Clean Air Meeting Focused on Ward 8 Clears the Air of Problems
By Bruce Branch
WI Contributing Writer
Thursday, July 7, 2005

It was a rare town hall meeting on something of substance, but usually of very little concern for residents east of the River in Anacostia. They came last week to talk about clean air and the environment. The meeting, focused mainly on how to keep debris off the streets and out of the sanitation systems, was organized by Ward 8 activist Philip Pannell and surprisingly attracted an interested crowd of about 200 people to Anacostia High School.

The meeting was billed “From Blight to Beautification: A Ward 8 Community Conversation on the Environment.” Organizers said it was the first meeting of its kind held in Anacostia in recent memory, but many were hopeful it wouldn't be the last.

“This is a good start,” said Mary Wolfe, a leader in Ward 8 politics for the Democratic Party. “This has been a great turnout.”

Others like Michael Johnson weren’t so sure. “Nobody has ever held a meeting like this around here before, but the question is why are people so concerned about trash in the streets and planting pretty trees now?” Johnson asked sarcastically. “It’s because the big money wants this area as part of their little plan to build a rich community on the backs of the poor over here. Stevie Wonder can see what's happening in Anacostia and across Southeast now,” Johnson said.

Skepticism aside, those in attendance included Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, who found himself discussing with constituents something other than crime, falling academic standards, unemployment or gentrification.

“People say we're not concerned about the environment,” Barry said. “Some people think there are nothing but drug pushers and prostitutes over here. That’s not true. We’re all concerned. There are some hard working people that live over here. This proves it.”

Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, said the discussion was merited and much-needed for residents.

“We care about air... we don’t want dead trees,” he said, as a slide show displayed photos of a polluted river and streets littered with ragged furniture, busted wooden pallets, battered appliances and vandalized cars. “We care deeply about our community. When kids grow up in trash, they think that's what they deserve. They will trash other people.”

A panel of representatives from the city, nonprofit environmental organizations and the Anacostia Garden Club spoke in broad terms of economic development and about planting more trees and flowers, creating parks and cleaning up blighted streets and the polluted Anacostia River. They predicted this would reap new jobs for residents.

One of the more interesting presentations came from Jerry Johnson of the Water Company who said 3,000 tons of trash were carried into the Anacostia River each day, but the Water Company was preparing to resolve sewage and sanitation problems in the area by building what amounts to an underground tunnel that will control overflows during rainstorms.

There was also a slide show that showed how debris caused blight throughout Anacostia. The audience also learned how the planting of new trees would provide more cool air in the hot, muggy summer months.

The meeting comes at a time when the city's environmental concerns are growing. Last month, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) proposed creating a cabinet-level department of environment, and in January, the city officially launched the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. to oversee an ambitious $8 billion, 20-year project that calls for economic and environmental improvements along the Anacostia River.

Dubbed the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, the project includes plans for new commercial and residential development, riverside walking and biking trails, new parks and improvements to existing ones, and recreational boating improvements.

Ward 8, which covers more than 4,000 acres, has historically had its share of environmental problems, particularly with the Anacostia River. A study released last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that 50 percent to 68 percent of the mature brown bullhead catfish collected in 2001 from three parts of the river had liver tumors, an indicator of serious pollution.

In recent years, there have been efforts to clean up Ward 8 neighborhoods and the Anacostia River. Still, as one of the most economically deprived areas in the city despite promises of a better future, a lot of people aren't ready to put their full support behind a tree-planting effort, many activists said.

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” resident Joseph Coggins said. “Pretty trees are nice, but who is going sit under them when you have gunshots all around you and kids dying every day. Let's get real. It's a waste of money and time. This is just something to make the big-dogs feel like they are doing something. This is still Anacostia until further notice.”

Besides the economic payback of improving the environment, there are also psychological benefits, according to panelist Robert E. Boone, president and founder of the Anacostia Watershed Society. “There’s a direct correlation between the unemployment and the trash in the community,” Boone said, calling blight a “psychological toxin.” He added, “If you don't celebrate beauty, your children will have low self-esteem.”

James R. Lyons, executive director of the Casey Trees Endowment Fund, a nonprofit organization that plants trees in Washington, told the crowd that planting more trees would help reduce heat, ozone levels and storm water runoff.

“We’re investing in a solution for children,” Lyons said.

He also said some studies have found a correlation between tree-lined areas and lower crime rates and stress. One such study was released in 2001 by researchers Frances E. Kuo and William C. Sullivan of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It concluded that units at the Ida B. Wells housing project in Chicago with high levels of vegetation nearby experienced 48 percent fewer property crimes and 56 percent fewer violent crimes than buildings with little greenery, though Kuo noted that vegetation might not have been the only factor causing the difference. The study found that greenery helps relax people and reduces aggression. It also brings people outdoors, which results in more watchful eyes in the neighborhood.

“Forget the trees,” another resident Arthur Camp said. “We need jobs and some police protection. I just came out so I could get a chance to talk to Barry.”