson, citing research by Professor Paul Mohai of the University of Michigan. “So you have right here, River Rouge High School. You have less than a quarter of a mile...DTE coal power plant, which is probably the worst polluter out here.”
Anderson says that in spite of major health affects suffered by people in those neighborhoods, there is hope. “When Marathon announced their $2.2 billion expansion where they’re going to bring in tar sands from Alberta, Canada, then that community started organizing,” she said. “Now 48217 is known as one of the most active communities in the United States.”
Fellows met the director of communications of the Detroit Riverfront, Marc Pasco Conservancy. The DRC was founded in 2003 as the organization to restore Detroit’s riverfront. In the past decade, land from abandoned factories has been recovered and cleaned, freeing access to the Detroit River where residents previously had none. “It wasn’t very attractive, it wasn’t very accessible, even if you wanted to come down here,” said Pasco. His Renaissance Center office allows him to see the riverfront up to Belle Isle, now covered by greenspaces, walk/bike paths and parks.
The conference also included bike tours and a visit to the city’s historic Eastern Market. Inspired by what they had learned, the journalists, who represented news outlets as diverse as Newsweek, Al Jazeera America, National Geographic, The Boston Globe and The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Toledo Blade and The Michigan Citizen expressed interest in returning and further exploring the issues of pollution and public health in Detroit, the expansion of urban farming, and the struggle for public access to land and water.
Daniele Watts with friend Brian Lucas COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
Since 1972, when I was a delegate to the First National Black Political Convention in Gary, Ind., I have grappled with the relationship between Black America and the Democratic Party.
Forty-two years later, I still have the same fundamental issues.
Why do we deliver for a party that takes us for granted? Why do predominately white consulting firms get the bulk of dollars that are spent getting out the Black vote with smart azz white folk directing that GOTV with minimal dollars spent on Black media?
The Black voter is akin to a political side-piece — cast aside until Dems need some votes, then cast aside again until that need must be satisfied for the next election.
Where was the Democratic Party when democracy was destroyed in Detroit with imposition of an emergency manager? Where was the Democratic Party when Detroit water shutoffs began? Where is the Democratic Party on addressing systemic issues that result in 60 percent of Detroit children living in poverty?
Yeah, I know, “We must get rid of Snyder.” We need to get rid of some hypocritical Dems too.
We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield.
Sam Riddle is political director for Michigan National Action Network. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sam.riddle, or at twitter.com/samriddle.
