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West Oakland is pinned between the Bay Area’s largest, busiest port and two major commuter freeways, and is home to decades of legacy pollution, making this marginalized but determined community a hotspot for childhood asthma and other illnesses. Photo & Audio: Kim Komenich
By Kwan Booth
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Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
Just about any long-term West Oakland resident can rattle off a list of health issues effecting their community: toxins from cargo ships docking at the nearby Port of Oakland, diesel smoke from Port-bound trucks, pollution from the two freeways that border the neighborhood, illegal dumping, and lack of accessible health care. In fact, research funded by the Pacific Institute found that some of the area’s 403 toxic hot spots date back to post-World War II construction — and that nearly 82 percent of West Oakland residents live near one of these potentially contaminated sites. A 2008 study by the California Air Resources Board indicates that West Oaklanders are exposed to diesel toxins at almost three times the levels of the rest of the city. As a result, children living in the 94607 zip code are seven times more likely than other California youth to be hospitalized for asthma and related issues. “We’re still talking years”
Incremental changes have been made on both state and local levels, including the port’s current Comprehensive Truck Management Plan — yet many locals feel that significant improvements are still a long way off.
News of the written word’s demise has been greatly exaggerated — though it may not turn up as often on your parents’ printed, paper pages. Literature is going online — making works great (and not-so-great) available via text messages, Twitter, RSS feeds, and e-mailed in serialized installments. Photo: Lin Pernille
Photography and audio by Kim Komenich
Crowdfund this with Spot.Us
Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
News of the written word’s demise has been greatly exaggerated — though it may not turn up as often on your parents’ printed paper pages. Literature is being tailored to fit the dimensions of technology — making works great (and not-so-great) available on computers, cell phones and mobile devices, using text messages, Twitter, RSS feeds and installments delivered via e-mail. In the United States, new technologies and diverse media are being used to teach literacy. Ohio University students are looking at how video gaming can to teach basic reading and writing skills, reports the Chilliocothe Gazette, while an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal adds graphic novels and comic books to the list of teaching tools. But most of the electronic focus is still on high-end consumers with their array of mobile tools, reports Computerworld Magazine.
By Kwan Booth
Crowdfund this with Spot.Us
Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
Talking to Dr. Washington Burns the other day I learned some pretty shocking information: 37 percent of the adults and 20 percent of the kids living in West Oakland have asthma and children living in this community are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for breathing related illness than any other children in California. And Alameda County as a whole is no prize, with one of the highest overall hospitalization rates among 5-17 year old youth. I learned this bit of info while sitting inside the Breathmobile, the new mobile asthma testing facility run by the Prescott Joseph Center, where Dr. Burns is executive director. And while the numbers are shocking on the first mention, it’s something West Oakland residents have been battling for a years. For the last 14 years the Prescott Joseph Center has been somewhat of an oasis for west Oakland residents seeking information on a variety of health and wellness issues.
Image and interview by Kim Komenich
Crowdfund this with Spot.Us
Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
Interview for Bay Area Toxic Tour: West Oakland by Kim Komenich
A bike-sharing program in Paris will scatter tens of thousands of two-wheelers (right) throughout the City of Lights for quick jaunts and rentals. It’s the latest in a global trend towards more bicycle infrastructure, driven by hard economic times and fears of climate change. Photo: ktylerconk
Pedal power is getting new respect worldwide, as concerns about climate change and hard economic times make bicycling increasingly popular. In Paris, “bike sharing” gives riders access to thousands of two-wheelers around the city, a service that is also gaining momentum in Mexico, Brazil and Canada. The women’s blog prettytough.com even calls bike sharing “the new public transportation.” Bicycling is also getting a big push from Asian governments. South Korea’s president wants to make his country “a bicycle heaven,” The Korea Times reports, while Time Magazine chimes in with news that Taiwan’s leader hopes to create “a cycling paradise” in his island nation.
Diesel exhaust from trucks serving the Port of Oakland brought confrontational protests to a May 2 public meeting (right). Our latest collaboration with SPOT.US takes a multimedia look at the conflict, in the first part of a series on pollution and communities. Photo: Kim Komenich for Newsdesk.org