Environment

Elon Musk Is Destroying Rural Texas, Residents Say

Elon Musk’s tunneling company, The Boring company is destroying Texas’ natural beauty and has worsened the life quality of rural Texans, according to Bastrop residents, where the company is located.

“It is beyond heartbreaking, I could start crying just talking about it,” Flynn, 62, a Bastrop resident, told The London Times. “We had these incredible vistas of outstanding natural beauty. It was breathtaking — you’d pull over and cry because it’s so pretty. And now, it’s gravel mines.”

Boring moved to Bastrop in 2021, the town has about 12,000 people and is located east of Austin.

According to Flynn and her husband, since Boring arrived, the landscape has worsened, with trucks operating everywhere, earth mounds scattered in the fields, heavy machines, and new gravel and sand mines erected to support the company’s operations.

Also, there have been numerous environmental concerns about the company’s operation, the company has applied for a permit to dump 145,500 gallons of treated wastewater per day into the Colorado River. The company has also received complaints regarding its handling of wastewater in the area.

Other residents have expressed concern over the rising cost of living produced by the arrival of more Austin newcomers.

“[T]he Austin people are now having to move to Bastrop, the people in Bastrop are having to move out in the country somewhere,” Kenneth Kesselus, the town’s former mayor, told the Times. “We’ve got some houses that in a giant hurry went from half a million dollars to a million.”

However, Flynn hopes that there still will be people who fight to preserve the environment.

“I have three children and don’t want them to think it’s all over,” Flynn said. “I’m a big believer in the pendulum swinging back, and right now we’re in an extreme time of bullying and bad behavior and bad decisions and greed. But it’s going to swing back.”

Flynn owns a farm in Bastrop and an organic site in Austin.

RA Staff

Written by RA News staff.

Recent Posts

Houston Voters Dismiss Largest School Bond in Texas History

Houston voters dismissed Houston ISD’s $4.4 billion bond proposal –the largest school bond in Texas…

6 hours ago

Trump Judge Blocks Biden’s Immigrant Spouse Marriage Program

A judge appointed by President-elect Donald Trump in his first term has blocked a key…

7 hours ago

Texas Secessionists Declare Victory After 10 Independence-Backed Republicans Win House Seats

Texas secessionists have claimed victory and celebrated a “revolution in Texas politics,” after 10 Republican…

9 hours ago

Voters Overwhelmingly Back Marijuana Decriminalization In Three Texas Cities

This General Election, Texans voted to decriminalize marijuana on ballot measures in Lockhart, Bastrop, and…

10 hours ago

Trump’s Return Could Push Texas Into ‘Uncharted Territory’ on Immigration

Former President Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election is threatening to drastically change immigration…

1 day ago

What Now for Democrats in Texas?

Democrats took a historic election beating this week. In wrestling terms, it wasn’t a powerbomb;…

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.