MDEQ and Dow held a meeting Wednesday...

..and I was there. They spoke to a crowded room... even had to bring in more chairs and folks stood around in the back. Great cookies! Thanks, Dow. Since both sides held true to the agenda, you can read the agenda and other information here.

The meeting was informative although, true to form, MDEQ took up more time than necessary to get their point across. They proudly showed us how they use modern technology in the form of Google Earth. Good job, guys! Now if you could just get your boss, King Steve, to use sound science in your analyses...!!! Where was Steve Chester, anyway? Is he afraid he might develop a case of chloracne from visiting along the Tittabawassee River floodplain? Oh, that's right... those of us who actually LIVE here don't have any adverse symptoms, do we?

Dow brought us up to speed on progress... with the near-completion of Festival Park and placing of new signs. The park looks great... a wonderful ramp for the handicapped and fishing docks... a winding path throughout the park. Even the cobblestone wall is pretty but my personal opinion says walls do not have a place in parks! All I know is that when a guy on our lake up north put up a fence, he rerouted the turkey and deer from their normal pathways.

Apparently they are getting rid of the ugly yellow signs I've complained about in the past... replacing them with more permanent ones. Don't you think the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality should wait until we find out if there is any relationship between dioxin in the soil and dioxin in people who actually live here before putting up signs? As I've said before, those signs seem to be placed with the intention of scaring people away from the parks!

The litigious environutz sure seem anxious to get lots of things done before the U of M study results are complete!!! Is there something they know... or suspect..... that they don't like? Anyway, the City of Midland has the right idea. Don't put up signs warning against something until we know there is something the public needs to be warned about! Read New warning signs at local launch, by Kathie Marchlewski, published in the Midland Daily News yesterday.

Speaking of litigious environutz, they sure seemed even angrier than usual Wednesday. Why... I can't figure. Apparently even they are getting tired of all the bureacratic hoopla about nothing. Now that they have their class action status...Oh! I get it... they want money... NOW! You don't suppose Mrs. Henry wants to take down that scarey sign she has right next to the road so she can actually dump that little house of hers, do you?

You know, most of us are conscientous about our environment. We care. We want to keep it clean. People like the Lone Tree gang give the word 'environmentalist' a bad name. I've begun to feel that my condemnation of those out-of-date 1970's fanatics spreads an impression that I am anti-environment. This is not true. For that reason I've done a great deal of reading lately. Imagine my delight upon learning about the 21st century environmentalism. Here, for your reading pleasure I recommend... in the order listed:

1. The Toxicity of Environmentalism Written in 1990, it was just republished in October 2005.
2. The New Environmentalism I quote from this website: 'A project of Reason Foundation that identifies and promotes innovative approaches to addressing serious environmental challenges and creating a society of self-motivated environmental stewards'
3. Ten Principles of the New Environmentalism - just because I found this first and thought it made sense.

There are many things to read about the new (or I might say real environmentalism) but so as not to overwhelm you, I'll share more later! Meanwhile, here I am in the Tittabawassee River floodplain... happy and healthy... speaking out for the rest of my neighbors who just keep encouraging me to continue! By the way, here's my personal opinion about parks in general... they should be natural, not concrete, stone and tarvey top! I like Festival Park and the improvements but really! I hope DEQ doesn't force Dow to improve all of our parks because too much concrete can not possibly be good for the environment. If it scares away the wildlife it's not my idea of a park.