Economic struggles and pollution in a struggling rural community

This passage reveals some of the effects of large-scale changes on small areas. Charles English lost his job of twenty-eight years when his company closed, a result of competition with foreign labor. He avoided jobs in the textile industry because of NAFTA's devastating effects and took a pay cut to work locally. The price Charles has had to pay in the interest of national growth parallels the environmental costs Wayne sees in his area for local growth, in particular water pollution. The flooding exposed the extent to which growers are flaunting environmental regulations, and the community is facing long-term health problems from exposure to contaminated water.