Off the Kuff links to a story in D Magazine that is a must-read. After reading the article, we are very glad not to live Midlothian, but certainly the residents of the town deserve better than to be inundated by harmful chemicals from cement plants.
Why we are linking to the story (with our added emphasis):
When the state Senate Natural Resources Committee held a hearing in Plano last August to address air-pollution problems in North Texas, I went and told them about TXI and Holcimâ??s efforts to avoid proper pollution controls. But the senators at that hearing did not consider Midlothianâ??s cement plants a problem for North Texas. They suggested I write state Sen. Kip Averitt if I had any concerns. I did. He never responded.There's some scary shit in the article, so check it out. We'll also link to the related website - Midlothian Family Network.After telling Oâ??Leary and Frisinger about the hearing, I wrote an op-ed piece in the News. The column was titled â??Hearing or Farce?â?? and it prompted a call from state Sen. Craig Estes. After first asking me if I was recording the conversation (I wasnâ??t), he expressed displeasure with what Iâ??d written. He then asked me to join him on a tour of TXIâ??s new cement kiln, telling me it had state-of-the-art pollution controls. But I had been associating with radical environmentalists and the liberal media. I knew these were the same pollution controls TXI was fighting to remove. I sent Estes a letter accepting his invitation to tour the plant. I never heard back.
The "honorable" Joe Barton has an amendment attached to the Energy Bill in the US Congress that will redefine/delay ozone attainment due to downwind sources. He dances with them that brung him.
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I've said if for a long time, Kip Averitt is a dick. I always feel really bad when I see R-McGregor after his name, that just degrades my hometown.