On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet series, we're discussing the environmental and health impacts of hundreds of chemical and oil industry plants on those who live along a polluted stretch of the Mississippi River. Residents refer to the region as 'Cancer Alley' or 'Death Alley.'
We'll also talk about their fight to stop the plastics company Formosa from building a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. James, Louisiana. Activists say the multi-billion corporation has a record of damaging communities and ecosystems around the world.
Guests:
Mark Schleifstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning environment reporter with The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate
Sharon Lavigne, activist and founder of RISE St. James
Web Resources:
Truthout: The Corporate Assault on Cancer Alley Created an Environmental Justice Warrior
Nola.com: Mark Schleifstein: Louisiana is backsliding after making environmental progress. It's troubling.
The Guardian: 'Almost every household has someone that has died from cancer'
Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice: The Fight for Life in Death Alley: Testimony from Sharon Lavigne, St. James, Louisiana
Propublica: New EPA Rules Aim to Reduce Toxic Emissions. But Many “Cancer Alley” Chemical Plants Won’t Have to Change.
Propublica: What Could Happen if a $9.4 Billion Chemical Plant Comes to “Cancer Alley”