Module 2

“Place-Based” and “Problem-Driven” Worksheet

Name:

Instructions

Save this worksheet with the title of SOS300 Module2 your last name, first initial as a Word document. Please fill-in the following table and submit through Canvas (NOT as an email).

Expectations:

Justify and substantiate your opinions, claims, and perspectives with examples from the module materials and from your experience, as appropriate. Show evidence that you are able to draw from and synthesize the materials covered in class, and that you were able to bring your own personal insights to these materials. Use at least 5 reference sources (you may include course readings and/or videos) for support. Please edit and proofread before submitting.

Directions:

Fill in the table below:

Question 1:
Location

(2pts) Choose one location or where grew up for most of your childhood OR where you currently reside:

· Tacoma, Washington, USA

Question 2:
Identify a sustainability challenge for this place

(3pts) Briefly, cite any sources used:

Tacoma, a working-class city an hour south of Seattle, hometown of Ted Bundy, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and myself, is also home to a wide variety of industrial manufacturing plants that line the waterway of Commencement Bay, near the railways downtown, providing jobs for thousands of residents, and a distinct smell of rotten eggs that intensifies in the area surrounding the waterfront when the tide is low. Known as “The Aroma of Tacoma,” the unique smell is so well known that it has its own Wikipedia page (Aroma of Tacoma) and was the inspiration for a song (Torrence & Lemon, 1967)! The manufacturing plants that have turned Tacoma into the third largest city in Washington State have also heavily contaminated the waterway on which they sit, pouring hazardous chemicals into the bay, blowing toxic smoke into the air, and contaminating the soil surrounding the city with emissions of lead, arsenic, and other toxic chemicals that made Tacoma “ranked (as) one of the 10 worst toxic waste sites in the U.S. (Conradt, 2016).” Though Seattle is well-known for its commitment to sustainability, Tacoma was the wasteland left behind as her sister city committed to a green economy.

Question 3:
Discuss how this challenge (or issue) is both "place-based" and "problem-driven”

(10pts) How is it place-based?

“The Aroma of Tacoma” is the product of the heavy industrial sites that line the waterway and is the result of “the industrial vapors (from the (…) various pulp mills, rendering plants, chemical factories, petroleum processors, and aluminum smelters), where they concentrate in the air above thanks to the geographical layout of the region (What Is the Tacoma Aroma? , 2019).” Due to its location on the Puget Sound, halfway between the State Capitol (Olympia) and the largest city (Seattle), and its reputation “as a depressed industrial city (What Is the Tacoma Aroma? , 2019),” Tacoma has become home to major processing plants and trade that wouldn’t otherwise be possible outside of the bay.

(10pts) How is it problem-driven?

Tacoma would not thrive as a city without the industrial plants that line the waterfront, stimulating the local economy. In an article for the New York Times, Pierce County Executive, Joe Stortini stated, that the odor from these plants is “an obstacle to economic growth,” noting that, “In order to attract new, nonpolluting companies to the area, the smell must go (Egan, 1988).” Due in large part to the rising cost of living in Seattle, Tacoma is experiencing an influx of new residents that are looking for a cheaper place to live, but they are slowly discovering that this once thriving port town has created a nearly 100-year legacy of pollution, despite efforts from the EPA to clean up the tide flats. “The stench of the pulp mills might be long gone, but the name and associations of Tacoma as a toxic industrial wasteland will linger forever (Morford, 2017).”

Question 4:
Discuss the interconnections between your sustainability challenge, poverty and the environment

In two paragraphs (one for each), cite any sources used

· (10pts) Interconnections with poverty?

Tacoma is a mostly lower- to working-class city. Despite being the third largest city in the state and a mere hour away from a massive tech industry in Seattle, it is no stranger to poverty. Sir Mix-A-Lot, a product of the Tacoma urban ghettos, frequently discussed the impoverished and gang riddled areas of my hometown in his music. Having grown up in one of the city’s public housing neighborhoods, I have an intimate knowledge of the relationship between the local industrial plants and their effect on the economy. The plants provide jobs to people with criminal backgrounds who otherwise would not be able to work. The local economy always takes a huge hit when one of the plants closes its doors and demolishes its smoke stacks. According to Department of Housing and Urban Development data, “from 2010 to 2016, (…) the city added 7,200 people, and more than 75 percent (5,500 people) were in poverty (Miller K. , 2018).” Most of the population of Tacoma is considered “working poor” by the HUD, meaning that at least one member of the household works at least part-time. In that same article, Miller discusses that “Tacoma appeals to the working poor (even if they work elsewhere) because of services such as free health care, subsidized housing, parks and youth programs (2018).” The fact that the area surrounding the industrial plants is largely subsidized and lower-income housing is not an accident. It happens all around the country. As described in a 2016 Fortune article, this phenomenon is called “environmental racism (Sherman, 2016).” One would think that waterfront property would be exclusively for the rich, but in Tacoma, the residential areas surrounding Commencement Bay are largely populated with people who are one missed paycheck away from being homeless. This is likely the reason that the pollution problem went largely ignored for as long as it did – it only affected poor people and minorities.

· (10pts) Interconnections with the environment?

The plants that have contributed to “The Aroma of Tacoma” have also left a lasting impact on the environment. Industrial plants “scattered enough (lead and arsenic) in the soil and dust of the region that state officials still consider it a public-health threat (Nunnally, 2015).” While the levels of lead and arsenic in the soil will not immediately cause health problems, the levels are high enough that Tacoma has undertaken efforts, with the EPA, to replace the soil in certain parts of the city. Amy Hargrove, the state Department of Ecology’s soil program manager for the smelter cleanup said, “This is out, still, in the soil, and it’s going to be out still in the soil 20 years from now or 30 years from now (2015).” In addition to the toxic chemicals blown all over the area, there has been significant damage to the waterway by industrial runoff and emissions. Commencement Bay, “once a rich tidal shore at the mouth of the glacier-chilled Puyallup River with lovely views up to 14,410-foot Mount Rainier (…) is a toxic nightmare, full of deformed fish and sediment thick with chemicals that have been dumped in the water for more than a hundred years (Egan, 1988).” Sporacle concluded, “the Tacoma Aroma is caused by some 100 years of industrial development around the tide flats of Commencement Bay (What Is the Tacoma Aroma? , 2019)” The distinct odor of the city, and the butt of many jokes, is not just unpleasant; It is the direct result of major environmental pollution in Tacoma.

Question 5:
Discuss a sustainable development solution to this problem

(10pts) Describe a proposed or current solution in progress, cite any sources used:

There are many efforts going on in the city to reduce the pollution. In addition to collaborating with the EPA to replace the soil of homes near the bay that were considered dangerous enough to warrant soil replacement, there have been massive undertakings to clean up the area. As reported in Mental Floss:

“In the 1980’s, the cleanup of Commencement Bay was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities list. The EPA spent 25 years working with businesses and the community on various initiatives that would help restore the bay—and their efforts were largely successful. In the 1990s, the Simpson Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill, one of the biggest air pollution offenders, (upgraded) their mill, which was responsible for a massive output of stinky sulfur (Conradt, 2016).”

In 1983, the EPA designated the Tacoma waterfront a “Superfund Site.” Collaborating with Washington Department of Ecology, and the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, the EPA is:

“demolishing remaining buildings and structures; excavating soil and slag from the five most contaminated source areas on the site; disposing of excavated soils, slag and demolition debris in an on-site containment facility (OCF) (…) capping contaminated sediment; armoring the shoreline of the plant site and slag peninsula against erosion; monitoring impacts of Project Area cleanup on groundwater and off-shore marine sediments; integrating cleanup with future land use plans; and dredging and capping contaminated sediments in the yacht basin (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.).”

In addition to the efforts of the city, the state, and the EPA, owners of these industrial plants, like the Simpson Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill, are moving towards more environmentally friendly manufacturing and refining processes, which have not only helped the smell, but are helping to prevent further ecological damage. Though the vision of a “Green Tacoma” is still a long way off, businesses and residents collaborating with the governmental bodies presiding over the cleanup and revitalization efforts on the waterfront have accelerated efforts towards the common goal of a healthier and more vibrant city.

Question 6:
Discuss barriers to implementation, the role of policy and government, and the role of civil society in your above proposed solutions

In four paragraphs (one for each question). Cite any sources used.

· (10pts) Barriers to implementation?

The first barrier is always cost. As referred to above, the Simpson Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill “has spent $250 million to upgrade its environmental performance and keep it competitive in a time when many other mills have folded (SIMPSON MILL: Aroma of Tacoma is almost history, 1999).” Given that the state of the environment, most notably the smell, is already a detriment to attracting new businesses, the fact that these businesses would have to spend more money to make their operation compliant with current EPA standards is almost cost-prohibitive to the owners of businesses that would like to set up shop on the tide flats.

Another barrier is public awareness. With the new influx of residents looking for an affordable place to live, many are simply unaware of the damage done to the environment. In the Derrick Nunnally article (2015), the subjects of the article were only made aware of the environmental hazards by a neighbor. There has been an attempt to raise awareness of the environmental concerns in Tacoma by Pierce County and Washington State, but the efforts are easily missed. As the population booms due to a lower cost of living and a convenient commute to Seattle, it is becoming harder and harder for government agencies to stay on top of who does and does not know about the pollution. There is a strong need for the City of Tacoma to inform and involve the community in their efforts to clean up the waterfront more actively. Not enough people moving into the area are made aware of the potential health hazards of the pollution or how they can remediate the damage to their property. For that matter, not enough current residents know the extent of the pollution. Though we all know about the smell, and we know that the mills along the bay are the cause, we are not actively made aware of arsenic, lead, or other toxic chemicals in our soil. For the City of Tacoma to attract new businesses, retain current residents, and appeal to new ones who are being priced out of Seattle, there is a need to think outside the box when attempting to involve the community in cleanup efforts. The lower- and working-class residents (especially minority residents) may not be able to access a computer or the internet at home, proving that the city needs to start thinking about alternative ways to involve them in the bigger picture of a happy, healthy, green Tacoma.

· (10pts) Role of policy?

The city has long buried their head in the sand about the environmental devastation caused by their industrial powerhouses. Former Mayor Doug Sutherland stated, “It's not a stink or a stench. It's an unpleasant odor! Most of the stench originates from certain out-of-town writers (1988).” It took the EPA getting involved for real change to happen. Since the EPA designated the waterfront a “Superfund” site in 1983, the city has undertaken massive efforts to clean up the mess from industrial plants, mostly because Tacoma finally realized that the legacy was one where the odor of the polluted waterfront was discouraging potential new business from settling in the area, businesses that could provide a lot of jobs to the local citizens and fresh income to the economy. Since the EPA got involved, the City of Tacoma has passed numerous resolutions attempting to reverse the damage done and prevent pollution on this scale from happening again. In October 2008, the Tacoma City Council created The Sustainable Tacoma Commission, a division of the Office of Sustainability, to enact the Environmental Action Plan (Resolution 39427) which aims to create five- and ten-year sustainability goals. This Action Plan provides direction for the city to sustainably manage future development, rehabilitate and renovate older structures to become more sustainable, and involve the community to make Tacoma a green city by 2050 (City of Tacoma Sustainability-Related Resolutions, n.d.). This kind of anticipatory thinking, however, requires collaboration with the community and businesses to be successful, since none of the resolutions are actual laws on the books. Involving the community in novel ways would go a long way towards ensuring a future for the Tacoma waterfront, and the city as a whole.

· (10pts) Role of government?

Everything I’ve read up to this point, and my own personal experiences growing up near the Tacoma waterfront, seems to point to the idea that the federal government had to get involved for Tacoma to make changes with regards to the devastation that created the unique smell in the air. Designating the waterfront as a “Superfund” site according to The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provided much needed financial support and resources necessary to begin cleaning up the toxic waste causing the unique odor, raise awareness of the massive extent of environmental damage done by these industrial businesses, fund projects aimed at cleaning up the residential areas around the waterfront, and clear the red tape involved with completely overhauling the policies that once enabled such a beautiful area to become so polluted. Sadly, it took the federal government getting involved before the city even made the attempt to repair the damage done.

· (10pts) Role of civil society?

One of the biggest challenges to cleaning up the waterway has been public awareness. The State of Washington Department of Ecology, working with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Public Health of Seattle & King County, and Thurston County, began a massive awareness campaign intended to alert residents to the potential health hazards caused by the pollution in and around Commencement Bay as well as potential solutions that incorporate the needs of the residents with the desired outcomes for the environment. They offer free soil testing and cleanup to residents whose property contains unhealthy levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxins (Dirt Alert! - Tacoma Smelter Plume in Pierce, King, and Thurston Counties, n.d.). The City of Tacoma has adopted several resolutions aimed at creating awareness of sustainability issues in the community and providing resources to residents who would like to help the city achieve its goal of full sustainability by 2050. In my experience, the people most affected by these resolutions – the impoverished and underemployed – do not pay much attention to matters of the city council so the city council needs to meet them where they are, engage in a dialogue about community involvement, distribute information on resources provided by the city, and work with the current residents in the impacted communities to find new ways of getting the public involved with a matter as large as the pollution problem. Meeting these often overlooked people in the middle and taking their concerns into consideration would only serve to accelerate the vision of a sustainable Tacoma into a reality. While a poor person may not have time for city council meetings and may be largely unaware of city council resolutions aimed at improving the quality of life in Tacoma, there are many other ways in which the public at large can help the government clean up the city. The city just needs to attack the problem of “The Aroma of Tacoma” from all sides, focusing on a holistic approach that involves all residents, their abilities to contribute, and appealing to their sense of community, rather than posing hypotheticals on paper aimed at attracting wealthy white people and their fat pocketbooks, while ignoring that a large chunk of their population is being poisoned for being unable to afford a less-polluted area of town.

Bibliography:
Provide five sources used (i.e. cited in your responses)

Follow APA format

(5pts)

Bibliography

Aroma of Tacoma. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_of_Tacoma

City of Tacoma Sustainability-Related Resolutions. (n.d.). Retrieved from City of Tacoma: https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/office_of_environmental_policy_and_sustainability/policies

Conradt, S. (2016, March 09). The Aroma of Tacoma: Why One Washington City Is Known For Its Stench. Retrieved from Mental Floss: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76682/aroma-tacoma-why-one-washington-city-known-its-stench

Dirt Alert! - Tacoma Smelter Plume in Pierce, King, and Thurston Counties. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://dirtalert.info/

Egan, T. (1988, April 06). Tacoma Journal; On Good Days, the Smell Can Hardly Be Noticed. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/06/us/tacoma-journal-on-good-days-the-smell-can-hardly-be-noticed.html?auth=login-email&login=email

Miller, K. (2018, April 14). Tacoma gets poorer as others prosper. Retrieved from The News Tribune: https://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/article208656359.html

Morford, M. (2017, July 19). Don't Tick-off T-Town. Retrieved from Tacoma Daily Index: https://www.tacomadailyindex.com/blog/dont-tick-off-t-town/2441123/

Nunnally, D. (2015, November 07). Three decades after the Asarco smelter shutdown, its toxic legacy surprises Tacoma newcomers. Retrieved from The News Tribune: https://www.thenewstribune.com/article43503663.html

Sherman, E. (2016, February 04). If You’re a Minority and Poor, You’re More Likely to Live Near a Toxic Waste Site. Retrieved from Fortune: https://fortune.com/2016/02/04/environmental-race-poverty-flint/

SIMPSON MILL: Aroma of Tacoma is almost history. (1999, January 14). Retrieved from Kitsap Sun: https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1999/01-14/0043_simpson_mill__aroma_of_tacoma_is_.html

Torrence, J., & Lemon, D. (1967). The Aroma of Tacoma. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw_3aC-avjc

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Superfund Site: Commencement Bay, Near Shore/Tide Flats Tacoma, WA. Retrieved from Environmental Protection Agency: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=1000981

What Is the Tacoma Aroma? . (2019, October 20). Retrieved from Sporcle Blog: https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2019/10/what-is-the-tacoma-aroma/

-----------------

Grade: 100/100

Professor Comments: "Sir Mix-A-Lot, Ted Bundy, and yourself" ???? Very thorough worksheet, and I appreciate the additional citations.

Katlin's Term Papers

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Regarding SOS 300

Friday, January 22, 2021

SOS 300 - Module 2 - “Place-Based” and “Problem-Driven” Worksheet

Instructions

Expectations:

Directions:

Bibliography