Dear Governor Bush, I am dismayed at the deal that was made
with Suwannee American about the Ichetucknee cement plant. As you
know, nothing has changed, a chance to save the whole area from massive
pollution as been lost. On your watch one of the worst polluting
industries on earth is now going to be built in beautiful northern Florida
the land you are supposed to be steward of. Only a few place have
allowed these plants to be built, they are so toxic. In previous
studies, only power plants and oil refineries we as bad. As a physician
who as written 17 books about health and one on chemicals and cancer, Well
Body, Well Earth, I know about toxic chemicals and cancer and about mercury
and rivers. The year 2000 approaches, in the new millennia we need
to change our ways of treating the earth. This was a wonderful chance
to start Florida’s future in a clean healthy way. I was so proud
of your administration and secretary Struh’s beautiful speech. And
now.. this deal, politics as usual or worse, I don’t even want to live
in Florida, this is so depressing. I don’t think you needed to do
this and don’t pretend to understand why it happened. But I know
that children will get cancer and leukemia from Branford to Jacksonville
to Tallahassee because of this decision unless we can stop it with the
lawsuits which we certainly will try with all our hearts to do. Even
low levels of chemical air pollution and known to cause cancer, the mixture
of chemicals in modern tires is incredible, think about it, where does
it go when you burn it, it forms a plume and drift right to Jacksonville
just as the acid rain goes from Cleveland to beautiful Maine and kills
the trees around your parent’s summer home that you love. I am so
sorry you choose to do this on Christmas of 1999. Best to you and
your family, I will try to keep the faith. Michael Samuels, M.D.
www.ichetucknee.org
Dear Governor Bush and Secretary Struhs, this is a personal letter
to both of you, not political, I want to thank you for your support of
the Ichetucknee river with your denial of the permit last summer.
I know that reflects your deep regard for the environment and this special
river. I also know the DEP must uphold the law and must by law permit
a facility that meets criteria pollutant numbers and I am guessing that
the denial by previous felonies was shaky in an appeal so the deal was
made to get something instead of nothing if we lost the appeal.
But to say building a tire burning cement plant by a known felon and
polluter who is holding a gun to our heads in the form of the mine is an
environmental victory that will set a precedent for the future, terrifies
me. I would have been happier if the truth was told, although I know
in politics this is often not possible. I hope you do not actually
think that a tire burning cement plant is an environmental victory on this
meleniam Christmas, it is in fact a major polluter, all those tires with
their thousands of chemicals go up the stack into the plume and we simple
breathe the stuff in and it falls in the river.
What it seems to me we need from both of you now, is support to stop
the plant in the lawsuits against Suwannee county for the agricultural
zoning issue, and the mercury issue on the river. With your great
power and I believe love of the river and environment, please do what you
can to put the power of the state parks, highway department, whatever to
stop this plant in another legal way. As you know, to say a tire
burning cement plant is agriculture because limestone comes from
the ground is like saying general motors is agriculture because iron comes
from the ground; I know the same ingenuity that stopped the permit the
first time can help stop the plant by legal means in the lawsuits this
time.
This is not meant as a criticism, I know you are both doing the best
you can, but my disappointment in the DEP not being able to stop a felon
polluter from putting tires up a stack is very deep. I am a physician
who has written 16 books on cancer and chemicals and children, I treat
children with cancer and Governor Bush’s wife visited the program on art
and healing at Shands Hospital at University of Florida that is consult
and am on the board of. There we see little girls with leukemia dance
as angels. I know chemicals cause cancer, now the air is clean in
Northern Florida, soon it will not be, and this I know is not an environmental
victory even though it is in the legal role of the DEP.
Please do all you can to help stop this plant by supporting the lawsuits
in whatever creative way you can both think of, best, Michael Samuels,
M. D. www.ichetucknee.org.
Dear Governor Bush, My coauthor of Creative Healing, How anyone
can use art to heal, Mary Lane, co-director of Arts In Medicine University
of Florida just told me that you may be at a gathering in West Palm Beach
this weekend about art and healing. Mary told me your wife visited
the Arts In Medicine program at Shands’s hospital and they had a enjoyable
day together. I look forwards to meeting you this weekend.
I promice I will not even mention the cement plant, I just want to meet
you and see who I have been writing to, and share the beauty of Arts In
Medicine. Best Michael Samuels, M.D. www.ichetucknee.org and for
this occasion, t
Dear Governor Bush and Secretary Struhs. Merry Christmas to both of you. I hope that the holidays are happy for you and your families. I know you both want to do right action for the environment and the Ichetucknee River, I wish for my Christmas wish that we can slow all this down and take time to study the new mine information about blasting two miles from the river, and I wish we could help the Suwannee lawsuit about agricultural zoning and a huge industrial facility in the rural recreational area of beautiful North Florida. As the wise men saw their vision of Jesus and pilgrimaged to him 2000 yrs ago, we see a vision of the three rivers as clean and quiet and a holding of the energy of the earth’s beauty on this millennium Christmas. I pray the both of you can do what you can to save this river. Have you read the material on my website www.ichetucknee.org about cancer, mercury, and cement plants worldwide, do you know about the blasting and the mines, about what the trucks, noise, lights, mercury would do the wildlife on the river. I do not want to go into the next millennia in such a rush, making deals, not having a voice in important decisions, please do right action for the people on North Florida and the earth. Merry Christmas again, Michael Samuels, M.D.
Dear Dr. Blumberg, You have received my previous letters, I will
send you a box of material about cancer and tire burning cement plants.
I am extremely upset and depressed about the Christmas secret deal and
the total lack of input the public has been about to make in our future
and the future of the Ichetucknee river. I feel sold out, big money
and corruption wins again. This is so sad. A tire burning cement
plant will cause cancer in children from Branford to Jacksonville and Tallahassee
and the hundreds of chemicals go into the high wind plume and blow with
the winds and fall into our lungs. This unfortunately is a fact.
How many cases is in dispute of low level mixed chemical carcinogens, but
the fact it will cause cancer is not in dispute. The zoning issue
is separate, the blasting two miles from the river separate, but it is
actually all together as one mess now. Many Christmas secret deals
have got us to where we are now. Much lawyer lobbying and deal making
will kill our children and the river. This is so sad to be our future
on this millennium Christmas. As I watch the dancers in the bone
marrow transplant unit at Shands dancing with children with leukemia, I
grieve for us who make the decisions to let chemicals be what we breathe
in this next 2000 years. Michael Samuels, M.D., www.ichetucknee.org.
have you seen the website and read the material on cancer and children