I love the names that make me think these Northwest Arkansas governmental agencies are watching my environmental and sustainable backside. The names that sound like they are protecting me from pollution; saving the planet through reuse and recycling; reducing carbon footprints; putting our children first before currency; setting the stage for a real “Green Valley”.
Look closely and you’ll see these clever governmental agency names are a sham when it comes to protecting our Northwest Arkansas (and our neighbors’) environment from harmful consequences.
An environment-friendly-sounding governmental authority called “The Benton County Environmental Committee” is anything but earth-friendly when it approved an ordinance on Tuesday that allows property owners to burn old structures. The ordinance passed without any strict oversight provisions, or requirement that state environmental officials review and approve what is being burned.
The Benton County Environmental Committee and its bosses, the County justices of the peace, are putting the almighty buck and old-fashioned country-boy laziness ahead of the environment with this one.
Just because we live in the middle of nowhere, it doesn’t mean our pollution won’t hurt the environment, our neighbors, or the planet any less. Or, that since the granola crowd from California and Oregon can’t smell or see it, it must be o.k.
They say they want to allow burning buildings as an easy and affordable way for property owners to get rid of unsightly chicken houses and barns built of untreated lumber. We say if you want to burn down a building, do it only when all other alternatives have been exhausted. We really think that burning something as toxic as a building should be a last-resort of county-emergency proportions.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, a favorite whipping boy here in Rog’s house, wants to authorize any structure to be burned in Benton County. That’s a good thing this time, because virtually all the structures that will be burned under this new law contain hazardous materials that can be spewed into the atmosphere. Asbestos. Lead. Chemicals. Trash. Worse.
As everyone who lives here knows: The good ol’ boy network here locally doesn’t have the political backbone to put Mother Nature first over neighborly economic convenience.
We need independent oversight for our own good. Think of it as daycare and a short-bus ride for our environmentally-challenged leaders.
We think this new ordinance completely ignores EPA and federal regulations regarding open burning and asbestos removal. But, that’s another story for another day.
State law discourages open burning of yard waste. It’s called pollution. It’s called greenhouse gasses. My college professor called it carbon footprint.
The state does have regulations, albeit very weak and ineffective, that allows government officials to permit fires to prevent a fire hazards. Another regulation says burn permits should be allowed, but only after the applicant demonstrates there are no “practicable, safe, and lawful alternative methods of disposal.”
Justice of the Peace Douglas, R-Bentonville told the Morning News, “Because it’s a regulation and not a law, I don’t know how they can hold us to it.” Huh? Did I just read this in print? Is this guy really telling me it’s o.k. to pollute because it’s a regulation and not a law? I’ll follow God’s law on this one.
Douglas told the Morning News he worried that “adding the state’s suggested provision would deter people from burning unsound structures. Going through the department for a permit could create a backlog and slow the process.”
Hey Douglas, I have an idea: Let’s slow down Global Warming. Let’s save the planet from ignorance. Walmart says it’s a good idea in their TV ads. Maybe you should listen.
Douglas said, “It just adds more red tape and more harassment. People don’t want to deal with ADEQ in Little Rock because most of the time (ADEQ officials) don’t act like they have good sense.” (sic)
Good sense? Sorry, we disagree! We know who lacks good sense this time.
As anyone who studies these issues will tell you, this is yet another example why Arkansas is at the very bottom of the green valley when it comes to protecting our environment.
Remember boys, just because you say you’re green, or the natural state, or carry a big gun, or own stock in Walmart, it doesn’t mean you are good for the planet.
Tuesday’s actions once again demonstrate what we’ve been telling you all along: Northwest Arkansas will never be a real green valley leader until public policy changes so that strict eco-friendly practices are the expectation – not the exception.
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April 9, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Anonymous
Basic asbestos information:
This is intended to provide the public with general information concerning asbestos and where and how to get more information.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring fibrous minerals with high tensile strength, the ability to be woven, and resistance to heat and most chemicals. Because of these properties, asbestos fibers have been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, including roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper and cement products, textiles, coatings, and friction products such as automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts. The current federal definition of asbestos is the asbestiform varieties of: chrysotile (serpentine); crocidolite (riebeckite); amosite (cummingtonite/grunerite); anthophyllite; tremolite; and actinolite.
What are the health effects of asbestos exposure?
Exposure to airborne friable asbestos may result in a potential health risk because persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Continued exposure can increase the amount of fibers that remain in the lung. Fibers embedded in lung tissue over time may cause serious lung diseases including: asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. Smoking increases the risk of developing illness from asbestos exposure.
Three of the major health effects associated with asbestos exposure include:
Asbestosis – Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term non-cancer disease of the lungs. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar. The scarring makes it hard for oxygen to get into the blood. Symptoms of asbestosis include shortness of breath and a dry, crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis.
Lung Cancer – Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths related to asbestos exposure. People who work in the mining, milling, manufacturing of asbestos, and those who use asbestos and its products are more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population. The most common symptoms of lung cancer are coughing and a change in breathing. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, persistent chest pains, hoarseness, and anemia.
Mesothelioma – Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining (membrane) of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart and almost all cases are linked to exposure to asbestos. This disease may not show up until many years after asbestos exposure. This is why great efforts are being made to prevent school children from being exposed.
Exposure to asbestos increases your risk of developing lung disease. That risk is made worse by smoking. In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the chance of developing harmful health effects. Disease symptoms may take several years to develop following exposure. If you are concerned about possible exposure, consult a physician who specializes in lung diseases (pulmonologist).
April 20, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Anonymous
this article is taken way out of context. this was regarding barns specifically that were pushing 100+ years old. we’re talking non-treated, rough-hewn lumber dude.
And what’s better for the environment? burning the lumber and making sure all the chemicals and bad products are out of the barn in a controlled burn vs. them going up in flames like 14 did this past year WITH chemicals and plastics in them? So landfill capacity doesn’t count? oh, i forgot – you are a “Green House Gas Only” environmentalist…. forget the landfill space that a torn down barn would take up. and the deisel gas required in the SEVERAL trips to take this wood to the landfill? are you that one-dimensional in your thinking?
And since when has wood not been biodgradeable? guess what biodegradeable stuff does in the ground? it DECOMPOSES INTO GAS you idiot.
man – do your homework before spewing this stuff out there.
April 21, 2009 at 9:20 am
Dale Myers
Rog is right on this one.
That guy who says it’s o.k. to burn down his barn because it is over 100 years old and his neighbor’s 14 barns burned-down with everything in it anyway, illustrates the ignorance and out-dated mentality many old-timers in Northwest Arkansas hold about their impact on the environment to future generations of Arkansans.
The guy who wants to burn down his old barn without any oversight never mentioned the benefit of recycling and reusing the wood.
That’s like saying because a truck crashed on the interstate spilling fuel oil all over the place, it is o.k. for me to dump used motor oil into a hole in my back yard instead of taking it to a used oil recycling center.
As everyone knows, a common source of metals in our environment is old paint. Paint applied before 1973 is very likely to contain lead, a toxic metal. Lead poisoning can result in a wide range of symptoms from weakness and loss of appetite to coma and death in very acute or massive exposures.
We need much tougher anti-pollution laws and oversights in the region because we’ve as Arkansans have done a terrible job of self-policing ourselves and protecting the future of our kids.
October 13, 2009 at 10:54 am
rogersarkansas
Speaking of burning down old buildings, some yahoo in my neighborhood burned down his old barn-or-what-ever-it-was and all we could smell for days was the chemical-enriched stench and fumes that drifted over our house, topped by a fine coat of who-knows-what laden ash over our cars, veggie garden, and animals.
Just because the cheap, lazy S.O.B. (who lives on a couple million dollars worth of land across the street from us) thinks it’s o.k. to burn his building down, it doesn’t mean we should have to live with the consequences of his ignorance.
Our Northwest Arkansas judges aren’t protecting us – they’re just takin’ care of their good ‘ol boys in the ‘hood. Shame