The Royal Dump

Hi guys. My name is Gilly the Guppy. There's something I'm conflicted about because I do not know if it'll turn out well or not. You see, New York started dumping old subway cars in my neighborhood. Sure, it's prime real estate and a lot of fish and coral are starting to grow and live there. I just can't decide if it's a good or bad thing. 

Would you advise Gilly the Guppy to move into the new subway car complex or not?

If you answered yes... 

Dear Gilly the Guppy,

All wires and electronics are stripped out of the subway cars and they are scrubbed down to ensure all oil is removed before dumping into the ocean.  This way you and other animals won't be harmed by the oil or get tangled in the wires and electronics in the cars! This can become a home for you! It helps create new reefs; artificial reefs have 400 times more food than the natural sand bottom. This means more food for you! Also, by dumping the subway cars in the ocean, it keeps them out of the landfills. Unfortunately, there is a lot of concern about land space and we don't really have space on land for much more in the landfills with how much trash we dump anyway. We tried to offer the subway cars to other countries, but they didn't want them. This way,  you get them and a new home. Plus it's not really taking up that much room. Think about it. The ocean covers more than 70% of the planet but humans have explored less than 5% of it! The surface area that we could actually dump a subway car on is minute to how much surface area of the oceans there actually is. We are unable to reach the majority of the ocean floor. Not to mention, it provides shelter from predators. They attract shrimp, mussels and crabs, giving you new friends to hang out with. Also, it would help humans out! In Maryland, cable cars were dumped similarly to the subway cars in order to attract fish and eventually bigger game fish like dolphin fish, marlin and tuna for recreational fishermen to catch. For Maryland, recreational fishing is a billion dollar industry in Maryland. This could really help New York's economy by creating recreational fishing. Also, this artificial reef is publicly funded, unlike most artificial reefs. This shows that the government cares about where these cars are going and is a national issue. I believe that for you, Gilly, this sounds like a great idea. You and your family should definitely move into the subway car complex! 

If you answered no...

Dear Gilly the Guppy,

This is unfair that subway cars got dumped into your neighborhood without your permission. We have no way of asking you if you want the cars, and we have no right to use the ocean as our dumping ground because we are running out of places to dump things on land. There's a reason that no other countries would take the subway cars; why should we dump it on your home? We didn't do that to the other countries because we can't, so why should we be allowed to do it to you? Reefs are declining, and artificial reefs can be helpful to you and other fish. However, not every type of artificial reef is good. The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission says that in order to considered a good artificial reef material, it must have function, stability, durability and compatibility. There are better things to make artificial reefs with, but the government doesn't want to spend extra money on that because unlike most artificial reefs, this is publicly funded. Unfortunately, a study done of Philadelphia subway cars dumped in 1990 showed that after 20 years, they collapsed in the ocean. It is not long enough to help because it take 10 years for things to really start growing in the subway cars. 10 years after coral and reef starts to grow, the cars will collapse, most likely damaging the coral. A technology critique of this issue would imply that the temporary solution of generating new reef is a temporary fix that will only result in the collapse of the subway cars and will need more technology to fix this. This is our waste. We have this waste because of the treadmill of production: with new advancements in technology came new subway cars. The majority of the subway cars are not broken, just out of date. New advancements in technology will always occur over time and will continue to advance leaving the outdated products to be disposed of. The metal could corrode away to hurt sea life. The most important problem is the fact that most the subway cars dumped have asbestos in the walls for sound and insulation. Asbestos has been linked to multiple types of cancer; the most well known cancer linked to asbestos is malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos is a group of minerals, similar to Mercury. This could lead to a similar problem with Mercury poisoning, such as Minamata Disease that was prevalent in Japan in the 1900's. Nearly two thousand people died from mercury poising from the shellfish and fish they were consuming, not to mention the animals that died from consumption of the leftovers. This disease became congenital and was passed down to many generations. Do we want to risk the same thing happening with asbestos, which has already been linked to cancer? No. This is our environment and we do not want poison it. This is related to environmental agency, a concept that says that the environment is not a given; we shape the significance it has on our daily lives. If we can prevent poisoning fish that could lead to the death of fish and animals that consume fish, we should. We need to be aware of the growth machine, a concept that demonstrates how humans have no regard for nature or the possible outcomes associated with our actions. We have seen how poisoning fish with a mineral can be extremely detrimental to fish, humans and other animals consuming the fish. We know asbestos is linked to multiple types of cancer. We need to recognize the possible outcomes associated with our actions and take responsibility for our consumption. I do not recommend that you move into the subway car complex, Gilly, because it was wrong that we dumped it in the ocean.

Mattie Borders, Lauren Harrison, Taylor Kashman

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