March 11, 2008
by Volt and Electra Penn
It's a sore fact: The City of Austin, Texas endorses a shameful form of cultural victimization known as Environmental Discrimination. This blatant prejudice system receives financial support from an organization screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky once referred to as, 'The Gangster Business Class'.
Austin's long held strategy of East/West economic/environmental separation, supported and funded by the G.B.C., is aiming to dump mountains of garbage (landfill) on the heads of Honest Working Men and Women.
Michael K. Heiman, professor of Environmental Studies at Dickinson College has written in a special issue of Urban Geography: ".there is a wealth of evidence, that poor people and residents in communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of toxic contamination."
Yoo-hoo, Professor Heiman! If you want proof of your hypothesis, come on out to the little village of Webberville, Texas, but first check out the median income for Eastern Travis County at the Texas Comptroller's office. That's right, they're poverty stricken alright. And if you're looking for a community of color, then look no further. Drop by Webberville's Catfish an' More. Take a look at the patrons. You'll see Blacks, Reds and Browns in gimmie-caps of all sizes, with a few White shirts sprinkled in for color.
Now, stand in the middle of FM 969 and look north, but be careful - you don't want to be squashed by a 20 ton, jake-braking gravel truck. Focus on a wide angle shot in the distance. Notice that tree covered hill in the center? That's where the handmade bricks of Webber's Fort (1830) still litter the ground - and that's where Austin wants to dump all its garbage, plus ALL the garbage from 35 other Texas counties, plus anything else, biodegradable or not, they can get their hands on.
The final decision to dump boxcar upon truckload of toxic waste on Webber's Prairie, and into tributaries of the Colorado River, hasn't been finalized - yet. But the Gangster Business Class has paid representatives (Austin's mayor, city council and city manager) who hint that the undeveloped 3,000 acres the city owns in we the people of Austin's name, will become the home of a landfill, power plant, wastewater treatment and sludge plant facility.
The information you won't get from Austin's politicos is that most of the tract is in the 100 year flood plane, with numerous sub-surface springs (some only visible as water vapor at 32 degrees Fahrenheit). Then, there's Webber's Fort, designated historical by the Texas Historical Commission. Buried on same property are the many graves of the first White/Black settlers in Central Texas, intermingled with the burial grounds of Native Americans.
But the city of Austin, touted by the chamber of commerce for its Weirdness, Greenness and Progressiveness, is ignoring the Democratic Process. We the people, those neighbors who live, work and play in Austin's far Eastern Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, don't have a say on this extremely important matter. Haven't they had enough of 'imperial executive' in government?
Look, all these people are asking for in that tiny corner of a large planet is transparency in government. No one out there is an authority on endangered fowl, toads or snail darters. Is that why Austin's political and economic leaders hide the fact that the land where they want to bury a trillion tons of garbage is home to every size, color, and kind of striped insect, skunk, raccoon, snake, hawk, eagle, buck, doe, wild hog and armadillo imaginable?
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But the most important consideration is that the 3000 acres of Webber's Prairie are the lungs of Travis County. The wind that blows into Central Texas from the west is filled with juniper pollen and dust; from the north and south the air waves are loaded with ozone particulates. But the easterly breeze, the one that blows in salty Gulf Coast spray is filtered through miles and miles of Texas oak, pine, hackberry and mesquite trees. It's the sweetest of Mother Earth's clean air. If Webber's Prairie is smothered with noxious gases released by a landfill, Austin will strangle on the poisonous mixtures.
A prime example of land already lobotomized by the G.B.C. is DeBerry, Texas. That's where Frank Roberson lives in a mostly Black enclave. Frank used to drive 23 miles to Wal-Mart just to get a drink of water. But these days Frank's drinking water is delivered by the Environmental Protection Agency. You see, Mr. Roberson is a recent victim of Environmental Discrimination and it's killing him. His groundwater has become saturated with oil industry pollutants such as arsenic, benzene, lead and mercury - the exact same contaminants found in landfills, the exact same poisons that poison the earth - forever.
Long before IH-35 split Austin into 2 separate but unequal parts, the black gumbo dirt east of the city produced bountiful crops of cotton, milo, maize and hay. It also became a place to park less desirable industries (garbage dumps, wastewater/power plants, sludge fields, gasoline storage tanks, prisons, and the silent poor).
West Austin was and still is reserved, preserved and prepared for those who can afford the tiered gingerbread residences. The Gangster Business Class dictated there would be no dirty dumps in their backyard. I wonder why they think their eastern neighbors want a shit pile dumped in their front yard? LOL
It's too bad Austin is not in Texas's 14th district, because then the Honest Working Men & Women of Eastern Travis County would have Dr. Ron Paul as their representative. Because of his Populist position, I have no doubt Dr. Paul would stand to demand Environmental Justice for all the residents of Travis county. Shouldn't east side folks get the same kind of fair treatment that people west of the city have enjoyed for over 100 years?
But without a Ron Paul on their side, West Austin Apartheid, like a cancer, will continue to grow and eat away at the societal fabric. Without a strong legal advocate to argue the East Austin case against a landfill, those people will eventually lose their autonomy, homes and ultimately their health.
Dr. Paul has said, 'The American people are strong, resourceful, hard working and determined. Because of this they can get through these tough times, but they're leaders need to understand how they got here in the first place. Continuing the same flawed policies that got them here will only prolong the agony'.
To Red-line an area because of its economy, race or environment is illegal, undemocratic and unpatriotic. Why aren't you listening, Austin?
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Have Penn they'll listen. Volt Penn writes speeches for Progressive Populists and reasoned arguments for those on the left of center. He has also written speeches for anybody who has read his work. You can reach Volt Penn through his artist friend, b.b.kemp, at bbkemp@bbkemp.com
Volt/Electra Penn copyright 2008
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