Earth Day, Every Day (2 of 35)
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Earth Day, Every Day by Sharon Rowe. Compilation copyright 2011 by Sharon Rowe.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing is permitted--forward to a friend!
The Remorse of the Engineer's Daughter
My late father engineered and developed multiple uses for plastics. He was also one of the two 1964 patented inventors of the pressure filling aerosol - or the first aerosol that could be sprayed upside down. How proud my generation and particularly my family was in the 70's of all the progress and improvements that these modern technologies provided. And indeed this technology did have irrefutably good contributions, like for the health care industry. But, the damage they did is incomprehensible.
Over the years my awareness of problem of the depletion of ozone layer, not to mention glues and toxins and migrating chemicals into our environment and then our own bodies. I, myself, worked as an investment banker and successfully contributed to the excessive lifestyles of Wall Street. Now instead of pride, I realize my family directly contributed to on large scale to environmental destruction.
I am now an active PTA mom of four children. My father never had the chance to meet any of his grandchildren, though they all look like him. All of his technological contributions did not save him from an early death after years of smoking. But I have lived to see some of my mistakes and the problems they've caused - hopefully not too late to reverse the damage.
Kirsten McKeon
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