Looking for Clean Air...in all the wrong places
I've been in Houston for the past couple of days, trying to enjoy the holidays despite being sick as a dog. It's hard to feel festive when your sinuses are clogged and your nose is as bright red as Rudolph's. The funny thing is, I ALWAYS get sick when I come home to Houston.
I was bemoaning my ill health last night at Christmas dinner with some family friends--the sort of dyed-in-the-wool liberal Texans who are so appalled by the Bush/Delay mafia and frustrated by the hey-y'all-should-drink-the-kool-aid-`cuz-it-tastes-so-darn-good mentality of their neighbors that often armed mutiny or emigration seem like the only options left--when one of them suggested that maybe I get sick in Houston because of all the air pollution.
I was doubtful at first, but then in today's Houston Chronicle I read this article
by Dina Cappiello about how the majority of Houston-area lawmakers in the Texas House voted against legislation intended to protect the public from toxic air pollution. All 20 (out of the 34 representatives in the eight-county region, where toxic pollution problems, particularly along the Houston Ship Channel, are well-known and well-documented) who voted against the legislation are Republican, some of them representing industrial districts such as Pasadena, Baytown and Seabrook, where people and industry exist side by side. Here's this handy little chart for a detailed breakdown of the voting
The Chronicle has actually done a great job covering this issue, running a terrifying series called "In Harm's Way" back in January about how heavy industries near the Ship Channel benefit from minimal regulation and eager-to-please politicians to engage in careless and dangerous practices that bust up communities and dump dangerous levels of toxins into the environment. And the state regulatory body supposedly monitoring the levels of air pollution--Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, according to this Chronicle article compiles annual internal memos on toxics, including benzene, that are available only by request and include misleading information. But this isn't just a Texas problem...according to the American Lung Association, 152 million Americans live in counties where they are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution. On that note...I'm going to go look for some more Kleenex.
I used to do research on indoor air quality issues. The EPA has made measurements of indoor air quality around the country, and Louisiana and Texas stand out like sore thumbs for their elevated levels of airborne carcinogens like benzene. Presumably their petrochemical industry is to blame.
December 26, 2005 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Presumably their petrochemical industry is to blame.
Industries will do the mimimum in order to maximize profits. Doing otherwise would cause a CEO to quickly become unemployeed and having to live on his golden parachute. (Another subject-another time.) So, I blame the state legislature and not the industry. The whole idea that industries will regulate themselves out of the goodness of their hearts is a non-starter, because industries just don't have hearts.
Where the industry is at fault is for bribing legislators to vote against the interests of the public and in favor of more profit for the corporations. If that is going on...come on now, stop laughing.....then I agree that the industries are a major part of the problem.
December 26, 2005 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just in general, what is it about Republicans that the "pro-life in the womb" party is anti-life once you're out? Out here in California we have Congressman Pombo, who never saw an endangered species he didn't want to barbecue, a tree he didn't want to cut down, a stream he didn't want to pee in, or a piece of land he didn't want to pave over. I'm certain we all know our own poster children for the "I've got mine - screw you!" basic belief of these morons.
December 26, 2005 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
"So, I blame the state legislature and not the industry"
I've done some citizen lobbying at the Texas legislature (mostly on technology issues, not environmental). The industry lobby writes the bills, no question and no fooling. If you're not an industry lobbyist, you can often -- but not always -- get a copy of the bill they're discussing at the committee hearing. The industry lobbyists have been working on it for weeks or months.
Legislators who regulate an industry see their customers as the industry, not as the citizens who get sick.
It takes only a few thousand dollars to influence a legislator to carry a bill. The petrochemical industries clearly have more clout than that.
It is actually possible to have an effect, but it takes vast amounts of organizing and pressure. Most people don't know how anymore. The public interest lobby is small and exhausted.
December 26, 2005 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
While Houston is notorious for air pollution, your symptoms sound more like plain old fashioned allergies. One of the draw-backs of the Sun-belt (as I have discovered now living in St Pete FL, which actually has very clean air, in terms of manmade pollution) is that the mild climate ensures that there is endless growth of pollen-producing plants and various fungi and molds year round.
December 26, 2005 6:53 PM | Reply | Permalink