Storycorps animas river spill
My Project: https://storycorps.me/interviews/voices-from-the-animas-megan-graham-and-berrigan-kilgo-discussing-the-gold-king-mine-spill/
My Class Project: https://storycorps.me/page/2/?s=voicesfromtheanimas&post_type=interviews
My Class Project: https://storycorps.me/page/2/?s=voicesfromtheanimas&post_type=interviews
Project Reflection
In the summer of 2015 the Animas River suffered from a mine spill that occurred above Silverton, Co. The Animas River flows through Durango so when this spill occurred there was an effect in Durango and a big reaction from those living in our town. For this project we collected many different perspectives from those whose lives were affected by the spill. We were collecting the perspectives from the expertise of those who work with the Durango Herald and those who work with Animas River Stakeholders Group to the perspectives of elementary students. The goal of this project was to give every unique view of this summer's tragedy a voice in solving this problem.
This project has made me question what kind of impact I want to have and how my generation will be remembered and what role I will play in our legacy. Will my generation be the one that realized a change needs to be made in the way we are living and learning or will we just be another generation that contributes to the devastation of the environment? In our in class essay I focused on what is the best next step to take in order to address the Mine problem. I learned that the EPA was originally created to address the toxic waste problems that are being caused by the U.S industry. Waste such as the poison that is still flowing into the Animas River above Silverton. My class went on a trip to Silverton, this trip showed me that this issue is more complicated than it seems and that there is no easy fix. One of the Silverton students shared with our class that 80% of the minerals in the Animas are natural and were present in the water before mining existed. Just because the water turned such a odd color this event got blown a little out of proportion. The mines above Silverton are a problem but maybe not as urgent as it is made out to be.
In my interview with Megan Graham I learned a lot more about what effective action has been taken to start the mine reclamation process above Silverton. I wish that instead of having my questions on a list with me during my interview I had instead taken the time to memorize my questions beforehand. Then I would have been less focused on making sure I could remember the next question and more focused on being engaged in the interview. In my interview process learned that the mining reclamation problem that exists in Silverton is not a new issue. I also interviewed Marcie Bidwell, the director of the Mountain Studies Institute. During this interview I learned that the Mountain Studies Institute has been working on mining reclamation in this area for over 13 years.
During the exhibition many of the parents and community members were interviewed. While listening to some of these interviews, whether an interview with someone who works at the Shiprock emergency medical center or with a professor from the fort, I realized that everyone has a unique perspective on what happened. This project is about trying to make sure that each of these perspectives will be heard and that everyone affected by the Gold King Mine Spill has a chance to recognize the fact that this spill did impact them. Before I got to the exhibition I was sure that I had heard every possible perspective that there was regarding the Spill but once I got to the exhibition I realized that unless I hear everyone's perspective on this issue I don't know every outlook because nobody has the exact same view. We all see the world through different lenses so no two views will be the same.
During this project I started to learn more about how every decision that I make and everything that I own has an effect on the environment. Right now most of the impacts that I am having on future generations are negative ones. My biggest takeaway from this project is that for every issue there is more than one side and if you're unwilling to listen to what the other side has has to say then you will never be able to fully understand the problem. I came to this realization while in the midst of an argument with one of my peers about how to face this problem and both my peer and I were set in our idea of what to do next. I was sure that the effects that the mining industry had could only be solved naturally over time and maybe we could help in the process by not doing any more damage. During the conversation with my peer I realized that even if we can't fix the whole problem it will still be helpful to put a spotlight on the cleanup process to repair the image that Durango and Silverton have because of this Spill. Looking back on the dialogue I realize that neither of our solutions were the correct one but that maybe if we collaborate and combine our ideas then we can find the best way to solve the mining issue in Silverton.
In the summer of 2015 the Animas River suffered from a mine spill that occurred above Silverton, Co. The Animas River flows through Durango so when this spill occurred there was an effect in Durango and a big reaction from those living in our town. For this project we collected many different perspectives from those whose lives were affected by the spill. We were collecting the perspectives from the expertise of those who work with the Durango Herald and those who work with Animas River Stakeholders Group to the perspectives of elementary students. The goal of this project was to give every unique view of this summer's tragedy a voice in solving this problem.
This project has made me question what kind of impact I want to have and how my generation will be remembered and what role I will play in our legacy. Will my generation be the one that realized a change needs to be made in the way we are living and learning or will we just be another generation that contributes to the devastation of the environment? In our in class essay I focused on what is the best next step to take in order to address the Mine problem. I learned that the EPA was originally created to address the toxic waste problems that are being caused by the U.S industry. Waste such as the poison that is still flowing into the Animas River above Silverton. My class went on a trip to Silverton, this trip showed me that this issue is more complicated than it seems and that there is no easy fix. One of the Silverton students shared with our class that 80% of the minerals in the Animas are natural and were present in the water before mining existed. Just because the water turned such a odd color this event got blown a little out of proportion. The mines above Silverton are a problem but maybe not as urgent as it is made out to be.
In my interview with Megan Graham I learned a lot more about what effective action has been taken to start the mine reclamation process above Silverton. I wish that instead of having my questions on a list with me during my interview I had instead taken the time to memorize my questions beforehand. Then I would have been less focused on making sure I could remember the next question and more focused on being engaged in the interview. In my interview process learned that the mining reclamation problem that exists in Silverton is not a new issue. I also interviewed Marcie Bidwell, the director of the Mountain Studies Institute. During this interview I learned that the Mountain Studies Institute has been working on mining reclamation in this area for over 13 years.
During the exhibition many of the parents and community members were interviewed. While listening to some of these interviews, whether an interview with someone who works at the Shiprock emergency medical center or with a professor from the fort, I realized that everyone has a unique perspective on what happened. This project is about trying to make sure that each of these perspectives will be heard and that everyone affected by the Gold King Mine Spill has a chance to recognize the fact that this spill did impact them. Before I got to the exhibition I was sure that I had heard every possible perspective that there was regarding the Spill but once I got to the exhibition I realized that unless I hear everyone's perspective on this issue I don't know every outlook because nobody has the exact same view. We all see the world through different lenses so no two views will be the same.
During this project I started to learn more about how every decision that I make and everything that I own has an effect on the environment. Right now most of the impacts that I am having on future generations are negative ones. My biggest takeaway from this project is that for every issue there is more than one side and if you're unwilling to listen to what the other side has has to say then you will never be able to fully understand the problem. I came to this realization while in the midst of an argument with one of my peers about how to face this problem and both my peer and I were set in our idea of what to do next. I was sure that the effects that the mining industry had could only be solved naturally over time and maybe we could help in the process by not doing any more damage. During the conversation with my peer I realized that even if we can't fix the whole problem it will still be helpful to put a spotlight on the cleanup process to repair the image that Durango and Silverton have because of this Spill. Looking back on the dialogue I realize that neither of our solutions were the correct one but that maybe if we collaborate and combine our ideas then we can find the best way to solve the mining issue in Silverton.