Thanks for your patience and
thanks for talking to us.
Tell me a little bit about just
the message that you have for
the people of East Palestine.
It's a message that I've learned
very early in life and with every
other community I've dealt with,
and this community is
going to do exactly that.
Nobody knows what happened
to them better than them.
They know what they experienced.
They know what they're feeling.
They know what their reactions are.
They've seen the dead fish,
the dead animals.
They instinctually know something's wrong.
They instinctually know you're not
listening to me because I was here,
but you're going to tell
me something otherwise,
and they're banning together
and they're going to stay real
connected to that inner voice.
They know what they know.
Nobody's going to tell them otherwise.
They know what they've experienced
and they're running on instincts
and a connection to an event.
That they were a part of and
they're going to stand strong
and their message and that's
exactly where they need to be
when you feel so uncertain about
information that you're getting.
When we were talking to folks here,
I started to get the general sense
that there was this overall feeling
of mistrust and it wasn't just
against surreal company or with
the government was telling them,
but it was, it was a little bit of both.
It was just that.
They've been through trauma and
they don't know what to believe.
This is really true and again,
as I've been doing this 30 years and this is.
Unfortunately common what
communities go through,
but what they will always come back to.
It's an instinct.
And not only instinctually did they
know I should get out of harm's way,
they also instinctually know to question.
Should I drink the water or not?
And they instinctually know I'm not
sure I trust what you're saying to me.
It's an instinct,
and they're connected to that and
they need to stay connected to that.
That is the one that, look,
we want to trust that other
agencies or the railroad company
is going to tell us the truth.
But instinctually
we know. I'm not so sure
how I feel about that.
And those are protective instincts
and communities, that that's
where they go in a tragedy like
this. And when they don't
know who to trust, they're
going to trust themselves. What
do you, what do you, what do
you make of what's happening?
A lot of confusion.
I haven't seen anything like this
in my 30 years where we've kind
of watching a live environmental
situation kind of unfold before us.
There was this window of silence
that I that I felt that the
Community definitely felt.
This happened on the 3rd.
I started getting emails on the 4th,
but there was a window there where it was
like him and how what are we going to do?
So I guess they decide to dig
a hole and light it on fire.
That wasn't the right response.
And then it's all.
Everybody's been evacuated
so nobody can get in,
but what is really going on down
in there that we don't know about?
That just seems very odd.
It just feels like a cover up.
Oh well, generally these situations
are being cover ups, so.
It's another tragedy and there's something
different here in East Palestine.
And a legacy that I think this
community won't only be known for,
trained around the groundwater contamination.
But it will be a community
where we have a teaching moment.
We have real systemic problem going on
in this country's aged out infrastructure,
lack of maintenance profits over people.
And I don't think that's going
to serve us going forward.
And this is a community where we
might have that teaching moment.
To shift
tracks. No pun intended on that one,
and look to becoming more.
And protective.
Of the future and
more proactive and how we're going to
deal with these types of contaminations
instead of just sitting here and letting
the disaster happen and then reacting to
it. So I believe that this town and
you can kind of feel it around here,
let me know later if you don't. They're going
to be known for something other than
just a train derailment and. Once
again, another environmental disaster,
rather a teaching moment, and how.
This has to stop,
and this has to change.
We're going to have to change practices,
deal with infrastructure issues,
change antiquated policies.
Trained, antiquated.
Laws and changed, antiquated.
Corporate models that would not.
Get them to the future.
Well, the hardship, I think at least
one of them might be that like,
we've seen this wax and wane. Like,
you know, what happened in Quebec in 2013.
Yes, there was a huge response to make
new rail regulations and there was
a push for that and it started and
then it kind of goes back and forth.
And then that story dies off.
And then something else happened
in East Palestine. Happens.
You know, ten years later,
you're absolutely right,
the story does die off.
I saw it happen.
And Hinkley, California,
where PG&E and the hexavalent
chromium that resulted in the film.
Is still contaminated today.
Flint, MI still contaminated today.
Talking about it quite happened in Quebec,
you know, still ongoing issues today.
This town I think could be the
representation of you've kicked
the can to the end of the line.
And we can't afford,
and I think this community knows.
To keep an eye on the way we have,
it's not working out so well.
So I think it's very important we
stop kicking the can down the line.
We've done it for 30 years,
30 plus years and I don't think
you can kick it any further.
So maybe.
It's going to stop here
and East Palestine, well
you mentioned teachable moments.
Maybe one is that about
expectation and reality.
You know the the expectation is
you live in a community that has
rail and that you're you expect
the industry to make sure it
goes through properly and now
there are obviously questions
about whether or not that was
happen. Well. We were taught and set
up to believe and I think that we have.
We might have gotten comfortable,
we might have gotten complacent.
And I can say that because
I know I certainly have.
Maybe we just bought something
that that wasn't realistic.
But here we are today and
we're now questioning that.
And I've learned through these communities,
and it's always when you don't want to be
fully transparent with them, things flip.
They can handle the truth.
They can handle the disaster.
What they're not going to handle
anymore is misleading them.
Or lying to them.
And that's where they begin to rise.
I wrote my book during COVID,
Superman's not coming,
and it is about our national water
crisis with the message to the point
we're talking about is we're here and
what we can do about it and we can't afford,
especially after a situation like this,
to be comfortable.
Or get too complacent.
Or unfortunately for agencies.
I believe anymore that you are
actually going to be there for us.
We we tend to pact meeting last
night where all these people have
questions about their health,
their crops, their kids, their pets.
They want, they wanted,
they wanted to know really what was going on
on like why aren't they testing for dioxins,
why aren't we doing more.
You know they had legitimate
questions and sadly, sadly,
they didn't have.
I mean they had suggestions from
the environmentalists and the
attorneys who were present but.
I don't think they had concrete solutions.
So what would your advice be to be
the people out there who may be
sitting in their homes wondering?
I don't know
what to do next. Well, we're going.
We will become our own critical thinkers.
I'm so glad you asked these things well,
and my work from the very beginning,
which I see happen in every community,
is always. Well, if you're not a doctor,
you're not a lawyer, you're not a scientist.
You're not this, you're not that.
Therefore, what do you know?
Well, that is ridiculous.
And anybody at home, what can I do next?
You know more than you think.
You just got to trust yourself
and get behind yourself,
become your own critical thinker.
Ask questions, get involved,
show up to a City Council,
all of these things we have to now
partake in and not take it for granted.
Somebody else is going to do that for us so.
You can get involved.
I'm going to tell you this isn't a quick fix,
this isn't one and done back.
To be honest, I work best.
Lot of these communities do give
me the worst case scenario.
I can handle it.
But I can't plan and prepare
for it. If you don't honestly tell me,
I'm not sure. But moving forward,
this isn't going away.
We're going to have a decade
long groundwater contamination.
You need to be vigilant
about monitoring your wells.
We have an unknown future regarding
public health and what the outcome
of these chemicals will be.
Monitor your own health.
Be vigilant.
We have to be mindful that we're not
going to have those soil vapor plume.
What does that mean?
Make it's your job to know your water,
your land, your community, your
health, and that's what you
have to stay focused on and.
We'll let you know this isn't over tomorrow.
I think this story has just begun to be.
And we learn. I've said it before
and I'll say to you today. 9.
Everybody watch what was happy.
And down the road going, Oh my gosh,
what about all those chemicals?
Everything fell out.
And when it was time,
we were told it was safe.
But look what we've learned now,
so we have to start being more proactive.
And not reactive.
And these communities
need to hear the truth. Give it to them
straight, whether it hurts or not,
they'll handle. Whether or not. Continue.