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| Elon Musk |
While most of us may be focused on dangers and environmental threats posed by SpaceX rockets ten times larger than originally agreed upon, a reader explains how even the seemingly harmless aspect of Musk's proposed construction at Boca Chica, the planned desalination plant can wreck havoc in the fragile ecosystem that is Boca Chica:
A desalination plant sounds harmless enough but the end result can lead to poisoning the water.
The salts and minerals that are removed from the water must be disposed of. They are often dumped into nearby drainage systems.
The problem is that the very components of salt water, when concentrated and returned to the water often alter the water chemistry to the point that it will no longer sustain life.
Many of the minerals found in trace amounts in a sample of salt water are toxic when concentrated, as they are when they are removed from the water.
Even the salt, in high enough concentrations will kill sea life.
Where can Musk discharge his toxic soup? He can inject it into the ground where it becomes part of the water table.
He can dump it on the tidal flats, where it kills the huge expanses of algae that feed the insects and invertebrates that, in turn, feed the hundreds of thousands of migrating birds that use those flats, or they can pump it into South Bay and wipe out an important fish nursery.
SpaceX wins, but the rest of us lose.
One of the richest men in the world taking from some of the poorest people in the country and our politicians are all for it.
I guess those $200,000.00 grants, courtesy of Elon Musk and SpaceX, may have something to do with the lack of resistance by most elected officials to whatever Musk wants to do out there.
Maybe the enano mayor can buy some land, get grant money and then get a historical designation to pay zero taxes and then rent it to Musk to dispose of the salt.
ReplyDeleteThere's plenty of ways to dispose if the salt without damaging the environment. I wish people would stop trying to stop progress.
ReplyDeleteThe real fight more likely to reign in and maybe even snuff the SpaceX Boca Chica right now involves:
ReplyDelete1) Save RGV's legal challenge to the constitutionality of the public beach closures (https://savergv.org).
2) "Organizations File Complaint to Federal Aviation Administration to Demand Spanish Language Access of SpaceX Public Hearings," Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, 10-14-2021, https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2021/10/organizations-file-complaint-federal-aviation-administration-demand-spanish
And 3) Submitting public comment to the Federal Aviation Administration opposing the modifications SpaceX wants on its FAA Launch License (https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship/).
The FAA says the October 18th and 20th 5 pm virtual meetings will have a Spanish interpreter available etc but Voces Unidas RGV, Texas Sierra Club , Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, Las Imaginistas, La Union del Pueblo Entero - LUPE, and Another Gulf Is Possible want all the primary and secondary documents to be made available in Spanish followed by another round of comments after those preferring have a chance to looks over the Spanish translations etc.
Great points. Yes local politicians neither care to do the due diligence on protecting what we have. They really do suck, Musk is gonna suck it from them and the suck Musk.
ReplyDeleteQuit trying to keep Brownsville poor. Fight corruption instead of progress. You can think of hundreds of things to stop progress. We need good jobs not whiners. Do you really think you can stop Space X and LNG plant? They just put up with all the whiners because they have to.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's not an either/or situation. It's possible to fight both corruption and destruction of the environment. Why do we have to choose only one to oppose?
DeleteYes Jim, but why oppose progress. You can have LNG and Space X without damaging the environment. As an example desalination can be done safely without damaging the environment. Boca Chica can be developed without destroying the environment. What damage has Space X done to the environment? None. They have brought lots of jobs to the area. This is good not bad.
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