by Janet Perry

Created on: April 17, 2008

I grew up in a small rural community in West Virginia where Union Carbide had a 'plant' on the river, a few miles from my home. Here, my sister was born with multiple birth defects and died at age two. Soot, emitted from the Union Carbide smokestacks often darkened the laundry my mother hung on the clothesline, and at night the smoke being put out was more impressive than during the day, creating an ominous silhouette against the moonlit sky. I wondered about the connection.

While I was away, studying at the University, Bhopal India was decimated by the same company that dirtied my mother's laundry. Thousands died a horrible death. I was shocked and troubled by the injustice of it all, but didn't know what to do about it. How could I stop a powerful corporation from their dirty deeds?

I then learned from prominent professors that their research was being threatened by the destruction of the rain forest, whose canopies they studied. One professor remarked that when she started her research, it took days of driving through thick rain forest to reach her study site. She noted the last trip had only taken her a few hours, from the edge of the forest to the research site. Miles of rain forest were gone. This was over a span of a couple of years. Again, this was a corporation allowed to operate 'out of control'. Groups sprouted up to try and 'save the rain forests', but when discussing these concerns with other students, I noted there was a certain apathy present when dealing with this type of blatant, out-of-control destruction. People, much like myself, were daunted by the corporations' power.

Later, when I became a mother, I was walking with my baby daughter in an orchard near our home when I noticed a small sign, tucked away in the back corner, in a spot that was off the 'beaten path'. The sign announced that the company located on the other side of the orchard's fence, was 'off-gassing' Xylene. (I was later told this wasn't normal practice, but they were closing that operation, and it was cheaper to off-gas this chemical into the atmosphere, than properly disposing of it.) I was shocked. The sign was meant to warn neighbors of the toxic fumes being pumped into our air. It was conveniently hidden so that no neighbors would notice. Upon investigation, it was clear that the weird scent of 'magic markers' that was present frequently was indeed poisoning our air. Later, a tumor was discovered growing in my daughter's eye, which caused her partial blindness. Further

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