Tuesday marked five years since the demolition of Tonawanda Coke’s smokestacks.
For some residents, it’s a milestone achievement that shows the effectiveness of grassroots environmentalism.
Citizen Science Community Resources Director Jackie James is among the original advocates for the plant’s closure. Being the one who pressed the demolition button five years ago, still feels memorable, she said.
“It signified a lot, as far as the stacks coming down," James said. Those stacks, we watched those stacks, watched that billowing black smoke coming out of there so many times, and it was going to be over with.”
James adds that she has been impressed with efforts to continue cleaning the site and removing contamination in the years since.
But the conversation doesn’t end with the site’s cleanup.
There are efforts to communicate the importance to children growing up now through education resources, and students are showing interest, said Jean Harmon, a board member with Citizen Science Community Resources.
“The younger generation is much more environmentally conscious than we were. I mean, we didn't know that these chemicals were polluting the earth 50, 60, 70, years ago. And I think that younger people are very much interested in the environment and the world that they live in.”
The education aspect is especially important because many residents still don’t realize how much impact the local activism effort has had on their lives, Harmon said.
"Jackie deserves more credit than she's getting at the time," she said. "At this time, she's getting noticed in books that environmental people are writing, but the people in (the) Town of Tonawanda don't realize that the air they breathe is cleaner because of Jackie James."
