Newspaper Page Text
Page 18
Flagpole Magazine
October 23, 1991
Earthworks
Tires, Tires, Tires
Tires everywhere and no where to put
them! Last weekend (Oct. 13th) during the
SEA/ GORP Oconee River Clean up those
enthusiastic environmentalists pulled out
no less than 35 tires from a two mile stretch
of river! About that many more were still left
in the river, too embedded in sand to pull
out. These tires make up entire sand bars:
tractor tires as tall as I am, tires whose steel
belts are protruding sharp and deadly, tires
bald, tires shredded, etc., ad nauseam.
And where do all these tires come from?
Perhaps it has something to do with the out
lawing of tires in the landfill. The city, wisely,
has outlawed the disposal of tires in the
landfill dL.e to their toxic make-up and their
nature of staying unburied. However, no
alternative has been provided. Folks can
pay a dollar per tire at the landfill to have
them disposed somewhere else (Hmm.
wonder where?) Tires can be reused 1 They
are used in Japan to make sneakers. They
are shredded and added to asphalt to
reduce the impact of the road on tires in use
on cars. Unfortunately, they are also being
burned as fuel due to their high BTU This
is a poor idea: wasteful, toxic, and nasty
Hopefully, by the next Oconee Clean up in
the spring the city-county will have asystem
in place that will take tires to be recycled in
an environmental responsible manner
Incinerators
What's going on in Elberton county 9 It
seems that the Elberton county commis
sioners have been recently courted by not
one, but two incineration corporations. This
whirlwind affair has included an all expense
paid trip to Japan to view an incinerator
there, as well as other trips about the U S
Now these commissioners have give their
OK to a preliminary investigation into hav-
• ig a municipal incinerator in Elberton. Key
figures in this move toward incineration
have been Billy Ray Brown, the county-
Aaron Bonding Company
‘Where it's
always springtime”
353-3190
{hi
commission chair and Joe Fendley, Elber
ton mayor. The deal offered would seem to
be as follows: An incineration corporation
would buy the Elberton county landfill and
build there a large ir.cmci ator. The county
garbage would be then processed for free
in exchange for per
mission to bring in
garbage from out
side the county (at a
profit). The county
would then have the
option to buy the
electricity gener
ated. Sound to good
to be true? Perhaps
because it is. Incin
eration is not the so
lution for the solid
waste problem.
Since it is estimated
that 85-90% of trash
is made up of recov
erable items this
would mean that valuable resources would
be going up in smoke and emissions. Incin
eration, by nature, discourages waste re
duction and recycling since it competes
with both. In fact, recycling programs usually
falter or fail once incinerators are built in an
area (Boston is an example of this.) Waste
reduction is no longer an option, since the
company would need a constant waste
stream in order to continue to make any
money Incineration, particularly municipal
facilities, is poorly regulated. Emissions
from incinerators often contain mercury,
dioxins, and other hazardous chemicals.
Municipal garbage actually tends to be
worse because nothing is sorted to remove
hazardous materials such as paint cans,
drain cleaners, batteries, etc Seemingly
unhazardous stuff such as plastic, can
becomevery nasty when burned. Since the
facility will be built at the landfill, it will be
those people closest who will be most di
rectly affected. But all Elberton county folks
THE
Fast Food Since 1932 • Broad and Milledge
(and other people too) should be concerned
about the effects on the air, on ground
water, and on the community itself. If high
volumes of garbage are being railroaded
and shipped into the area what will that
mean for the community at large? What sort
of other industries will
be attracted by this
type of industry? This
incinerator will not
solve the problem of
solid waste, only com
plicate it. The energy
created from burning
would not solve en
ergy woes either.
Conservation pro
grams are always
more cost effec ve
and the most environ
mentally benign.
Keep a look out for
more updates on this
issue, as well as the
incinerator issue in Taylor County (a whole
other kettle of worms).
MANDATORY READING!
O K. Folks, this is the big event. If you
have ever felt compelled to do anything for
the environment this is the time to do it. It will
only take a minute of your time, and it will
make a difference' The Johnson-Wallop bill
will be going onto the floor of the Senate
THIS WEEK! This brilliant bill would open
the Alaskan wilderness for oil drilling, dras
tically shorten the process of permitting
nuclear plants, and allow for oil drilling off
thecoastof Georgia, Florida, and Alabama!
And this environmental nightmare is the
backbone of the Administration’s energy
policy!!!! The Georgia senators, Wyche
Fowler and Sam Nunn, are crucial votes on
this bill. Voters need to call, write, fax, etc.
and ask them to vote NO! on the Johnson-
Wallop bill. Urge them to instead support
• MacGarage
Macintosh Repair
Reasonable Rates
the CAFE bill, which will raise the average
gas mileage of the auto fleet. This act will
save more oil than would be recovered from
the areas to be opened. In fact, the savings
would be greater than the combined bar
rels of oil imported from the Persian Gulf
and the highest estimated return from the
drilling of the Alaskan National Wildlife
Refuge! The Johnson-Wallop bill does
nothing for conservation or renewable
energy. Instead it supports increased
consumption at the expense of wilderness
in the North and the South. The reduction of
the process to permit nuclear plants is
incredibly illogical also. Nuclear energy will
not reduce greenhouse emissions, because
there are no nuclear powered cars, by far
the largest source for greenhouse gases
generated by humans. Nuclear energy is
not renewable; it is created from a finite
resource, uranium. The mining of uranium
is dangerous, the processing of uranium is
dangerous, the splitting of uranium is dan
gerous, and the waste created from all of
this is dangerous! Nuclear power is also
expensive, but this fact is hidden because
of government subsidies. This bill attempts
to change the fact that no new nuclear
reactor is scheduled to be built, and many
already built cannot meet the current guide
lines to go on line. To ease the permitting
process, by limiting public input and the
number of reviews, is outrageous !
DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS NOW!
Get some paper, stationary, or a post card
and write both Fowler and Nunn, then march
to a mail box and mail your letters today!
Write a sincere, handwritten letter that states
the facts and your opinion. Make it clear
which way you wish them to vote. If you feel
even more urgent call their Washington
offices to register your opinion. Fowler:
(202)224-3643 fax:(202)224-8227 Nunn:
(202) 224-3521 fax: (202) 224-0072
Next Week: Wilderness protection in
North Carolina.
Ali Jones
Barnett's
147 COLLEGE AVENUE
ATHENS. GA 30601
(404) 353-0530
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