Picher Oklahoma

This article is very shocking because it is a scary realization of what can actually happen to the world if we continue to treat it as we do now. This is yet another sad example of what happens when greedy people get their hands on nonrenewable resources. A perfectly good town got destroyed because it had something someone else wanted. The saddest part for me was when they were talking about how the land was originally taken from the Quapaw tribe and how they reluctantly had to be relocated. It was also shocking to read about how the kids were “sunburned” from the chemicals in the water. It is depressing to think that this beautiful town was destroyed to get raw materials for war and to kill thousands of people. Why do we jeopardize the environment for war and bloodshed? Why do we destroy the environment at all? The answer is simple we do it for selfish reasons and because we are constantly looking for ways to make our lives easier. Many families had to relocate because their town was inhabitable. For the people living there, they are breathing in harmful chemicals everyday and their drinking water is in jeopardy. I did however think it was interesting to read that the people who remain there bought a gas efficient car because they had to save on gas. When I read that I thought to myself, “Is that what it will take for people to be more environmental friendly, an apocalypse?” Sadly I realized that yeah that is what will have to happen for everyone to change their ways. It is easier to change what you are doing when you are forced verses just being told. I feel really bad for the people who had to leave but more so for the people who choose to stay because it seems to me like they are just killing themselves by staying there and breathing the air. Another thing that angered me was when I read about the vandals who take what they can find in this town and ride through it with no respect for the land or the people who still live on it. I also thought it was interesting to read that after all the trouble with the land, a tornado comes through and makes everything worse. What the most interesting part of this entire article was the idea that town is “undermined by massive voids- the earth was going to swallow it up.” I find that interesting because I wonder if it will actually happen. I hope that the whole world will not have to go through this in order for things to change and for people to realize that we are using limited resources and once they are gone, they are gone for good.