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Summary Of Chemical Waste In America By Richard Muller

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In Richard Muller’s essay on Chemical Waste in America, he points out many different problems in todays disposal techniques of nuclear waste. He brings in readers by appealing to American citizens with his visual texts, guilt, and how we must start feeling some empathy for our future generations and find a solution to prevent a massive chemical waste epidemic. Mullers argument bases off his visual texts, by showing us a reality that is going on today. Among the visual texts, Muller explains the exact quantity of chemical wastes in the United States by telling his audience that, “we have already generated more than enough nuclear waste to fill up Yucca Mountain,” which is a storage bunker for chemical waste products. Muller even includes a picture of Yucca Mountain so the audience can get a feel for the absurd amount of waste we have built up. Muller explains that the storage unit can only hold up for so long, enduring multiple earthquakes because of its geographic location. Also, holding nuclear waste in an underground layer can only support itself so long before the chemical waste bins leak out within the 100,000 years estimate scientist have given Muller. He also makes a huge visual impact …show more content…

“Do we have the right to leave such a legacy to our children,” he asks. In fact, a simple earthquake could be fatal enough to cause a leak in the storage bunker and cause radioactive waste to leak into the nearby Los Angeles water supply in a few thousand years. To Mullers audience that believe his argument is for another millennium, Muller says, “Where there is smoke there is fire,” paradox of public safety. Muller probably uses this paradox because it does not take a 100,000 years to cause an oil spill. An earthquake could cause a leak in the next minutes, and reach our water supply within the earths soil in just

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In chapter 4 of "They Say/I Say," a person can respond in three ways: agree, disagree, or both. By clearly stating your opinion, the audience can get a full grasp of your side of the argument (Graff and Birkenstein 57). Muller does at great job at stating his opinion by disagreeing when he argues, "They believe that the discovery of a new fault will rule Yucca Mountain out. The issue, though, should not be whether there will be any earthquakes in the next 10,000 years, but whether after 300 years there will be a 1% chance of a sufficiently large earthquake that 100% of the waste will escape its glass capsules and reach groundwater" (Muller 211). Being able to use this move is a main part to the

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Chapter 4 describes the horrific consequences of pre-1991 landfills. Humes writes, “Trash, sometimes with hazardous chemical waste mixed in, had been buried carelessly all over the country for decades without installing plastic barriers and other protections now deemed essential to containing landfill pollution”( 2013 p.92). Humes describes a tragic incidence near Niagara Falls, New Jersey in the 1970s. “In the 1950s, there was a residential community near Niagara Falls in New York. The community was built on what had been at one time a toxic chemical disposal site” (Humes, 2013, p.92).

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So, these are the reasons why nuclear waste should be stored on Yucca Mountain.

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In 1960, a man named Paul Ehrlich shared his fears of overpopulation in the world through his book called, “The Population Bomb”. He made many predictions about what kind of disasters we would face if drastic measures were not taken. Zero Population Growth became a political movement that wanted to limit births and give rewards to couples without children. However, humanity has managed to survive even with the current population growth. Paul Ehrlich believes that even though his predictions didn’t happen, it doesn’t mean he was wrong.

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A person’s relationship with history is very much like their relationship with brussel sprouts: you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em, with most people identifying with the latter. As we are told countless times, history is important because if we forget it, we are doomed to repeat it. It is a logical claim, for how can someone learn and move forward if they do not reflect and fix their mistakes? History, however, has a tendency to be boring, a never-ending waterfall of dates and names that can only be learned through mind-numbing memorization. Is this truly the only way, however?

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Although the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 were both horrific events that created huge destruction on the United States, they took a big toll in people’s lives in many different ways and encouraged them to take charge and rebuild back their hometowns that they loved. The San Francisco Earthquake commenced at five thirteen o’clock in the morning, with the epicenter offshore of San Francisco. The city carried more than 400,000 people during this event (Earthquake of 1906, 1). Most of the citizens who were present during the earthquake were all in bed asleep, but the early morning risers were able to witness the start of everything (The Great 1906, 5).

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The author of American Wasteland, Jonathan Bloom, uses many techniques to steer readers in his direction. Bloom talks about a big issue concerning American in 2010 and is still an issue today in 2016, six years after he wrote this book. As a result of broad research, the main issue today is expiration dates and how state regulations and laws promote food waste (Linnekin). As other books, articles, and documentaries explain this issue they use evidence, positive and negative connotations, and bias to connect with a general audience or supporters.

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