Activity 5.2 Shingle Mountain Case Study

 

Malik Hamideh

Professor Walker

ENVR-1302-002

29 April 2024


Activity 5.2 Shingle Mountain Case Study


Step 1. Define the Problem:

  • One of the many pressing problems that the city of Dallas is facing right now is the unlawful dumping of hazardous garbage in areas that are largely non-White. Shingle Mountain, a 60-foot-tall mound of roofing shingles situated just outside the houses of some locals, is one such problem. This mountain was spewing glass fibers, formaldehyde, and other hazardous elements into the air, as was the business Blue Star Recycling that smashes the tiles.
  • The idea for Shingle Mountain originated with Christopher Ganter and Cabe Chadick, who had little respect for anyone but themselves in their pursuit of rapid financial gain. These two guys exposed the dubious zoning regulations of the city of Dallas, caused an environmental catastrophe, and exposed the true purpose of these policies—which appears to be the municipal leaders' ongoing persecution and attack on the poor. Step 2. Conduct Inquiry

  • "From the places where African Americans congregated after liberation to the redlining maps, to the areas where zoning makes you more likely to get poisoned, and to the places where people die earlier, you can draw a straight line" (Fears, 2020).
  • This type of pollution causes a lot of problems, chief among them being the damage it does to ecosystems supporting wildlife and humans alike. Water becomes unfit for drinking due to air pollution's ability to change the weather and contaminate airborne water. Before it reaches an aquifer, it could be filtered, though that process might take centuries. Animal and human mortality rates are also increased by air pollution.
  • This type of pollution causes a lot of problems, among them being the damage it does to ecosystems supporting wildlife and humans alike. Water becomes unfit for drinking due to air pollution's ability to change the weather and contaminate airborne water. Before it reaches an aquifer, it could be filtered, though that process might take centuries. Animal and human mortality rates are also increased by air pollution.



 (EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Too, picture of the vicinity of the hazardous waste site Shingle Mountain in Dallas, Texas.)


(EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Too, picture of the vicinity where there is people of color in Dallas, Texas.)

Step 3. Identify and Evaluate Alternative Solutions.

  • Start a thorough cleanup operation to clear the area of the shingles that have gathered. This would need gathering resources, such as labor and machinery, in order to move the waste material securely and dispose of it in an ecologically friendly way.

  • After the shingles are taken off, take remediation steps to return the area as close to its original form as you can. In order to treat any pollution, this may entail analyzing the soil, remediating it, and restoring native plants to stabilize the soil and encourage ecological recovery. 

  • Encourage a sense of pride and ownership in the project by including the local community in the cleanup and restoration process. Give community people the chance to get involved in volunteer projects, educational courses, and career training programs that are focused on sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Step 4. Present Conclusions.

  • People of color and other impoverished groups have endured numerous incidences and practices of injustice throughout Dallas's history. Dallas was built to punish the poorer side of town with an excessive amount of debt and filthy circumstances brought on by a lack of infrastructure and pollution, and to help separate the city's haves and have-nots. With environmental justice at its center, Dallas has several issues that need to be overhauled and fixed. The area's systematic zoning, lack of rules, and enforcement of ecologically sound corporate practices are concerning.

  • The long-term impacts of institutionalized racism on the physical landscape and the way of life of surrounding inhabitants in Southeast Dallas may be seen in Shingle Mountain. Even after the government changed, unwritten agreements and underlying rules cause the value of the land in these areas which were developed with that exact purpose to decline.


References


Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/


Fears, D. (2020, November). Shingle mountain: How a pile of toxic waste was dumped in a community of color - the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/16/environmental-racism-dallas-shingle-mountain/


Shingle mountain. KERA News. (2020). https://www.keranews.org/tags/shingle-mountain



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