Noah Wilson

Kickstarter Campaign

(funded in 2011)

San Bruno, California

On September 9, 2010, a natural gas pipeline in San Bruno exploded, destroying 38 homes and killing 8 people. The investigation

into the pipeline failure and negligence of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company is ongoing.

Pavillion, Wyoming

In 2010, the EPA published a report warning the residents of Pavillion to avoid drinking and cooking with their well water, and to ventilate

their homes while showing to avoid potential explosions from methane gas exposure. After conducting a recent test, researchers had

detected numerous contaminants related to the natural gas drilling process known as fracking, in 17 out of 19 wells. Some residents have

expressed concern about water contamination since the mid 1990s, when the drilling process began in the area. Today, there are around

250 gas drilling sites near Pavillion.

A more comprehensive, 2011 study of the groundwater in the area confirmed the presence of synthetic chemicals connected with the fracking

process, as well as methane levels and benzene concentrations far exceeding the standards outlined by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Centralia, Pennsylvania

Centralia’s population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents to fewer than a dozen in 2010 as the result of a coal fire that’s been

burning beneath the town since 1962. It is believed that the fire was started after garbage burning in the local landfill ignited an

exposed coal seam. Repeated attempts by state and federal agencies to extinguish the fire proved unsuccessful, and by the early

1980s the fire stretched beneath approximately 200 acres. Dangerous levels of carbon monoxide eventually polluted many homes in

the town, and residents began to get sick. In 1984, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million to relocate Centralia’s

residents; many of them accepted buyout offers and moved to nearby communities. In 2010, the state of Pennsylvania ordered the

remaining residents to abandon their homes.

Pollyface Farm, Swoope, Virginia

Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm is modeled after the diversity and interdependence found in natural systems. As he says, “plants and

animals should be provided a habitat that allows them to express their physiological distinctiveness. Respecting and honoring the

pigness of the pig is a foundation for societal health.” Salatin operates the farm using sustainable methods, with the goal of

creating a product that economically and environmentally enhances agriculture. The methods include pastured poultry, grass fed

beef, rotational grazing and direct, local marketing of his product. Transparency is a principle on the farm, and Salatin openly

invites and encourages the public to visit Polyface and observe his farming practice. Salatin has become an outspoken and

influential voice for this model of farming. His ideology, his writing and his public speaking have inspired farming practices around

the country.

Normandale, Tazewell County, Illinois

Sandra Steingraber was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 20. Thirty years after her diagnosis, having earned a PHD in

biology and an MFA in writing, her book, Living Downstream, seeks answers and poses questions about the relationship between

cancer and the environment. Normandale is a small, unincorporated subdivision located about 2 miles west of where Steingraber

grew up. It’s located on land near Dead Lake, a pond used by numerous industries as a waste dump, and it sits close to the Illinois River,

which has long suffered from industrial contaminants. In Living Downstream, Steingraber reflects on Normandale as a place where she would

meet with friends at the local A&W, and, as she sees it now, a place with an alarmingly high cancer rate.

Hegins Township, Pennsylvania

In early 2000, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection introduced an Abandoned Mine Reclamation plan, with the

goal to reclaim and remediate abandoned coal mining sites throughout the state. One of the selected mine sites in Hegins Township

is a 30-acre plot which will be used to cultivate switchgrass and high diversity native grasses as biofuels. Unlike the contentious

practice of growing corn (an annual grass) for fuel, using a perennial native grass, such as switchgrass supports the continuing

health of the soil. It contains five times more energy than it takes to grow it, and the greenhouse gas emissions from burning

switchgrass are 94% lower than those from gasoline.

McRoberts, Kentucky

Times Beach, Missouri

In the early 1970s, the city of Times Beach was plagued with a dust problem due to its 23 miles of dirt roads and lack of pavement

funds. In an effort to control the problem, the city hired waste hauler Russell Bliss to oil the roads in and around the town. Bliss

sprayed the roads from 1972 to 1976 with an oil he concocted from used engine oil mixed with a toxic waste he had acquired from a

local company called ICP. Initially, ICP had been paid to haul the waste away from Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical

Company (NEPACCO), and ICP, in turn, paid Bliss to dispose of it. Parts of the NEPACCO facility had been used to produce Agent

Orange, and the toxic waste that Bliss added to the oil was contaminated with high levels of dioxin. Bliss later claimed that he was

unaware of the contamination in the waste that he had used. By 1985, the town was evacuated, and the site was quarantined. After

remediation, the land that was once Times Beach is now Route 66 State Park.