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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (52079)	8/19/1999 2:11:00 AM
From: Father Terrence	Respond to of 108807

TOXIC MUTANT LOST When the sludge pits at Delphi Interior & lighting Systems' Plant 9 in Anderson, Indiana, were cleaned out on 15 November 1996, General Motors workers found what one 30-year-old employee described as a "squid-like creature". It was the colour of an earthworm, 6-8in (15-20cm) long, with tentacles and possibly eyes. The pit, which contained anti-freeze, stripper, oil and polyal, a chemical cocktail used in the formation of plastic bumpers, had several of the creatures, one of which was taken out, killed and placed in a jar. It sat in the work area for several days before being stolen in early December. On 4 March 1997, both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management confirmed that a "creature of an unknown origin or type" had been found in the sludge pit. Tamara Ohl, spokeswoman for the EPA, said that General Motors had promised that if they found another sample of the organism, they would have it tested. Sharon Morton, a spokeswoman for the Delphi company in Detroit, said that she had been told by plant officials in Anderson that when they were draining water from the pit they found bacterial growth. "They described it as the type of bacteria that would form when organic matter is placed in fresh water. They consider it harmless. According to Moreton, the fresh water got into the pit when a sprinkler line broke. She confirmed that the sample (whatever it was) had disappeared in early December.

To: epicure who wrote (52079)	8/19/1999 1:13:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

You're not sure what point I'm making probably because I wasn't ready to make a point yet. Rather, I was refuting the concept that some people seem to hold that man is not really part of the environment or that he is unnatural. I think a lot of the arguments that we are destroying the environment or that we need to protect every species on earth are specious and fail to understand and accept the dymanic nature of the earth and ecosystems. Not everything nature does is benign; volcanos can spew ash into the air which cool the earth for years afterward; continents form and reform; species come and go. I the last hundred or so years we seem to be compressing the cycle of change, but I think the things we do are only as a pimple on the earth's surface -- ugly, temporarily scarring, but transient, and not affecting the organism much long term. That said, I still consider myself a moderately strong ecologist. But not from an overriding principle to save the world as much as to keep the place I live in comfortable and pleasant to live in -- sort of like keeping my house neat and tidy. I vacuum and wash dishes and clean not out of any great principle of cleanliness, but because I enjoy life more in a clean home. Similarly, I live in a beautiful place, I enjoy that beauty, it enhances my life, so I make the effort and commitment to protect it. Selfish -- but then selfishness is responsible for most good (and bad) human commitments.