PODER to the people.

• Author: Cusac, Anne-Marie
• Position: People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources, East Austin, TX

In 1991, a group of Chicano East Austin activists formed PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources). They were frustrated at being left out of decisions affecting the quality of their water and air.

Recently, PODER forced six major oil companies to relocate a tank farm--a collection of tanks used to store fuel--that had sat on the edge of a residential community for nearly thirty years.

The oil companies wanted to expand the tank farm. So PODER conducted a health survey.

The group found that nearby residents were suffering an unusual number of headaches, rashes, and nosebleeds, and linked these problems to the emission of benzene, a known carcinogen. They also found cancer clusters.

Joining forces with local environmental organizations, PODER discovered that the companies were not adequately reporting their emissions, and that the tanks were leaking oil into the local water table. PODER's work created such a stink that the oil companies backed down and moved the tank farm away.

Today, the group is campaigning to relocate Browning Ferris International Recycling Plant, which is located in a small Austin community called the Garden neighborhood. Browning Ferris is responsible for all the recycling in Austin, as well as several other municipalities.

The volume of trash in the community has brought a continuous stench and an infestation of rats "so bold they don't scatter," says Maria Loya, a research analyst at PODER. She says that there has also been a substantial...