Thanks Harry but you are telling me things I understood from reading and walking around out there a bit. That makes my point about how the private system is incapable of responsibility when it comes to water and the future.
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Bruce Leier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'Brad McCormick, Ed.D.'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 9:26 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] "One word: 'coal'" "Yessir." (From: The Yale 68 Skull and Bones Graduate) > Ray, > > Los Angeles is desert - not a cultural desert, but a real desert. The > millions of trees, and miles of other plantings are kept green by > irrigation. That's how we use the water. Next to us is the San Joaquin > Valley, where the farmers use water pretty indiscriminately, spraying in > 100 degree temperatures. That's because they don't have to pay for it - or > not much. We pay as much as 100 times as much (government privilege you'll > recall). However, further up the San Joaquin, water privilege really comes > into its own. > > In these hot desert conditions, growers receive subsidies for growing rice, > which is then exported cheap to ruin the markets of those we pretend to be > friendly with. > > It is estimated that these desert paddy fields evaporate more water than is > needed by the whole population of the city of Los Angeles. > > Not to worry. If we need more water, we'll get it from Oregon when Karen > isn't looking. > > The power of the mining companies springs not from corporate strength, but > from ownership of natural resources. But, in the battles between labor and > capital, we see only the management. > > Jim Carson was a Georgist during the depression. He sold from town to town > and wrote of his experiences. He told of visiting a Pennsylvania mining > town. The miners were in the middle of a long strike and had been locked > out. Many were starving. Jim went to a town meeting, where help was being > asked. The contributions were slow in coming, when a nice little old lady > in front contributed $500 to great cheers and congratulations. > > Jim asked who she was and was told she owned all the mine land around the > town. Yet, the battle, of course, was with the corporation - that had to > pay the old lady for the right to mine. > > Another anecdote that perhaps makes a Georgist case. During the depression, > thePennsylvanian miners were mostly out of work and in a bad way. Then some > of them discovered that if they dug down in their back gardens they would > hit seams that ran close to the surface. > > So, they dug. > > Before the end of the 30's, this back garden mining was taking out an > annual $35 million worth of coal. (Phil Grant - the Wonderful Wealth Machine) > > Harry > ---------------------------------------------- > > Ray wrote: > > >Bruce, Karen and Harry, > > > >I'm not going to talk behind one's back on this. Harry lives in an area > >that is notorious for its use of water. That us is both wealthy > >individual and corporate. California in dealing with such individuals has > >the most state dept in the country and more debt than many of the other > >states put together. But that is not real to me as it must be to Harry. > >What is real is my own experience with the market and corporations. For > >over forty years the major Corporation on the reservation that I grew up on > >was the Eagle-Picher Corporation. They provided all of the jobs, > >suppressed the studies of what the lead and other heavy medals were doing to > >the children and told the kids that it was safe to swim in lead laden mill > >ponds that had crystal like clarity due to the chemicals in the water. > >Not only that but it was said the fish were safe to eat as well. And they > >did since many of the miners were Catholics. The largest of the slag > >piles called chat piles was flattened at 400 feet in height and covered 80 > >acres. All of the rest can be seen at > >http://www.homestead.com/schehrer2/index.html BUT don't look for any > >Indians. Even in the town where most of the Quapaw live there will be a > >hole as large as a cave-in. I guess that is where we all went, down that > >hole when the white miners came. And I do mean white because there were > >no Orientals and Blacks were not allowed to spend the night. The entire > >county was closed to blacks. The only way they could do that of course > >was by virtue of the fact that they leased the land from the Quapaws and > >being government land and a special entity the mine owners could eliminate a > >whole race from the county. Today they have erased the Indians as well. > >But you will hear a little up close and personal view of the government when > >at one point he speaks of the "great industrialization" of the past and poo > >poos the pollution issue calling it a government invented problem. I > >think he got too much lead dust in his brain. But the pictures are true > >and my old house is even included. The shacks are real and still existed > >when I was there. There are now many more holes in the ground than he > >notes and most of these places are ghost towns. > > > >WATER: Now back to the water issue. The mines didn't protect the > >aquifer when they closed so the polluted alkaline and heavy metal laden > >water has now polluted the aquifer for three states and is spreading. As > >for the private oil corporations, they put high pressure boiling salt water > >into their wells to get the last little bit of oil out. As a result they > >too have caused a huge problem with the aquifer. I believe it is called > >the Rubideaux Aquifer if my memory serves me correctly. How do I know > >this? I had relatives working on those wells and they told me but they > >don't tell Congress and the Corporations who have individual protection > >under the incorporation law don't have to tell. But it is a coming hell > >and asbestos suits won't help when you can't drink. > > > >But that is OK, it will just create more jobs trying to find the solution to > >creating fresh water from the seas. That is the way Western thinking > >works. If the point is to create jobs then making a mess and cleaning it > >up is an exercise in the creation of jobs and the future of work. They > >call it "development" and "progress" you go figure. > > > >Ray Evans Harrell > > > ****************************** > Harry Pollard > Henry George School of LA > Box 655 > Tujunga CA 91042 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel: (818) 352-4141 > Fax: (818) 353-2242 > ******************************* > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.434 / Virus Database: 243 - Release Date: 12/25/2002 > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
