Stewart McKinney With Girl Scouts on Capitol Steps

That’s right, the 1970s was a hot decade—and not just for its music and fashion. During these years the debate over air-pollution legislation was practically ablaze. The people who knew this best were perhaps the congressmen and congresswomen dealing with the legislative process at the time. One such congressman, Connecticut’s own Stewart Brett McKinney, must have felt the heat first-hand, given the countless number of constituent letters he received just between 1974 and 1976—many of which can be found amongst his papers in the Political Collections here at the Dodd. In addition to serving as a member and minority leader in the CT State House of Representatives, McKinney was also elected to the U.S. House for Connecticut’s southwestern fourth district and served from 1970 until his death in 1987.

The letters McKinney received just in the aforementioned two-year-span—letters from private industry, organizations, and unaffiliated individuals—attest to the significance of environmental legislation at the time, seeing as a noteworthy portion of the correspondence deals with various proposed congressional amendments to the 1970 Clean Air Act. The Act set firm standards for energy providers, car emissions, etc. in an effort to curb air pollution and the negative environmental and health effects associated with it. Like many others at the time, congressman McKinney was in favor of modifying the 1970 act, but opposed to drastic changes that might weaken it. The challenge, as he stated in his response to a letter from Ms. D.W. Sweeney of Stamford, was to “balance those environmental goals with what is perceived to be the long-term energy needs of the nation” (S.M. to D.W.S.).

This was crucial given the energy crisis of the early ’70s. Even those companies that may have desired to switch from coal to the slightly less harmful alternatives of oil and gas may have been unable to do so, given the limited availability and high prices of these resources. Many businessmen therefore lobbied to have the 1970 act significantly amended and emissions standards deadlines extended while other groups—such as the League of Women Voters—urged Congressman McKinney to fight to maintain the original, strict environmental standards. For instance, in his July 1, 1975 letter to another Stamford resident Joel M. Berns, D.M.D, McKinney makes it clear that “we must avoid the irresponsible course of so weakening the Clean Air Act in the name of the ‘energy crisis’ only to face the same deferred problems five or ten years from now when the clean-up job will be far more difficult and costly” (S.M. to J.B.).

Krisela Karaja, Student Intern

Rainbow People, Vol. 1. No. 2. 1970

“This is Indian land, Indian water, Indian coal, Indian life that is going up in smoke” (Steiner “Black Mesa”).

Such were the words of Stan Steiner, author of various works (i.e. The New Indians, 1968) pertaining to American minority groups including Indians and Mexican-Americans. In fact, Steiner’s “Black Mesa Fact Sheet”—compiled in 1970 at the request of Navajo and Hopi tribal leaders— is included in Volume 1 No. 2 of Rainbow People, a newspaper conveniently found right here in the Alternative Press Collections at the Dodd Center. True to Steiner’s words, Indian life was literally going up in smoke—pollution-related smoke, that is. In 1966, the Navajo Tribal Council granted the Peabody Coal Company the right to explore land in the Black Mesa region of Arizona in order to generate fuel for six large southwestern power plants and for giant polluting cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix. In exchange, the Navajo received “a mere $600,000 each year for their Nation” (Steiner “Fact Sheet”). However according to Calvin Estitty, a member of the Black Mesa Native Americans, the Navajo had not provided explicit consent to mine—they had simply consented to have the land surveyed (Steiner “Fact Sheet”).

The pollution statistics mentioned in Steiner’s fact sheet are jarring: “Sulfur dioxide emissions of 735 tons a day (267,275 tons a year). That is more than three times the health hazard […] that L.A. people suffer.” Additionally, the fly ash particle emissions of 137 tons a day were well above the LA statistic (109 /day) and almost as high as New York’s 140 tons. Indeed, the Navajo plant alone was estimated to “fill [the] sky [with] 465,125 tons of smog yearly” (Steiner “Fact Sheet”).

The Hopis, too, signed a 99-year lease with the company to strip-mine coal in Black Mesa (Committee of Concern). However the concerns amongst both native groups were not limited to air-pollution. Steiner goes so far as to criticize the New York Times’ coverage of Black Mesa as insufficient, seeing its failure to address the religious implications of strip-mining. Indeed, Black Mesa (the “Female Mountain”) has traditionally been considered a symbol of beauty, harmony, and the Navajo way. Some Navajos saw this as an example of how the “white man has unthinkingly defiled the religious belief of the Indians. He has disrupted the sacred and holy mountains” (Steiner “Fact Sheet”). The economic concerns were also significant. As one Navajo Tribal leader put it: “What will be left of our way of life? No pastures for our sheep! No jobs when the Mesa is gone! They force us into colonial economy (qtd. in Steiner “Fact Sheet”).

Although there are still groups like Black Mesa Indigenous Support that aid “the indigenous peoples of Black Mesa in their resistance to massive coal mining operations” (“Mission Statement”), Peabody Energy currently maintains the Kayenta Mine in the region. The company asserts that its “environmental and community practices on Black Mesa were recognized as a world model for sustainability” (“Southwest Operations”).

Although Steiner argues that the concerns of these “invisible” indigenous peoples are “lost in the smog” (“Black Mesa”) when being addressed in major newspapers, they can still be found right here—preserved and waiting to be read in the APC.

Krisela Karaja, Student Intern

Resources:

The Committee of Concern for the Traditional Indian. “Hopi: Black Mesa.” Rainbow People [John Day, Oregon] Vol. 1. No. 2. 1970: p. 6. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Hill, Gladwin. “Arizona Strip-Mining Project Leaving Navajo Land Unscarred.”  New York Times 24 Jan. 1971:  p. 55. Proquest
Historical Newspapers. Web. 26 Oct 2011.

“Mission Statement.” Black Mesa Indigenous Support. BMIS. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. http://blackmesais.org/about/mission/.

“Southwest Operations.” Peabody Energy. Peabody Energy, Inc. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

< http://www.peabodyenergy.com/content/247/US-Mining/Powder-River-Basin-and-Southwest>.

Steiner, Stan. “Black Mesa” (letter to the editor of the New York Times). Rainbow People [John Day, Oregon] Vol. 1. No. 2. 1971: p. 14. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

 Steiner, Stan. “Black Mesa Fact Sheet.” Rainbow People [John Day, Oregon] Vol. 1. No. 2. 1970: p. 8. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Radioactive Times

The members of California’s Abalone Alliance must have thought just that as they continually resisted the proliferation of U.S. nuclear power plants—the Diablo Canyon plant in San Luis Obispo County being one of them—in the 1970s and ’80s. The Diablo controversy began in 1963, with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s proposal to build a nuclear plant in California. Anti-nuclear activists later learned that the company had not conducted sufficient seismic tests for fear of gathering information that would ultimately delay construction. What’s more, the plant was to be built 2.5 miles away from an earthquake fault. PG&E made this discovery in 1962 but neglected to inform the surrounding community about this safety concern (“Diablo Canyon, a history of cover-ups and resistance”).

Organized forms of civil disobedience—leafleting, peaceful protests, etc.—occurred under the direction and encouragement of the Abalone Alliance, an umbrella organization of over 60 groups, including the Los Angeles-based Alliance for Survival. In addition to promoting the Alliance for Survival’s Radioactive Times, the Abalone Alliance also distributed its own newsletter, It’s About Times. Both of these newsletters closely covered the developments at Diablo, and both also strove to spread awareness about the harmful effects of nuclear power. In fact the Times, whose main slogan was to deliver “All the news they never print,” went so far as to criticize the Reagan administration for its financial support of nuclear fusion research while cutting the budgets for energy conservation and solar energy (“Nuke Time for Bonzo”).

The opposition of the Abalone-affiliated groups was formidable. In 1981, 10,000 local citizens instituted a two-week blockade of Diablo Canyon, resulting in 1901 arrests. That year, it was also revealed that “PG&E used wrong blueprints when installing key seismic supports” (“Diablo Canyon, a history of cover-ups and resistance”). Whistleblower John Horn lamented: “I wasn’t exactly popular around the office then because most people thought I was just kind of nitpicking, and that I was stirring up  trouble” (“Diablo Canyon, a history of cover-ups and resistance”).

Despite these protests, Diablo Canyon was granted an operating license by The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on November 2, 1984, and will maintain this license until at least November 2, 2024 (“Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit 1”). On its website, PG&E maintains that “Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a safe, clean, reliable and vital resource for all Californians” (“Welcome to Diablo Canyon”).

However, the work—the history—of these sometimes overlooked grassroots anti-nuclear groups is still preserved within the Alternative Press Collections at the Dodd Center today, waiting to be rediscovered by researchers and students alike.

Krisela Karaja, Student Intern

Resources:

“AA Safe Energy Groups.” It’s About Times: Abalone Alliance Newsletter [San Francisco, CA] Mid-June—July, 1980: p. 11. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of
Connecticut Libraries.

“Abalone Alliance Newsletter: It’s About Times.” It’s About Times: Abalone Alliance Newsletter [San Francisco, CA] Mid-June—July, 1980: p. 2. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

“Diablo Canyon, a history of cover-ups and resistance: Do PG&E and the NRC Really Care About Safety?” [San Luis Obispo, CA] final edition, early 1984: p. 4. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

“Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit 1.” U.S. NRC: United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NRC, 24 June 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/diab1.html.

“Nuke Time for Bonzo.” Radioactive Times [San Luis Obispo, CA] Summer 1981: p. 3. Print. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

“Welcome to Diablo Canyon.” PG&E. Pacific Gas & Electric Company, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/dcpp/>.