Waxahachie Daily Light 11/1/06
http://www.waxahachiedailylight.com/articles/2006/11/01/dailylight/news/06-11-01-protest.txt
Environmental group takes Perry protest on the road
By JONATHAN BLUNDELL Daily Light staff writer
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 11:40 AM CST
It’s been said that politicians are great at blowing smoke, and a new 12-feet by 16-feet caricature of Gov. Rick Perry hopes to show just that across the state during the next month.
What has been described as a "rolling editorial cartoon" of Perry, depicts him kissing a large industrial smoke stack as smoke billows out from a smaller industrial plant.
The float, built by Midlothian’s Downwinders At Risk, made an appearance in downtown Waxahachie on Monday as part of a seven-day trip through Central Texas and on to New Braunfels.
"We wanted to bring attention to Perry’s inaction," Downwinders board member Jim Schermbeck said. "We've been working on raising awareness of the pollution from the cement kilns and coal plants around the state. The governor’s own environmental agency produced a report saying the plants can economically cut their emissions by 80 to 90 percent. Yet Perry refuses to require the filters necessary."
According to Schermbeck, the latest draft in the clean air plan for the North Texas area only requires a 40 percent reduction in air pollution from the area’s cement kilns.
"We're not making requirements of industrial polluters," Schermbeck said. "But at the same time we’re expecting personal vehicles to meet higher standards. These guys have been polluting the air for over 16 years without a catalytic converter installed. The new technology is not included in any of the state’s current clean air plans."
Schermbeck said Downwinders At Risk is not hoping to close the cement kilns down, but as neighbors of the plants, the group wants Perry to require new pollution controls to be installed in each kiln.
"TXI operates a very good, new kiln in Midlothian," Schermbeck said. "But there's a real disparity between the older kilns in the area and the newer ones. We want the older ones brought up to the new standards."
Despite the timing, less than a week from Election Day, Schermbeck said the tour across the state was not planned to coincide with the election.
“The new clean air plan is being assembled now and will likely be voted on in December,” Schermbeck said. “It’s just been a coincidence that the election is taking place now and we’ve been lucky enough to be able to follow Perry on some of his campaign stops around the area. We’re both anti-smog and against Perry’s fondness for the oldest smoking kilns in Dallas which have no more pollution control than the day they were first built.”
The North Texas Clean Air Steering Committee, which Ellis County Judge Chad Adams is a part of, voted to approve pilot testing of the new technology but, according to Schermbeck, Perry refuses to enforce implementation of the plan.
“The people want the technology but the state’s not doing anything about it,” Schermbeck said. “We hope that by raising awareness people will see what’s going on and write their state representatives, senators and Perry. Local officials, including Republicans, back the new controls. The regional EPA favors them. Citizens want them. Only Rick Perry and the industry are fighting the idea.”
Schermbeck acknowledged he had not contacted the governor’s office directly and had received no comment on the float from the governor.
“The only people we’ve talked to are Perry’s security folks at different events," Schermbeck said. “We haven’t heard anything from Perry or his office and he has a long standing practice of protecting the kilns in Ellis County. So we decided to take a more humorous approach in raising awareness. We can’t afford television ads or ads in the big daily papers, so we’re rolling our message all over the state."
For more information on the group, visit downwindersatrisk.org.
E-mail Jonathan at j.blundell@thedailylight.com
Environmental group takes Perry protest on the road
By JONATHAN BLUNDELL Daily Light staff writer
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 11:40 AM CST
It’s been said that politicians are great at blowing smoke, and a new 12-feet by 16-feet caricature of Gov. Rick Perry hopes to show just that across the state during the next month.
What has been described as a "rolling editorial cartoon" of Perry, depicts him kissing a large industrial smoke stack as smoke billows out from a smaller industrial plant.
The float, built by Midlothian’s Downwinders At Risk, made an appearance in downtown Waxahachie on Monday as part of a seven-day trip through Central Texas and on to New Braunfels.
"We wanted to bring attention to Perry’s inaction," Downwinders board member Jim Schermbeck said. "We've been working on raising awareness of the pollution from the cement kilns and coal plants around the state. The governor’s own environmental agency produced a report saying the plants can economically cut their emissions by 80 to 90 percent. Yet Perry refuses to require the filters necessary."
According to Schermbeck, the latest draft in the clean air plan for the North Texas area only requires a 40 percent reduction in air pollution from the area’s cement kilns.
"We're not making requirements of industrial polluters," Schermbeck said. "But at the same time we’re expecting personal vehicles to meet higher standards. These guys have been polluting the air for over 16 years without a catalytic converter installed. The new technology is not included in any of the state’s current clean air plans."
Schermbeck said Downwinders At Risk is not hoping to close the cement kilns down, but as neighbors of the plants, the group wants Perry to require new pollution controls to be installed in each kiln.
"TXI operates a very good, new kiln in Midlothian," Schermbeck said. "But there's a real disparity between the older kilns in the area and the newer ones. We want the older ones brought up to the new standards."
Despite the timing, less than a week from Election Day, Schermbeck said the tour across the state was not planned to coincide with the election.
“The new clean air plan is being assembled now and will likely be voted on in December,” Schermbeck said. “It’s just been a coincidence that the election is taking place now and we’ve been lucky enough to be able to follow Perry on some of his campaign stops around the area. We’re both anti-smog and against Perry’s fondness for the oldest smoking kilns in Dallas which have no more pollution control than the day they were first built.”
The North Texas Clean Air Steering Committee, which Ellis County Judge Chad Adams is a part of, voted to approve pilot testing of the new technology but, according to Schermbeck, Perry refuses to enforce implementation of the plan.
“The people want the technology but the state’s not doing anything about it,” Schermbeck said. “We hope that by raising awareness people will see what’s going on and write their state representatives, senators and Perry. Local officials, including Republicans, back the new controls. The regional EPA favors them. Citizens want them. Only Rick Perry and the industry are fighting the idea.”
Schermbeck acknowledged he had not contacted the governor’s office directly and had received no comment on the float from the governor.
“The only people we’ve talked to are Perry’s security folks at different events," Schermbeck said. “We haven’t heard anything from Perry or his office and he has a long standing practice of protecting the kilns in Ellis County. So we decided to take a more humorous approach in raising awareness. We can’t afford television ads or ads in the big daily papers, so we’re rolling our message all over the state."
For more information on the group, visit downwindersatrisk.org.
E-mail Jonathan at j.blundell@thedailylight.com
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