Kochs will dish out millions for polluting this Texas town

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The U.S. Department of Justice just slapped another polluter around. Yesterday, Justice officials ordered the Koch brothers-owned Flint Hills Resources company to pay $350,000 in Clean Air Act fines for spewing thousands of tons of hazardous air pollutants from one of its chemical plants in Port Arthur, Texas. The company must also spend upwards of $30 million on equipment upgrades to reduce its emissions for particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide agents of asthma, lung disease, and death, respectively.

This is no small matter for the Gulf Coast city, about 90 minutes east of Houston. This is the dirtiest of the dirtiest areas in America. Its where where the Keystone XL pipeline is scheduled to dump tar-sands oil from Canada. The Koch bros plant is just one of a gaggle of petrochemical processing facilities, oil refineries, waste incinerators, and gas pipelines strangling Port Arthur, a city also beset by ghastly levels of lung disease and cancer. Then theres the social asphyxiation of poverty and racism on the predominantly black and Latino city.

http://grist.org/cities/dirty-kochs-will-dish-out-millions-for-polluting-this-texas-town/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=update&utm_campaign=socialflow

[LibCampFireClub 635]

slapped

another polluter

Koch brothers

Clean Air Act

spewing

hazardous

asthma

lung disease

death

dirtiest of the dirtiest

Keystone XL pipeline

dump tar-sands oil

gaggle

petrochemical processing

oil refineries

waste incinerators

gas pipelines

strangling

ghastly levels

lung disease

cancer.

social asphyxiation

poverty

racism

predominantly black and Latino

Where do they find these hack hit piece writers? If you extract the superlatives from the new lib attack platform, one would think the Koch brothers were worse than the current president.

Edited March 23, 2014 by ExExpat

[lostinblue 1,989]

Where do they find these hack hit piece writers? If you extract the superlatives from the new lib attack platform, one would think the Koch brothers were worse than the current president.

It is another progressive grist hack piece. Between this and "Mother Jones" they get their worldly information. The main goal is to demonize any business that does not conform to their "agenda" Where is the story on all the protected birds that die from green energy and the pass that they receive. from the kenyan administration. .

[Pooky 3,781]

Where do they find these hack hit piece writers? If you extract the superlatives from the new lib attack platform, one would think the Koch brothers were worse than the current president.

Do you think they were playing buzzword bingo?

[Póg mo 1,749]

Where do they find these hack hit piece writers? If you extract the superlatives from the new lib attack platform, one would think the Koch brothers were worse than the current president.

Wait? So the Kochs weren't actually fined anything or forced to pay for upgrades to their chemical plants? Oh right, you're busy attacking the messenger to actually worry about the message. Par for the course I guess.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Do you think they were playing buzzword bingo?

anti-development, anti-industry, anti-property environmentalism.... This about sums up the article. And the main point...... conservatives are bad people. They force business to move overseas and then blame the business owners.

[Póg mo 1,749]

anti-development, anti-industry, anti-property environmentalism.... This about sums up the article. And the main point...... conservatives are bad people. They force business to move overseas and then blame the business owners.

Well if you think pollution isn't a problem, then I suggest that move an area next to one of their chemical plants and tell us all how nice it is to breath in toxic fumes. Of course, you won't. Those places for poor people with no other choice. So they might get lung cancer or what not. The only thing that matters is that they have a crappy job, right?

[luckytxn 2,264]

Crappy jobs? They are the best paying jobs around by far. I live and own several houses I rent out and have more applications from prospective renters than I can wade through when one of my properties open up. Most housing around these plants are middle income families so hardly poor. Why? Because the tax base from the industry affords top schools and amenities. The air quality around plants are better than most cities. I was an Petroleum Chemist for 15 years and ran the enviroment labs too. I know every plant on the Gulf Coast

Well if you think pollution isn't a problem, then I suggest that move an area next to one of their chemical plants and tell us all how nice it is to breath in toxic fumes. Of course, you won't. Those places for poor people with no other choice. So they might get lung cancer or what not. The only thing that matters is that they have a crappy job, right?

[deleted-05292014 331]

Environmental racism has always been an overlooked issue by politicians bc it usually affects only poor people with no voice.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Simply not true. I doubt there is a more Federally regulated industry.

Environmental racism has always been an overlooked issue by politicians bc it usually affects only poor people with no voice.

[deleted-05292014 331]

Simply not true. I doubt there is a more Federally regulated industry.

You are clueless. I took an entire sociology course whose curriculum was dedicated to the subject and covered environmental racism. You go tell the people of West Virginia that it's simply not true. Don't tell me what's not true.

[Pooky 3,781]

You are clueless. I took an entire sociology course whose curriculum was dedicated to the subject and covered environmental racism. You go tell the people of West Virginia that it's simply not true. Don't tell me what's not true.

When it comes down to it, I'd take 15 years of experience in the business over a sociology course every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

[belinda63 3,038]

It's cheaper to pay the fine than upgrade the equipment. That is why we keep having problems.

[deleted-05292014 331]

When it comes down to it, I'd take 15 years of experience in the business over a sociology course every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I don't really care

Especially when I have seen the effects of environmental racism first hand. Say whatever you want.

[Operator 1,927]

When it comes down to it, I'd take 15 years of experience in the business over a sociology course every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Don't be so quick to judge. Sociology is paramount to critical thinking...

Check this out...http://registrar.sc.edu/html/Course_listings/Columbia/201111/SOCY/300/SOCY398D001.htm