Et cetera

et cetera

Ecology Center Sues Polluter

   On Sept. 16 the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor filed suit in federal Court alleging that the Whitmore Lake based-Johnson Controls violated the community's right to know about toxic pollution.

   An Ecology Center investigation revealed the apparent failure of Johnson Controls to report the storage and emission of millions of pounds of hazardous Chemicals. According to the Ecology Center, the Whitmore Lake plant released up to a million and a half pounds of methylene chloride, a suspected carcinogen, every year since 1987.

   This would rank the Johnson Controls plant as the second largest known emitter of the chemical in the state.

   Due to its failure to report, the company does not appear on any of the EPA's published rankings of industrial toxic emitters. The Ecology Center is demanding a toxics reduction plan that would substantially decrease toxic emissions into the community and the workplace.

   Note: The Ecology Center's action marks the fïrst time any environmental organization in this state has used the "citizen suit" provisions of the federal Community Right-to-Know Act The Ecology Center brought the action under a section which allows citizens to initiate enforcement action when government agencies responsible for enforcing the law do not.

Palestinian Theater

   Before leaving for an international tour this fall, Al-Masrah, a Palestinian theater troupe, will perform "Ansar" at the Towsley Theater in Washtenaw Community College on Oct. 2 at 8 pm. "The play represents a prime example of the impact of the Israeli occupation on all facets of Palestinian life, including the Arts," says the press release from the play's local sponsor, the Palestine Aid Society of Ann Arbor. And it should, as the troupe is composed of playwrights and actors who were all prisoners at Ansar 3, an Israei prison camp in the Negev Desert that has been cited by international human rights groups for its harsh treatment of prisoners. For ticket information, call 741-1113.

   Work-a-Thon for El Salvador

   Detroit CASC (Central America Solidarity Committee) is the local sponsor of a Work- A-Thon for the people of El Salvador, sponsored nationally by CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). Participants collect dollar amount pledges, then work repairing low-income housing, providing care to AIDS patients, and helping to rebuild neighborhoods. Funds raised will support FMLN health care systems. These provide medical care to FMLN members, captured government soldiers, and civilians. The work-a-thon will take place Saturday, Oct. 26 from 9 am to 2 pm. The gathering site is the Friends School of Detroit, 1100 St. Aubin at E. Lafayette,

Detroit Teenage Propaganda

The magazine Extra!'s recent review of the teenager-oriented magazine Junior Scholastic revealed slanted war propaganda and superficiality in coverage of the gulf crisis. According to the article, coverage became less informative as war became more likely.

   "In November, coverage was limited to the story of an Iowa boy escaping from Kuwait (Nov. 2, 1990) and how soldiers coped with the heat (Nov. 16, 1990)." In January, an article dealing with Israel began with a description of Palestinians stoning praying Jews at the Temple Mount, "a story that had been debunked by Marshall Emory in the Village Voice and by 60 Minutes months earlier." The Extra! article concludes that for many students, their understanding of these events may turn out to be as superficial as the magazine's.