Lee Knowles lost a child to a blood disease that was caused by chemicals in Banes Field. The people were not informed of the true danger that the buried chemicals in Rosemont held, and through speculation, the Environmental Protection Agency was most likely being paid to keep quiet. It’s too easy for a large realty or construction firm to throw money around and brush serious health concerns under the rug. What happens now? The damage is done, but now a group wants to begin building on the land that is still riddled with toxins and other harmful chemicals. This woman who has gone through the unimaginable, the loss of a child, is now fighting to show the people that the land is not safe like the EPA and city hall claim, but a desolate wasteland, a literal land of waste. Their response? Ridicule.
It seems like every person in this city is against Lee Knowles, with the exception of her friends, Maisie Rodgers and Doc. City Hall never seems to have time for her. “She’d expected to get a call from Mayor Wallen by 4:00 at the latest, but she just kept working, thinking he might call before 6:00.” (Steinke 31).
When she finally got a hold of the mayor, he told her that she could check for the container herself, which had obviously been removed or reburied quickly. At City Hall meetings, Lee had to sit in the front just to be noticed, because the mayor and other members of the meetings did not want to listen to her. They saw her as a tree-hugger and an econut. One can see the contemptuous tone that the authority figures speak to Lee with. Councilman Burns said, “We’re very familiar with your work, Ms. Knowles,” signifying that everyone knows that her work is something to be ridiculed and dismissed. The City Hall is supposed to be for the people, run by those voted for by the people. However, this City Hall seems preoccupied with bettering the economy and making the town look better, both physically and on paper. At what cost? The lives of your citizens? City Hall is not upholding their responsibility to protect the citizens of Friendswood.
City Hall isn’t the only institution coming up short of their mission. The Environmental Protection Agency, a government organization designed to protect the earth and make it a safe, habitable home for people, is doing very much the opposite.
Because the EPA is a government association, it is common knowledge that it has government funding. This funding allows for the most up to date, state of the art equipment for testing soil. However, time after time again, they say Rosemont has safe earth. The reader, knowing that the soil is very much not safe, can assume that they are being paid, threatened, or both to keep quiet about the dangerous chemicals that infest the ground and infect the people. This is a group that also continues to patronize Lee and ignore her continuous efforts to provide a real, unaltered soil test. “[Ms. Dawson] addressed Lee directly. ‘We have our study. I’d be happy to take a look at your results.’” Lee, knowing she would be ignored again, felt the need to respond, “‘Just give me the address, not the general EPA one, but yours in particular.’” (Steinke 90). The fact the Lee needs to request an address just to make sure somebody actually reads her report shows that she has been repeatedly thwarted and humiliated because of this case. The EPA and City Hall are both failing to protect the citizens of Friendswood. They see Lee Knowles as a hindrance to the building of new homes, despite the pieces of evidence that she has brought forward proving the land unfit for human habitation. It’s a good thing Lee is speaking, because the people who are supposed to help are doing quite the opposite.
Works Cited
Steinke, Rene. Friendswood. Print.
