Mann V Ford Motor Co.





Oki Niksokowa – 
I live in what should be a pristine environment of the Adirondack Park in Northern New York! A national park that covers over 6 million acres of wilderness land,  one that on any given weekend is invaded by out of state people from New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts  to the point of overflowing. I have lived here most of my life which is a very long time to endure the incredible lack of freedom and privacy that should be afforded by all this space.  During that time I have come to resent these out of stater's who come here and do to our Adirondack Mountains what they have done to their own states. I mean my God these people make a mess of their own environments to the point of non-livability and have nowhere to go but here and then they have the incredible lack of respect to mess up our home – criticize our laid back lives and impose their wills upon their hosts – something that would not be tolerated by Native People some 300 years ago.

I do realize that they provide a lot of income to the folk here who depend in tourism to make a living and that’s a good thing but to try to impose their unkempt environments and attitudes upon us is intolerable. I have often gone into outrageous tirades about these supposed responsible human beings who think only of themselves – but yet won’t do anything in their own states to make it livable and enjoyable again. I have been to the Pine Bush in central New Jersey and tried to picnic with my children in their parks amongst the garbage and litter that are everywhere and tried to swim in the ocean off Toms River only to come home with some disease from the incredible pollution of the water to the point that my children and my wife and myself all became sick at the same time within two days of that little outing into nature. 

Why the hell does this continue without abatement, where are the Real Human Beings?

So when I saw the following article come out of New Jersey – promulgated by people who very obviously care I have to applaud their efforts and do anything I can to help their quest.  Here is their story…. - Two Feathers

MANN v. FORD CHRONICLES THE EPIC BATTLE OF NEW JERSEYʼS RAMAPOUGH MOUNTAIN INDIANS AND THEIR MASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY WHEN THE DOCUMENTARY DEBUTS JULY 18, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO


 
The Ramapough Mountain Indians have lived in the hills and forests of northern New Jersey, less than 40 miles from midtown Manhattan, for hundreds of years. In the 1960s, their neighbor in nearby Mahwah, the Ford Motor Company, bought their land and began dumping toxic waste in the woods and abandoned iron mines surrounding their homes.

Ford has acknowledged the dumping. In the 1980s, the Ramapoughʼs homeland was placed on the Environmental Protection Agencyʼs list of federally monitored Superfund sites – and supposedly cleaned up by Ford. However, thousands of tons of toxic waste were left behind. In 2006, the residents of Upper Ringwood, after suffering for years from a range of mysterious ailments, including deadly cancers, skin rashes and high rates of miscarriage, filed a mass action lawsuit seeking millions of dollars from Ford as compensation for their suffering. Ford denied all responsibility for the illnesses devastating the community and claimed its flawed cleanup had fully complied with all EPA rules.

MANN v. FORD tells the story of a small community’s epic battle against two American giants: the Ford Motor Company and the Environmental Protection Agency, which failed to ensure that Ford cleaned the land of deadly toxins and erroneously MANN v. FORD – 2 declared the community safe and clean of toxic waste.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi. I have been a follower for some time but this is my first comment. I am of Cherokee blood. I live in SC. I too get tired of "outsiders" coming and complaining and trashing (literally and figuratively) our state as well as the south in general. Our ancestors would be appalled and sad by these actions to our environment. To Mother Earth. I applaud your "rants" and support you in all of them!

Blessings,

Tara
(Bandhura)
Good luck with your goal. I hope to see this film soon. I really support those who care for our nature. Thanks for posting.
Arwen56 said…
I just saw this documentary and was appalled by the way Ford and the EPA handled their blatant failings. I don't understand how Ford can deny its responsibility for the numerous deaths and illnesses suffered by the Ramapough people. Unfortunately it seems the EPA is just another puppet for big business. On a related note to the other points you were making, I live in Queens, NY, and my husband and I hike frequently in NY and NJ. We are constantly disgusted by the amount of trash we find on the trails, and we pick up as much of it as we can. I do not understand why someone would bother to go out into nature only to trash her.
nice to meet you guy,i like your blog

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