GB No. 1, autumn 1989
On June 22 the inhabitants of Czechowice- Dziedzice (Southern Silesia) and its neighbourhood met in this town to protest against the plans of location of the new refinery Czechowice-II in the commune Bestwina adjoining with Czechowice- Dziedzice (where the refinery Czechowice-I already exists).
Why did they protest? This is incomprehensible for the manager of the Silesian Refining Works Alojzy Wasyl, who, supported by the minister of industry Wilczek, decided to build not far from the existing refinery, the second, lovely and absolutely clean refining works. He is astonished that the inhabitants of polluted Czechowice and the owners of the fish-ponds (where is to be build the new refinery) do not agree to this idea. He deplores the natives who cannot appreciate the benefits of civilization. The quarrel about refinery is called by him "a dispute between and farm-mistresses' clubs". In the meantime the manager of The Environmental Protection, Water Management and Geodesy Department in the Provincional Office in Katowice, the manager of The Town-Planning, Architecture and Building Inspection Department and moreover the head of the commune Bestwina are against the project. Their negative opinions have been motivated by obligatory regulations concerning management of rural grounds, local planning and environmental protection and management. So the initiator of technical progress does not take into consideration such details as laws or decisions of people's councils.
Manager Wasyl had appealed to the Main Administrative Court to change the decision of the local and provincial authorities. We hardly understand why he so stubbornly wants to build another factory in the Silesia district , already overfilled with the heavy industry. In our opinion there are two reasons why he supports this idea. Financial profits are the first one. The second one are ecological ambitions of Mr Wasyl.
The state of the environment upsets the manager of the factory emiting many substances causing cancer. He supposes that a modern rafinery emiting only a half of the pollutants originating in the old one will be the best sollution for Czechowice and the region. (There is no certainty that Czechowice I are to be closed when the new refinery will start to work- the editor.) Mr Wasyl has also expressed his desire to enter the Polish Ecological Club (PKE) and was astonished by the members of PKE who were against it. (Breaking the window-panes in the rooms of the factory to reduce the concentration of pol- lutants inside, is one of Mr Wasyl's ways to protect man and his environment.)
"Homo homini lupus est"- says the old proverb. Many managers have become such lupus for us and for the nature.
Alina ¦wieży