Flowing from the southernmost extreme of Lake Huron, the Saint Clair River carries the water of the Great Lakes to the falls of Niagara and on to the Atlantic.
Downriver, beginning at Sarnia, the region known as Ontario's "Chemical Valley" extends some 30 kilometers. One outgrowth of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Toronto's sewage is trucked to landfill sites in Michigan, while toxic sludges from Detroit's auto industry are exported to Canada. Free trade.
Workers at the chemical and generating plants along the Saint Calir River often succumb to illnesses known among the local population as "plant cancers." Flaring of gaseous by-products occurs regularly --- the flaming towers are visible from the homes and playgrounds. Farmers' fields now are re-zoned for heavy industry; that industry provides the chemical fertilizers for fields that do remain under the plow. The river's cold, clear water aids in the chemical engineer's calculus. It is pumped in and out of the compounds.
We all eat the food, use the plastics and enjoy the electrical power produced from burning coal.
These images represent my beginning attempt at coming to terms with human industry's presence and impact. Geologically speaking, these factories have appeared in the mere blink of an eye.
Can you perceive their ghostly impermanence?
