I know it's not the cheeriest thing to post on a holiday, but it ain't exactly the most cheery holiday, despite the giant bunny rabbits and the chocolate eggs.

I paid a visit to Moton Elementary last week without really knowing its story. To learn this week that it is sitting atop a Superfund site now puts some things into perspective. And it absolutely begs some more questions:

This one begs more questions than would seem possible in an hour long RSD planning process. Why were the Neighbors in this area allowed to come back? Why didn’t the Federal government come in with a real just and equitable buy out plan? Why is this School still filled with furniture and paperwork and most likely sensitive records?
By the way the nickname for this area in the 40s was Dantes Inferno

For a fuller story, and an all-around look at Moton courtesy of Karen and Sarah's new camera, head to Citizens' City Hall and view a piece of New Orleans' own Love Canal.

Oh, and another possible reason for allowing people to return to Moton and the surrounding area:

Though Love Canal has been relatively clean for a few years, the former toxic waste site was only recently, in March of 2004, recommended by the EPA for removal from the Superfund list. This proposal opened the door to a 30 day period of public comment. If taken off of the list, Love Canal will be watched closely for any signs that the area needs further cleanup. Love Canal is fast being repopulated; about 250 of the surrounding homes have been sold. Many residents feel that Love Canal is now a clean, safe place; however to some people such as environmental crusader Lois Gibbs, Love Canal is still as much of a toxic waste dump as ever. Gibbs is quoted in the Buffalo News as saying "It's obviously not cleaned up, because there are still 20,000 tons of chemicals buried there and it's only a matter of time before it leaks."

Still others find the Love Canal cleanup to be conveniently timed by President Bush to coincide with an election year. Luella Kenny, a former Love Canal resident who believes her 7 year old son died as a result of the contamination, suggests in the Buffalo News that "it's (President) Bush's way of trying to correct a dreadful environmental issue by claiming his govenment cleaned up Love Canal." Environmental cleanup has decreased dramatically during the Bush administration, and it has been suggested that the removal of Love Canal from the Superfund list was facilitated to demonstrate how the Bush administration cares for the environment.