Thursday, April 12, 2007

Spewing smokestacks killing Queens

From the NY Sun:

Toxins released into the air, water, and soil by New York City industry have risen sharply in recent years, according to new data made public by the federal government.

The dumping, mostly into the air, has been concentrated along the East River waterfront in Queens, home to the city's three leading industrial polluters: KeySpan Energy Ravenswood Power Station, Astoria Generating Station, and the Charles Poletti Power Project.


City's Toxic Burden Shifts to Queens, Data Show

Toxic releases from the plants, which date back several decades, have more than tripled since 2002, according to the data...The director of the Particulate Matter Research Center at the New York University School of Medicine, George Thurston, said a shift toward cleaner energy could not come soon enough. "The real question is: Do you think it's a wise thing to have large fossil fuel power plants right in the midst of where people are living?" Dr. Thurston said. "I think the answer is no."

Actually, a better question is probably, "Do you think it's a wise thing to dump hundreds of thousands more people right in the midst of an area that has 3 power plants?"

I think the answer is no.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I demand a moritorium on construction next to the power plants.

I demand an investigation to these charges of pollution shifted to Queens from development by Onorato, Gianaris, Maloney and Gioia.

I demand the newpapers inform the public on this critical public health concern.

Anonymous said...

Actually, the answer to your question "is it smart to move more people into an area where power plants exist?" is yes. The reason that those power plants are there is because back in the day the area was industrial and almost devoid of residents who would complaint about pollution. In effect, the industry was given a blank check to do whatever it wanted. And just look at the Gowanus Canal to prove that they did. So by moving people in, more voices will emerge to cry out for cleaner energy. I know you loathe virtually all development to the very core of your being, but a lack of residents is why the area's polluted and an influx of them is likely to keep this issue from being brushed under the rug by people who don't live there and don't necessarily care. NIMBYism occasionally has its good points.

Anonymous said...

jk, there are already 300,000 people in CB1 & CB2. Granted, they are treated like so much background noise by the politicians, but how many do you suggest we add before they get noticed?

Anonymous said...

This area already has one of the highest rates of youthful athsma in the city. You want to expose more children to this?

Are you nuts?

Do you want to raise your children in a 20 story tower that is at the same height as a power plant stack ONLY A BLOCK AWAY?!?!?!

Anonymous said...

I think JK must stand for "just kidding" because that was one of the dumbest comments I've read so far on this blog, and that includes Trixie's.

Anonymous said...

Hey Crappie, you are good with the brush. If a picture is worth a 1000 words, how about a rendering of an apartment building right next to one of those stacks?

Anonymous said...

Hey don't lump me in with JK. That person is a jerk.

Check out my ad in the Queens Tribune.

Anonymous said...

Hey "JK"....how about a free "luxury" penthouse atop one of those 3 smokestacks of Keyspan's power plant?


H-m-m-m....didn't think so!

Anonymous said...

i don`t give a beepppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

Anonymous said...

Do they use smokestack scrubbers in these smokestacks?