The Plant and the Environment

When reading Silverman's book Stopping the Plant I found it very interesting how each side addressed the problem and I could not help but think how I would react if a cement plant wanted to be constructed in my community. One of the first parts of the argument that I found interesting was the debate between against SLC from the aesthetic conservation approach and the ethical conservationist approach. The passage on page 42 addresses the question of a beautiful sunset, but it is beautiful because of the sulphur dioxide in the air and this brings about the question of how our ethical inclinations should affect our aesthetic perceptions and vice versa. It brings about an issue that I had not really thought about before because see this sunset should bring about a bad taste to ones mouth if one is trying to protect the beauty of the natural environment. Also, I found it amusing how both sides were able to use primarily one document, the 1,600 page DEIS, and be able to derive completely different conclusions on the affects that the SLC would have on the economy and environment in the city of Hudson. Looking at table 4.1 it would appear that the new plant would be beneficial because old technology would be removed from old plants and the new plant would produce far more cement and have fewer environmental affects and then you read the oppositions side that got information from the same table and it seems that the plant would have a devastating affect on the environment. The oppositions argument is that cleaner is not as good as clean and that there is still an enormous amount of pollution that will be released into the atmosphere and the city of Hudson as a result of the plant. After reading the book and looking at both sides I side with the opposition because I think of how I would feel if a large, pollution creating plant wanted to be built in my town. I would be opposed because of the aesthetic reasons of not wanting to see a large, unsightly plant in the spot where acres of forest use to be. Also, the pollution it creates would bug me, but I feel the part that would bother me the most would not be knowing the amount of toxins in the air, but the aesthetic disruption that the plant would create.