Mr. Oseland
Composition1
September 6, 2013
Life on the Mississippi; Problem and Solution
In the passage "Life on the Mississippi" the writer explains why East St. Louis is in the condition that it’s in. While many people; including my dad believe the only reason the city is one of the worst cities in the states is because "they do it to themselves"(Haworth), actually there are many reasons for East St. Louis spiral down fall and high crime rates. The two main reasons East St. Louis is described by many as "the bad part of St Louis’s because of all the chemical spills that occur in their city, and because the citizens of East St. Louis do nothing about it. Countless people have tried to come up with an idea to help restore the city to its former glory, but all have failed. I have come up with a solution to this terrific mess.
In the early 1800s East St. Louis was a thriving city full of promise and opportunities, but the city laid below the bluffs where many white people decided to dump their wastes. Since then the place has been a toxic pit full of fecal matter and high levels of mercury and aluminum high levels of mercury can cause deterioration of the brain in young children who play in the dirt where these invisible killers reside. East St. Louis has had many chemical spills, which devastated the towns that reside in East St. Louis. Although the citizens get paid because of the spill "nothing could be worth enough money to live in these horrible towns"(Haworth)
The chemical spills wouldn’ot be near as bad if they would have only would happen once. The community of East St. Louis should have reported to the state authorities about the tragic incident that took place, because it would have been a lot easier to clean up. However they did not, and decided to take the money over telling anyone. Now the city is bathed with chemicals and toxic water, and it would now take large amounts of money and time to clean to restore this now uninhabitable place....