Community opposition to the Starship launch
Emma Guevara, otherwise known as “Bestie Emma” on Twitter, is a member of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and the local writer and activist who penned the now infamous “What journalists should know before reporting on the SpaceX at Boca Chica Beach” piece on the local journalism platform Trucha RGV.
From the 2021 Trucha RGV article:
Journalists need to make the distinction between elected officials’ opinions on this matter and our own as locals. Local elected officials, more specifically our mayor, city commission, county commissioners, and former State Rep Rene Oliveria have taken upon themselves to act like they are SpaceX influencers. They have continually refused to genuinely listen to community concerns, and other elected officials are not much different.
RGV Twitter makes an environmentalist’s thread viral on the eve of the Starship launch
Now, Guevara has published a 25-tweet thread on the eve of what could be the first full launch of Starbase/Superheavy, and RGV Twitter has given the post almost 40,000 impressions as of late Wednesday night, with hundreds of retweets and likes.
Read Guevara’s full Twitter thread here: So what the hell is happening on the gulf coast of the lower rio grande valley?
The community also saw a statement published on the same day by the Sierra Club, listing 27 organizations in the Rio Grande Valley opposing the launch, claiming that “routine operations are already destroying wildlife refuges and sacred lands.”
Guevara’s thread reviews the layout of both Starbase and the liquified natural gas project Rio Grande LNG, discussing its proximity and effects on the surrounding protected wildlife refuges and sacred Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas lands. She also reviews some of the local events and politics related to both projects in recent years.
Guevara’s thread starts below:
