another Vieques question sort of.....

[arianna]

MM! OK I have hit a road block here with this research paper and need advice on how to go about redirecting the theme now. This thing is due in 2 weeks and I have to start over.

First of all let me state that the entire class was assigned to write a paper on Vieques. OK The class is called Problemas Ambiental ie. Environmental Problems. You'd think it would be easy right? Wrong! I haven't been able to find substancial, unbiased information anywhere on the net. It's my only tool . I'm determined to write a nonpolitical paper.

I looked for information to support the claims that there is a high cancer rate of the people who live on the island. There is none. I looked to see if there was much damage to the coral reefs that exixt on the island. None there either. I emailed experts (who oppose the use of DU) on the effects of Depleted Uranium and was informed there aren't any reports on the damage as there in reality wasn't very much DU involved. Also , from Americans who own a dive shop on Vieques, who informed me that the damage being done to the reefs was due to the local fishermen.

I went to the websites of the usually suspects for an environmental issue and it seems that no one wants to tough this issue. Which in turn suppots my theory that this is a highly politicial issue rather than Environmentally charged.

Now how do I write a paper on the environmental problems of this island and it's environmental problems without information to support this theme?

Anyone have any ideas ? ßß!

[TXmom]

Have you tried doing a search of Dr. Joel Feigenbaum? He may be able to help you. Try Yahoo - it came up with much more than Dogpile when I looked.

[Lynda/WA]

First off - Ari, I am very impressed with how in depth you are going!

I'd look at any articles written in the local papers. See which researchers or reports are referenced and do a search on those. Otherwise many reporters have their e-mail listed at the end of the article and maybe an e-mail to them would help.

What exactly is it that is supposed to have been released into the air as a result of the bombing? Depleted Uranium? You can try a search on that. Sounds like you already have though.

How about contacting the protestors? Weren't some high profile people arrested? Contact their offices. Ask what evidence they have and let them know this is for a paper. They may lead you to some studies.

Around here I find much more information out via talk radio than anywhere else. It's amazing when you listen to one station that is slanted one way then switch to the opposite bias. Sometimes the exact same study is rported completely differently and other times only half the info is on one station. Do you have talk radio there? Here they have entire shows devoted to local issues and those radio hosts will e-mail back or research something themselves and then air their research.

Any chance of finding something out via local health officals? They may at least be able to give you clues where to find more information. How about the local cancer organizations?

I would think the base would have a public relations person. Getting a call back may be a long shot but they may be willing to tell information that refutes the protestors claims. Try calling base information.

Here's a website that shows a map of the earth and where CO2 is released. I have this website saved since I have been doing a little research on if global warming is actually happening and if so why. If I remember correctly you can look at the changes over time. If you know when some of these exercises took place you can compare visually the dates with the CO2 released. Not exactly what you want but it does deal with enviromental impact!
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?8086

If nothing else your very lack of imformation can be turned into information. You can detail what you tried finding, who you went to and the lack of imformation. That in itself makes the evidence of actual enviromental impact suspect.

I'd really be interested in reading your paper when you are finished. I also suspect that you are right about this mainly being a non-enviromental issue. Maybe not even neccesarily political but not enviromental. The same types of things happen around bases in the US and airports. Not over bombing but about other issues like noise and such.

[arianna]

MM! Linda look what fell into my lap this morning. I emailed the contack person. Keep your fingers crossed for me. http://www.viequeslibre.addr.com/porter.htm
ßß!

[TXmom]

That sounds like exactly what you're looking for! Hope he's not on sabbatical somewhere this summer!