[CPEO-MEF] Challenges Responses

[kc2th@aol.com]

Well, I have received a few responses from my challenge and the belief of
better things to come. 

One said "Hear, Hear and Thanks" 

Another said "It was one of the most thoughtful and well written posts he
had seen on the board" 

Another said "I cannot believe this" 

Lastly one said the following: 

am familiar with both OB/OD and the Donovan Chamber through our work at the
Massachusetts Military Reservation. We have evidence there of soil and
groundwater contamination from OB/OD activities and have halted all but
emergency OD using our emergency authority under the Safe Drinking Water
Act, due to the fact that Cape Cod's sole source aquifer directly underlies
the military base.  We have also required the use of the Donovan chamber
for destruction of UXO found at the base, and it has successfully destroyed
more than 1500 UXO with no releases of any contaminants.  In our opinion,
the Donovan chamber is a superb, highly successful alternative to OB/OD, in
fact the only acceptable alternative we are aware of due to the fact that
it does not result in a waste stream.  It has also begun to be tested for
chemical warfare materiel destruction, and the tests so far show that it
results in a 99.99% destruction rate, again with no waste stream,
unlike,for example, the EDS, which results in 330 gallons of liquid waste,
mostly hazardous, after destruction of a single chem. munition.  In short,
I would say that the Donovan chamber is simple, which is perhaps why it
works more completely and less expensively than other technologies, but it
is certainly not primitive. 

Well my responses are these: 

Replies should be to the board whenever possible, no matter how small. This
is what is called openness and transparency. For those who for what ever
reason do not want their names posted on this board I say "push the envelop
a bit". How will we get to where we want to be without your individual
efforts? Uhhmmm? 

For those that really cannot, CPEO has a sound board and system and the
powers that be can certainly exclude your name, e-mail, etc. 

As for the long response on the Donovan Chamber, it is interesting and I do
not know why the EPA person would not have posted this to the board. Maybe
it was said previously, as I said I have been away;-) I guess the defintion
of primative is relative to ones perspective and maybe I did not select the
appropriate term, I will discuss this further in the days ahead. As far as
"no waste stream" I find this hard to believe since metals do not
disappear, but I look forward to hearing more from this person on the
meaning of such a statement. The chemical agent abilities intrigues me. I
had heard the Army was doing some research with the Donovan Chamber, it
appears some have gotten to see some data. Again, look forward to finding
out more. i certainly appreciate the time that individual took to craft the
response. I had helped a few people up there when the Donovan Chamber was
first being considered, so I am glad to see its continued use. 

As for the "I cannot believe" post, a simple response with no specificity
only reinforces the belief that things cannot change. Such generalizations
inhibit discussion and does not allow individuals or groups to learn and/or
to find where they agree and disagree. 

People that want change for the better must step out of this self-limiting
approach. And there are some people out there that truly do not want to
improve things or learn and these people exist on all fronts (community,
regulator, military, etc). And before I close I want to be clear that I am
not implying that the responder with this statement does not want 
improvement and more teamwork, I cannot make any assessment from the simple
response. In fact, I believe I have met this individual but time plays
tricks on the mind and I cannot immediately place the name. 

So with that caveat said, I will say the following to those out there who
do only want the status quo of antagonism and disbelief: 

The train for change has been rolling for quite sometime. It is always
rolling and it will bring brighter days to this arena in the days ahead.
There have been great ones such as Gandhi and Mr. King Jr, and there are
people we have never heard of that had or are having equally important
impacts in their own place and time. Again, the train to improve ourselves
and the actions we take in the environment is rolling my friends. And those
who want to stop change for the better, becuase all they can accept is only
what they know, cannot stop it. So, A) jump on and drive the train if you
can believe, B) just ride along for a while if you would like to believe
but are having trouble these days, and C) watch and learn if you choose not
to believe  -  this is America and it is your choice.  But regardless of
your individual choice, the train is coming. 

Peace and Happy Holidays 

Ted 

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