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West Lake Landfill

AllanaRoss
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Capitalism. All of the practices on this land since settlers arrived have been driven by capital and extraction, perhaps a sense of pioneering and conquering...but what are the underlying motivations of Westward expansion? -accumulation of territory for capital, extraction, and political power. Also important to think about motivation of the government figures encouraging expansion as opposed to those who are actually engaged in it. Maybe settlers are analogous to foot soldiers. settler:expansion::foot soldier:war. 

West Lake Landfill

AllanaRoss
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Karst! Means water flows freely through the landsape. Also makes for good mining (limestone). 

Thus history is a series of pits, and then filling the pits in to make mounds, and meanwhile extraction on the borders (farming) until recently. A pattern we see repeated in many, many places.

This place is nothing but anthropocenic conditions, whether vineyard or landfill or road or office space or liminal spaces between.

West Lake Landfill

AllanaRoss
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What does 'reflective' mean? Impacts are seen by those who live/work there on the ground, in the dirt, in their yards...raising children, being in proximity day in/out. Like a farmer knows their land. These people recognize and acknowledge the (physical existence of ) impact, but may have different perceptions of what that impact actually is. These people are worrying and thinking. 

It seems that the people who have the power to do anything about the situation are physically removed from it and thus have a very different perception of the impact. The mound itself remains relatively unseen, or very rarely seen, and cursorily acknowledged if at all. 

West Lake Landfill

AllanaRoss
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Land use: extraction: Pits. Fill: mounds.

quarry to farm to landfill

practices: extraction, cultivation, disposal.

public participation is discouraged at sites engaged in these practices. Landfill has always been private property (what does that mean when the contents of 'private property' are regularly distributed into public property downstream?). Public participation is organized solely by the public, met with resistance by most public officials, and disdain/scorn/disbelief by PRPs. 

West Lake Landfill

AllanaRoss
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In response to

-Republic Services (land owners)---priority: $$$ for shareholders

-PRPs (land owners, past and present, and companies who dumped)---priority:avoiding losing $$$

-Government organizations (from AEC to EPA)---priority: competing pressure from lobbyists and citizen activists

-Citizen organizing (Just Moms etc)---priority: neighborhood health and safety

-Civil servants (at behest of one of the above)---competing pressure from lobbyists and citizen activists, retention of power

Feedback

AllanaRoss
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Feedback: I wish I had had more time to talk to other participants, to digest and process our experiences. Most interesting/productive components: museum visits, interactive experiences with other participants, group projects. Suggestions: Somehow not cramming so much information into so little time! It was a bit like drinking from a fire hydrant without a moment to catch my breath. I don't know if that can be done, though, I wouldn't want to sacrifice any of the experiences.