DeepSummary
Sharon Levine, a resident of St. James Parish in Louisiana, shares her experience growing up in a community surrounded by petrochemical plants. As the industry grew, she witnessed an increase in health issues and cancer cases among her neighbors. The parish, known as Cancer Alley, has a disproportionately high cancer risk due to the concentration of polluting facilities.
In 2018, a new $9.4 billion Formosa Petrochemical plant, called the Sunshine Project, was proposed in St. James Parish, prompting Sharon to become an environmental justice activist. The plant would double air pollution in the area and emit carcinogenic chemicals, posing a severe threat to the community's health and well-being.
Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the father of the environmental justice movement, discusses the pattern of environmental racism, where polluting industries target predominantly Black and low-income communities. He emphasizes the urgency for a just transition to clean energy, ensuring that green jobs and benefits are inclusive and equitable for all communities.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- St. James Parish, Louisiana, known as Cancer Alley, has a disproportionately high cancer risk due to the concentration of petrochemical plants in the area.
- Sharon Levine, a resident of St. James Parish, became an environmental justice activist to fight against a proposed Formosa Petrochemical plant that would further pollute her community.
- Dr. Robert Bullard, the father of the environmental justice movement, highlights the pattern of environmental racism, where polluting industries target predominantly Black and low-income communities.
- Bullard emphasizes the urgency for a just transition to clean energy, ensuring that green jobs and benefits are inclusive and equitable for all communities.
- The fight for environmental justice in Cancer Alley is part of a larger dialogue about the energy transition and addressing racial disparities in the process.
- Sharon Levine's activism, along with organizations like Rise St. James, has successfully stalled and challenged the proposed Formosa plant, highlighting the power of community organizing.
- The episode underscores the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and racial justice, and the need for a holistic approach to address these issues simultaneously.
- The graveyards of enslaved people on the proposed Formosa plant site highlight the historical context and legacy of environmental racism in Cancer Alley.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Environmental racism embraces the principle that all communities have a right to clean and livable and healthy environment, regardless of race, class, or color, national origin.“ by Robert Bullard
- “We say, let's not go down that road of futility. Let's talk about opening up the information, democratizing the kinds of people who are in those rooms, who are at those tables and with our community groups in those rooms, our faith based groups, our young people now are pushing for a rapid transition, and they want to see things change today.“ by Robert Bullard
- “There's a lot of work. It's nonstop, it's hard, and it's time consuming.“ by Sharon Levine
- “What we have been saying all along for these decades, that our communities matter, our health matters, our lives matter. And so when we talk about environmental and climate justice, we are saying there can be no energy justice, climate justice without economic justice and racial justice.“ by Robert Bullard
Entities
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Organization
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Episode Information
The Big Switch
Dr. Melissa Lott
4/7/22
St. James Parish, Louisiana sits in the middle of an 85-mile corridor along the Mississippi river that’s home to more than 150 petrochemical plants. This concentration of petrochemical facilities has taken a toll on the health of nearby communities – a toll that falls disproportionately on Black communities. Cancer risk in some parts of this corridor is more than 50 times the national average, giving it the moniker ‘cancer alley.’
In 2018, a new petrochemical plant was announced – one that would double pollution in St. James Parish and emit tons of carcinogens like benzene and formaldehyde. For Sharon Lavigne, a retired special education teacher turned environmental justice organizer, it was time to fight back.
Last week, we talked about decarbonizing the petrochemicals industry. This week, we’re talking about the public health and environmental justice costs of petrochemicals. What does an environmentally just future look like? And how can we get there?
Guests: Sharon Lavigne is an environmental justice advocate and the founder of Rise St. James. Dr. Robert Bullard is a distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy and director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University.
The Big Switch is produced by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy in partnership with Post Script Media. This episode was produced by Alexandria Herr and Daniel Woldorff. Theme music and mixing by Sean Marquand. Story editing by Anne Bailey. A special thanks to Natalie Volk, Kirsten Smith and Kyu Lee. Our executive editor is Stephen Lacey.