Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Photographs by Chris Dunker
Tell Us What You Think--We're Here To Listen
Recent Comments
Disclaimer
This blog, the posts, or the comments contained herein are not the official opinion(s) of Brigham Young University, the College of Fine Arts & Communications, or the BYU Museum of Art. The images have been provided for educational use only. Any other use or reproduction of the images is prohibited, unless authorized by the BYU Museum of Art
Blog Archive
-
▼
2008
(7)
-
▼
March
(7)
- General Comments, Thoughts or Queries
- Why do you think these photographs are being shown...
- What impact do you think Geneva Steel's closing ha...
- Is the closing of Geneva Steel evidence of progres...
- What was your favorite work in this exhibition?
- What do you think is the theme of this exhibition?
- How important are machines and technology to the a...
-
▼
March
(7)
16 comments:
There was a short-term impact on the Utah Valley economy. However, the long-term impact should be positive due to a significant improvement in air quality and other elements of the environment.
For one thing, there was a marked decrease in respiratory ailments among the youth population. Dr. Arden Pope has documented the health impacts of the Geneva Steel plan, and the results are fascinating.
On the other hand, there were serious displacement issues. Today, however, Utah's economy is one of the strongest in the nation, and has shown surprising resilience to a wide variety of economic shocks.
I agree that the overall impact must be good because of the environmental implications.
These photographs do a terrific job, however, in making the viewer feel a sense of loss, as if America is losing the power that we once had during WWII.
Yes, the local effect of pollution was reduced, but the steel production shifted from the US to China. In China they have virtually no pollution controls when compared to Geneva. As a whole, the worlds pollution problems increased when Geneva shut down.
Geneva's financial failings forced me to find a better job. I do miss the blast furnaces though!
I am the daughter of a former Geneva Steel employee. My dad worked for them most of my life. When Geneva closed my dad lost his job, forcing my family to leave the state and relocate. There were many families that lost their jobs. Many people of the general population are indifferent, and only see one side of the story. The turmoil of its closing was very personal to the employees who no longer had a way to take care of their families. The impact has been hard on my family and to this day I live across the country from where my parents had to relocate. My children do not have the priviledge of seeing their grandparents in person more than a couple times a year.
Cleaner air, healthier children.
Inability to innovate and adapt to a rising global economy has ended the era of Geneva Steel.
Now Utah is a leading economy in plastics, and composites innovation. The processes for the new Boeing Carbon Fiber Dreamliner were invented in Magna, UT.
Change often hurts, but it often yields a brighter future.
Thank goodness Geneva Steel is gone! Still, I miss the volcanoes at night.
We were told that for every Geneva Steel job, it required 3 others; with 2,000 employees, that would have affected an additional 6,000 people.
it probably helped our economy, but not as much as it hurt our environment. sure a lot of people lost their jobs but i think that it's worth all of those kids having cleaner air.
I feel like the impact on utah valley was significant. Many people not only lost their jobs but also had to wonder about future retirements and other basic worries of life. The initial impact is now over, most people have found new employment either in the state or out of state. But I believe long term impacts are still yet to be seen
I grew up during the time that Geneva Steel was being taken down. My dad had a job working on trucks there on the occasion, and I had always loved to go with him to look at the plant.
When it was said that the plant was going to close, I felt like I was losing a part of my childhood. It seems to have been a good thing in the long run, but these pictures bring back memories that make me feel as though it had never been shut down.
I have a friend who works for a chemical company on the old property. He was present during the dismantling. He tells of an event when they dug some trenches to measure pollution in the ground around the property. When a worker got down in the trench to meausure the pollution he was over come by benzenes etc. and had to be helped out of the trench. He says the property is saturated with pollution.
This is a sad day for America. When we can't make any more steel what kind of power will we be in the world? This doesn't just have short term impacts for the valley, it has long term consequence for our country.
What an enormous loss for both our community and ultimately for our country. Several family members of mine have worked at Geneva Steel. My dad still does some steel fabrication and having seen the dramatic increase in steel in the past few years, Geneva could have had a strong economic impact on the community. I feel like our country is selling itself short in terms of industry. When we (USA) don't produce any of our own goods anymore, we have no right to complain about high prices. It is sad to see it go.
I feel a sense of loss when it comes to loosing this plant. My Grandfather used to work there. As for it's economic impact I feel we have lost a great resource. Many of our jobs come from services, that don't actually produce any real product. By real I mean you can eat, wear, or live in it. While many of the jobs that utah valley residence have are important, if our economy tanked and we had to rebuild we would be out of luck. UVU was founded as a result of an economy based on service jobs that tanked and as a people we had to begin again, by retraining in how to create real products. My point is, without Geneva steel we, as a people, are less prepared to rebuild our lives and economy in the event of a major financial catastrophe. But what is done, is done.
Post a Comment