.
Industrialized port area, Corpus Christi, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, November 1972 (US National Archives)
She hears, upon that water without sound,
A voice that cries, "The tomb in Palestine
Is not the porch of spirits lingering.
It is the grave of Jesus, where he lay."
We live in an old chaos of the sun,
Or old dependency of day and night,
Or island solitude, unsponsored, free,
Of that wide water, inescapable.
Deer walk upon our mountains, and the quail
Whistle about us their spontaneous cries;
Sweet berries ripen in the wilderness;
And, in the isolation of the sky,
At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
Downward to darkness, on extended wings.
Wallace Stevens: from Sunday Morning (1915), in Harmonium, 1923
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Reflection in an oil pool in the middle of a forest near Palestine, Texas. The oil remains after the Kimball oil field operations: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
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Forest vegetation is polluted by oil seepage from the Kimball oil field near Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
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Church of Christ after Sunday services, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
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Kimball oil field drainage ditch, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
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Church of Christ after Sunday services, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
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Kimball oil field, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
A voice that cries, "The tomb in Palestine
Is not the porch of spirits lingering.
It is the grave of Jesus, where he lay."
We live in an old chaos of the sun,
Or old dependency of day and night,
Or island solitude, unsponsored, free,
Of that wide water, inescapable.
Deer walk upon our mountains, and the quail
Whistle about us their spontaneous cries;
Sweet berries ripen in the wilderness;
And, in the isolation of the sky,
At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
Downward to darkness, on extended wings.
Wallace Stevens: from Sunday Morning (1915), in Harmonium, 1923
Reflection in an oil pool in the middle of a forest near Palestine, Texas. The oil remains after the Kimball oil field operations: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Forest vegetation is polluted by oil seepage from the Kimball oil field near Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Church of Christ after Sunday services, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Kimball oil field drainage ditch, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Church of Christ after Sunday services, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Kimball oil field, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Kimball oil field, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Kimball oil field pool, Palestine, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Roadside drainage canal, New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil seepage in pond, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
A natural spring photographed at its source, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Cypress swamp between La Place and New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
The contaminated water of Mill Creek. Waste from the Calcasieu Paper Mill in Elizabeth, Louisiana flows Into the creek. Effects of chemical pollution can be seen (and smelled) 30 miles south of the plant where the creek runs through a large game preserve and forest: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
The contaminated water of Mill Creek. Waste from the Calcasieu Paper Mill in Elizabeth, Louisiana flows Into the creek. Effects of chemical pollution can be seen (and smelled) 30 miles south of the plant where the creek runs through a large game preserve and forest: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil storage tanks and petro-chemical plant, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Abandoned oil field tools, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil derrick beside restaurant and used car lot, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil derrick in cemetery, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Automobile junkyard, Corpus Christi, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, November 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil derrick in cemetery, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Abandoned automobiles, New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, c. 1973 (US National Archives)
Oil derrick in churchyard, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Oil derricks behind the stores of main street, Kilgore, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Billboards and advertising clutter roadside, Leakey, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Chemical plants, New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Dead fish and litter on Gulf Coast beach near New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, May 1972 (US National Archives)
The polluted Lake Charles, which has a dangerously high level of mercury. Olin-Mathieson plant in background. Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Olin-Mathieson chemical plant, on far side of the lake. Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, July 1972 (US National Archives)
Crabbing in polluted waters, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Chemical plants on shore are considered a prime source of pollution, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archive)
Lunching on the beach opposite the Olin-Mathieson chemical plant. Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Chemical plants near swimming area, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archive)
Chemical plants near swimming area, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Jet comes in for landing, New Orleans: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, c. 1973 (US National Archives)
Shell casings are stacked outside "Domes". The domes are notorious for the lack of air circulation and the heat which builds up Inside. Le Tourneau Marathon Ammunition Plant, Longview, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Le Tourneau Marathon Ammunition Plant, Longview, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Steam escaping from a chemical plant obscures the shoreline, Corpus Christi, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, November 1972 (US National Archives)
Burning discarded automobile batteries, Houston, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
The Atlas Chemical Company belches smoke across pasture land in foreground, Marshall, Texas. The plant Is referred to as "Old Darky" in the community because black soot from the plant covers everything near-by. One farmer claims he lost several cows due to soot and chemicals from Atlas: photo by Marc St. Gilfor the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
Smokestacks of chemical plant, Corpus Christi, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gl lfor the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, November 1972 (US National Archives)
Sunset over Olin-Mathieson Plant, Lake Charles, Louisiana: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
A Texaco crude oil tank in Houston blazes against the night after being struck by lightning: photo by Jim Olive for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, September 1972 (US National Archives)
A Texaco crude oil tank in Houston blazes against the night after being struck by lightning: photo by Jim Olive for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, September 1972 (US National Archives)
A Texaco crude oil tank in Houston blazes against the night after being struck by lightning: photo by Jim Olive for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, September 1972 (US National Archives)
A Texaco crude oil tank in Houston blazes against the night after being struck by lightning: photo by Jim Olive for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, September 1972 (US National Archives)
A mountain of damaged oil drums lies in a heap in an Exxon tefinery near Baton Rouge, Louisiana: photo by John Messina for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, December 1972 (US National Archives)
Off-shore oil wells in Galveston Bay, off the Texas shore: photo by Blair Pittman for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, June 1972 (US National Archives)
A couple in the waves of Galveston Bay, Texas: photo by Blair Pittman for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, May 1972 (US National Archives)
Dead bird in polluted water, Corpus Christi, Texas: photo by Marc St. Gil for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project, November 1972 (US National Archives)
High-rise apartment building, Houston, Texas: photo by Blair Pittman, May 1972 for the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica Project (US National Archives)