Unfair Park from p3 the sand for the passing of ‘constitutional carry’ and abortion laws,” the website states. “We demand better governance. We deserve better than Greg Abbott and those that he surrounds himself with.” Abbott’s isn’t exactly popular these days. He had an approval rating of 43% and a dis- approval rating of 46% as of June, according to The Texas Politics Project. The anti-Abbott moms are backing Dem- ocratic challenger Beto O’Rourke in the No- vember election. O’Rourke has climbed in the polls recently, with a University of Hous- ton survey placing him just 5 points behind the incumbent. Mothers Against Greg Abbott isn’t stop- ping its ad campaign now. The mothers have teased another up- coming ad on social media, posting photos from a retro TV set made to look like that of The Dating Game. “The women are fighting back!” the group wrote in a Sunday tweet. “We are taking you back to 1973 in our future Ad! We are ready to take down the patriar- chy.” ▼ ENVIRONMENT TIFF OVER TIMELINE F FOR DECADES, THE GAF SHINGLE FACTORY HAS OPERATED IN WEST DALLAS, BUT ITS DAYS IN THE COMMUNITY MAY BE NUMBERED. BY JACOB VAUGHN or decades, West Dallas residents have shared their part of town with a shingle manufacturing plant operated by a company called GAF. It’s the lead roof- ing manufacturer in North America, and its West Dallas plant is the largest industrial sulfur dioxide polluter in the county, ac- cording to the state’s official 2019 emissions inventory. Recently, GAF proposed an exit strategy that would see the West Dallas factory cease production by 2029. The company has told the community this timeline would help them avoid disruptions to annual profits. But residents in the area say the seven-year timeline isn’t fast enough and they are still negotiating with GAF to try to get the com- pany to leave sooner. The most recent meeting took place last Monday night, when West Dallas residents unanimously rejected GAF’s timeline. A fol- low-up meeting hasn’t yet been scheduled, but community members say they hope ne- gotiations will continue in coming weeks. Throughout these recent efforts, residents have considered a forced removal through a city zoning process called amortization, which would put a deadline on GAF to meet certain zoning requirements. Just a few blocks east of the GAF factory was a lead smelter plant that operated in the 1980s. The plant was eventually kicked out of the city through that amortization process. Raul Reyes Jr., president of West Dallas 1, 42 one of the neighborhood advocacy groups involved in the negotiations, said the amor- tization process can take a long time and may not yield the results the community wants. The city could apply for amortization and, if approved by the Board of Adjustment, could force the plant to cease operations. In essarily surprised that it’s happening, but I’m definitely worried. I do expect that sum- mers will continue to get hotter.” Cecale said some people are more likely to be affected, such as those whose homes are prone to rolling blackouts. Outdoor la- borers could also have a difficult time, in- cluding agriculture and construction workers. In addition, harsher summers may harm people who take public transport, since they often have to wait for long periods in the sun, she said. And extreme hot weather could complicate and worsen cer- tain health problems. People with money can purchase backup generators or enjoy pre-cooling features in their automatic-start cars, Cecale said. They can also afford various types of delivery ser- vices. But adjusting to warmer summers could be tougher for those of fewer means, which worries her. Cecale recommends scheduling lots of Mike Brooks such a case, Reyes said, GAF would be able to appeal the decision in a district court. If they win that appeal, they could continue operating. “This could take several years to resolve,” Reyes said. There’s another downside to the process: If GAF decided to not contest the amortiza- tion process, there’s nothing that would force the plant to pack up and leave West Dallas. It would only be forced to stop oper- ating, which Reyes insists isn’t enough. In that scenario, Reyes said, “The structure will remain on the grounds and the operation site will remain a nuisance or they decide to sell since it’s zoned for [industrial research]. Then, we have the same fiasco as Shingle Mountain.” In either case, he hopes GAF will pack up shop within three years. He added, “With all that said, a planned and agreed exit sounds more productive to the overall health of the community, mean- ing that we can negotiate and secure certain securities, such as upzoning, remediation, deed restrictions and other items that would allow for the community to benefit from.” Singleton United/Unidos, another neigh- borhood advocacy group involved in the ne- gotiations, said in a press release that it’s still unclear what GAF’s next move will be. Janie Cisneros, leader of the advocacy group, urged city staff and local council member Omar Narvaez to start preparing for the amortiza- tion process, according to the release. “GAF has not addressed our environ- mental concerns and proceeding with amor- tization may give us relief much quicker than 2029,” Cisneros said in the press re- lease. “Why would we even entertain a ne- gotiation that is so insulting to our health and safety?” Kathryn Bazan, chair of the city’s envi- ronmental commission, said amortization is an option, but the community is still trying to decide whether or not to continue negoti- ations. This all comes after the Environmental Protection Agency found asbestos contami- nation near the W.R. Grace processing facil- ity that used to sit in the same West Dallas neighborhood. The facility was owned by the same parent company that owns GAF, Standard Industries. North Texas is enduring a brutal heatwave. GAF didn’t respond for comment by pub- lication time, but when West Dallas resi- dents were fighting the company’s permit renewal last year, a spokesperson for the company said the operation was safely mon- itored and that they “take pride in our track record of safety and environmental compli- ance, and our involvement in the local com- munity.” ▼ HEATWAVE HARMING HEALTH, DRAINING WALLETS Last week, the region’s foremost weather guru, Pete Delkus, delivered a worrisome forecast via tweet: “We will likely gain our 30th triple-digit heat day today.” For some, this summer’s heat has been le- S thal. An 80-year-old Fort Worth man died Saturday from hyperthermia, marking one of Tarrant County’s first heat-related deaths, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Heat-related hospitalizations have also soared, said Courtney Cecale, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of North Texas. Even though it’s only a few degrees warmer on average, this summer has been rough for many. Some are having difficulty finding relief as their air conditioners struggle to keep up, and it’s also been hotter throughout the night, she said. Cecale has researched how North Texans change their behavior during the summer. Certain respondents have noted that this year’s heat feels much worse than last year’s, she said. “This sounds so grim and I feel awful say- ing it, but I was hoping that we wouldn’t see futures like this or summers like this for a really long time,” Cecale said. “I’m not nec- breaks into hot days. She advises against sit- ting in the sun for more than an hour or two and endorses drinking loads of water. Officials should also start looking for larger-scale solutions, such as tree projects and better city building. “I think that this is such an important thing for people to start to think about,” Cecale added, “especially as our healthcare infrastructure and different infrastructures become really burdened by these particular environmental problems.” On top of the heat, this summer has seen fierce North Texas wildfires. The Chalk Mountain Fire has raged in recent weeks and still isn’t fully contained. It’s roughly 70 miles southwest of Dallas, per The Dallas Morning News. It had resulted in injuries and several homes being destroyed. Cecale said climate change-induced heat EXPERTS SAY THAT NORTH TEXANS WILL HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE WITH HIGHER TEMPERATURES. BY SIMONE CARTER ummers in North Texas have always been hot, but 2022 is bringing the heat to new highs unseen here for years. creates drier conditions, which are condu- cive to wildfires. Some Texans are also experiencing lighter pocketbooks thanks to heightened energy charges. Last month, The Texas Tri- bune reported that some consumers have forked over “at least 50% more than they did for electric bills at this time last year.” Unfortunately, high prices are a trend that will continue, “unless we cut demand at peak times,” said Adrian Shelley, the Texas office director of the advocacy organization Public Citizen. The Texas Legislature could explore energy efficiency investment next year to help lower demand. Certain energy and gas bills have an addi- tional “fixed Uri charge” because of the 2021 winter storm, he said by email. But overall, large bills can be traced to heavy energy use (read: blasting your A/C) during times of high demand. In addition to demand reduc- tion, consumers can look into solar and “other local energy strategies.” This year, some aging power plants had to skip maintenance because of a hotter- than-average spring, Bloomberg reports. Al- though keeping generators in service may leave the power on, it’s also straining an al- ready weak grid. “We should replace those old, polluting sources with more renewable capacity com- bined with storage,” Shelley wrote, adding: “The problem would be even worse if not for the good performance of renewable (wind and solar) sources.” MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 AUGUST 4 - 10, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com
