Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Blight.

(Remember that double-clicking on these pictures makes them bigger.) This is looking down onto the GP plant heading out of town.

Bellingham has a long history of timber-related industry. The G-P (Georgia-Pacific) plant, is a large facility in the center of town, that remains sort of an eyesore and has necessitated a huge mercury clean-up project. I believe the mercury was used in the chlorine bleaching process, and now it lies at the base of a sediment lagoon which happens to be some primo real estate in the heart of downtown Bellingham. So of course you have the big developers going head to head with the greenies. (I just deleted a big sentence whereas I started going off on the city's proposed tax reprieve for developers and consequently my subsidizing them. Arrgh.) But GP has been good to the city and gave it its roots, as well as a legacy of toxicity that may be with us for a very long time.

Not much more to write. The day was beautiful, but the sunset was crummy.

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