All tagged 2021/03

Technology can help with toxic smoke

If the Covanta incinerator is shut down, the immediate effect would be to increase solid waste, not decrease it. There would be more trucks rumbling through Chester and speeding up and down the Blue Route, going to and from the landfills upstate. It seems to me that, if the problem is dirty air, then what you need to do is clean up the smokestack to remove the pollutants that are coming out.

Grads can keep us connected

Notices in the Swarthmorean soliciting reflections from graduating high school seniors have made me look forward to the graduation issue. I was disappointed not to see an invitation to share future plans included among the suggested questions that graduates might address in their profiles.

Good decision by borough council on waste

On March 8, Swarthmore Borough Council made a decision that could dramatically change the way our community handles its waste. Resolution 2021-04 requests Delaware County Council to ensure that the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority not extend its contract with the Covanta waste incinerator in Chester.

Learning about equitable housing policy and Chester

I would like to thank Swarthmore College, and professors John Caskey and Hansjakob Werlen in particular, for inviting the Making A Change Group to contribute to the college’s current Lifelong Learning series, “Towards an Economy of Distributive Justice.” The classes in this free, online series focus on different forces that perpetuate economic disparities, especially along racial and ethnic lines. The series also offers resources for participants interested in activism and volunteerism.

We know where we are. In Swarthmore.

In her article about Kyle McCarthy’s book, “Everyone Knows How Much I Love You” (Swarthmorean, 2/26), editor Rachel Pastan quotes from the novel: “... everywhere we went [in Swarthmore], we knew where we were.” In addition to the psychology of the family of one’s origin and the nature of one’s tribal culture, the geography, landmarks, and memorialized events of one’s childhood are influential. I look forward to recommending Kyle McCarthy’s book to my children, who grew up here.