Wise words from a 14-year-old Dunmorean: “I urge people to seriously consider that ignoring this issue will cause massive problems in the future. Fight against this and protest. I love where I live and if the landfill continues to expand I’m afraid quite a few people will move away.” This young student also questions the elected leaders who have remained silent. For anyone who feels the same way, attend the next Dunmore School Board meeting and ask them directly why they will not advocate for the health of the students in their district.
Editor:
I am 14 and I have concerns about the expansion of Keystone Sanitary Landfill.
It breaches a number of health and environmental concerns. First, studies show that living within a certain radius of a landfill increases risk of cancer. The International Journal of Epidemiology says, “Respiratory symptoms were detected among residents living close to waste sites. These were linked to inhalation exposure to endotoxin, microorganisms, and aerosols from waste collection and land filling.”
That does not sound good. As we already live so close to a large landfill, imagine what an enlarged one could do to health.
Second, consider the environment. Expanding the landfill would do more damage to the environment than can be accounted for. According to Environment Victoria, an Australian environmental organization: “When organic material such as food scraps and green waste is put into a landfill, it is generally compacted and covered which removes all oxygen and causes it to break down in an anaerobic process. Over time, this releases methane ... a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide! The implications for global warming and climate change are enormous.”
Landfills release toxins and leachate, which cause problems for us and for future generations.
My question is, where is everyone? Where are the elected officials and every politician that have the power to stand against this? They do not stand with us because it would not be the easy way out.
A simple sign in your front yard will not prevent the deterioration of our health and environment, So I urge people to seriously consider that ignoring this issue will cause massive problems in the future. Fight against this and protest. I love where I live and if the landfill continues to expand I’m afraid quite a few people will move away.
HANNAH MURPHY
DUNMORE