1
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,280
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Drilled. I'm Amy Westervelt. Back in twenty

2
00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,079
Speaker 1: twenty one, we did a season of the podcast on

3
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,160
Speaker 1: the fossil fuel industry's turn toward plastic and petrochemicals as

4
00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:25,920
Speaker 1: the thing that would save it as the world turned

5
00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,960
Speaker 1: away from combustion engines. They have only leaned further into

6
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,440
Speaker 1: that plan over the last two years, but as we

7
00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,159
Speaker 1: documented in our Plastic Pipelines season, grassroots activists have had

8
00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:42,240
Speaker 1: a lot of success holding them off one ethane cracker

9
00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,839
Speaker 1: facility at a time. The Foremosa plant that was planned

10
00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,519
Speaker 1: for Saint James Parish back then is still on hold

11
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,240
Speaker 1: now thanks to various legal complaints filed on behalf of

12
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,600
Speaker 1: local groups like Rise Saint James, whose efforts we profiled

13
00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,320
Speaker 1: in that season. You can tell the organizers in Louisiana

14
00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,679
Speaker 1: are getting it done because suddenly the industry is organizing

15
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,959
Speaker 1: against them. Last year, some serious money joined the petrochemicals

16
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,959
Speaker 1: fight when Bloomberg Philanthropy is committed eighty five million dollars

17
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,760
Speaker 1: to the new Beyond petro Chemicals campaign. The campaign is

18
00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:25,160
Speaker 1: focused on stopping the one hundred and twenty new petrochemical

19
00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:31,320
Speaker 1: facilities proposed in Louisiana, Texas, and Pennsylvania. So suddenly a

20
00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: new advocacy group has emerged. It calls itself the Sustainability Council,

21
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,640
Speaker 1: and it's led by big oil companies and industry groups

22
00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,039
Speaker 1: and backed by local officials and chambers of commerce. The

23
00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:51,120
Speaker 1: sustainability this council is interested in is the petrochemical industry's sustainability,

24
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,400
Speaker 1: so it's working hard to try to discredit local organizers

25
00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:00,360
Speaker 1: and paint the push against petrochemicals and Louisiana's cancer ali

26
00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,520
Speaker 1: has an effort pushed by outsiders. I got a chance

27
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,840
Speaker 1: to speak with a couple of those organizers, Samirah Levine

28
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,040
Speaker 1: with Rye Saint James and Joe Banner of the Descendants

29
00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,760
Speaker 1: Project last month about their ongoing work and what they

30
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,320
Speaker 1: think of this new challenge to it. That conversation's coming

31
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,600
Speaker 1: up right after this quick break.

32
00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,120
Speaker 2: My name is Shamira Levine Ormyra Levine either way, and

33
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,200
Speaker 2: I am the executive assistant at Rhys Saint James. I've

34
00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,919
Speaker 2: been working with ry since twenty twenty. But I was

35
00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 2: born and raised in Saint James, so I have first

36
00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,080
Speaker 2: and experience in cancer ally, and I grew up with

37
00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,040
Speaker 2: these industries. And to give you a little bit of

38
00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,760
Speaker 2: background on Ridse Saint James. It is a faith based

39
00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,680
Speaker 2: grassroots organization that was founded by my mom, Sharon Levian,

40
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,600
Speaker 2: that is fighting the expansion in the build of petro

41
00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,760
Speaker 2: chemical facilities in Saint James Parish and in cancer rally

42
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,840
Speaker 2: in surrounded areas. The fifth district, where I'm from and

43
00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,399
Speaker 2: where my mom still lives to this day, is overburdened

44
00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:32,359
Speaker 2: with pollution from petro chemical facilities. In a ten mile radius.

45
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,760
Speaker 2: There are twelve industries. The industries have used a lot

46
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:42,440
Speaker 2: of financial persuasion to get the local leaders and politicians

47
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,680
Speaker 2: to side with them, so we are fighting local leadership

48
00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 2: as well. They refuse to represent us instead they're choosing

49
00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,320
Speaker 2: to represent the industries. The whole purpose of fighting these

50
00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,600
Speaker 2: industries is so that we can have clean air, clean water,

51
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,960
Speaker 2: and clean soil. We want to play for our children

52
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:02,640
Speaker 2: to be able to grow up and live in. And

53
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,160
Speaker 2: if you've never been to Saint James, I highly recommend

54
00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,280
Speaker 2: it you come see it because it's over burden, but

55
00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,880
Speaker 2: it's a sanctuary. It's beautiful and it's peaceful, and it's green,

56
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,280
Speaker 2: and it's lush, and it's a place that I look

57
00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,479
Speaker 2: to retire at one day, and it's always going to

58
00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,960
Speaker 2: be my home, and I want to go back to

59
00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,720
Speaker 2: live there after we get all these industries out of

60
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,279
Speaker 2: Saint James.

61
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,000
Speaker 3: I talked to your mom a few years ago, and

62
00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 3: I was so struck to learn about just how rural

63
00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,159
Speaker 3: and agricultural Saint James was before all of these industries

64
00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,320
Speaker 3: came in, and how not that long ago.

65
00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,279
Speaker 2: That was absolutely My grandfather was a farmer, so I

66
00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,159
Speaker 2: had memories growing up going to his house and seeing

67
00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,039
Speaker 2: the chickens eating eggs at the chicken coop so we

68
00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,960
Speaker 2: can make breakfast, the cows, the goats, the bull that

69
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,240
Speaker 2: we were scared of, and also growing up a little

70
00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,240
Speaker 2: girl eating the sugarcane that grew in the backyard, you know,

71
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,120
Speaker 2: just put peel that stalk all down and just sucking

72
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,080
Speaker 2: the sugar off of it.

73
00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:05,120
Speaker 4: It was like heaven.

74
00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,400
Speaker 2: I thought that I had the paradise of life in

75
00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,120
Speaker 2: James with me, that I can just walk up to

76
00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,120
Speaker 2: a tree and pull the fruit off, or walk in

77
00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,680
Speaker 2: the backyard and eat a sugarcane. So it breaks my

78
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,520
Speaker 2: heart to see the condition that is in and it

79
00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,080
Speaker 2: breaks my heart to know that the government and the

80
00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,240
Speaker 2: leaders here know that this is going on, and they're

81
00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:26,880
Speaker 2: choosing to allow it to continue.

82
00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,040
Speaker 4: That's what breaks my heart the most.

83
00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,279
Speaker 5: Yeah, that was very powerful. Mayra.

84
00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,920
Speaker 6: I love hearing you all talk about Saint James and

85
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,559
Speaker 6: my family. We were in Saint John the Baptist Parish,

86
00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,159
Speaker 6: which is right on the border of Saint James Parish

87
00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,320
Speaker 6: on the West Banks, and unfortunately we share a lot

88
00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:48,320
Speaker 6: of the same history, the ruralness, the families and family names,

89
00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,000
Speaker 6: and we also are part of cancer rally, so we

90
00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,680
Speaker 6: struggle to fight against petro chemical as well. But Joe

91
00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,760
Speaker 6: and I, how you got started was really our love

92
00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,760
Speaker 6: for Louisiana, our history and our hair. Our grandparents would

93
00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,120
Speaker 6: babysit us as our parents, who actually worked for industry,

94
00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,440
Speaker 6: were at work. We would come home and we would

95
00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,679
Speaker 6: listen to our grandparents who loved to tell stories about

96
00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,679
Speaker 6: life along the river and their history and talking about

97
00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,120
Speaker 6: their grandparents and the folklore and the folk tales.

98
00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,040
Speaker 5: So we just had this real deep rootedness in the.

99
00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,520
Speaker 6: Community through them, like they made us feel so connected

100
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,040
Speaker 6: to the area that we're at.

101
00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,040
Speaker 5: It's in the country. I still live there by the way.

102
00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:33,640
Speaker 6: In my same little neighborhood, our village that was started

103
00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,440
Speaker 6: by my great grandfather. So about one hundred or so

104
00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:41,000
Speaker 6: years ago, my great grandparents bought land and my great uncle,

105
00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,039
Speaker 6: their son, also bought land when he was fourteen years old.

106
00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,600
Speaker 6: So through those land purchases, my family created a village

107
00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,520
Speaker 6: and we were all able to live together. So our

108
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,960
Speaker 6: days as children were just spent running through the neighborhood,

109
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,960
Speaker 6: through the cane fields and the open area with our

110
00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,719
Speaker 6: cousins because we lived in like this sanctuary. Almost there's

111
00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,800
Speaker 6: no such thing as immediate family. I like to say,

112
00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,640
Speaker 6: like I never knew that term existed because our family

113
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,960
Speaker 6: was so big. You can never just consider your parents

114
00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,080
Speaker 6: or your siblings as your immediate family because everyone is

115
00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,360
Speaker 6: immediate to us. And it just offered us a way

116
00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:19,160
Speaker 6: of support and sharing and nurturing and just also good

117
00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:21,560
Speaker 6: times that you like.

118
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,000
Speaker 5: That's part of the American dream that we hear about.

119
00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,280
Speaker 6: So having that lifestyle, having that connection made us really

120
00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,720
Speaker 6: love our culture, and that led us into the tourism

121
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,840
Speaker 6: industry and tourism and our part of Louisiana is plantation tourism.

122
00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,200
Speaker 6: So the best way to tap into our love of

123
00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,640
Speaker 6: our area and our ancestry was through plantations, which is

124
00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,200
Speaker 6: bittersweet that that's the way we have to access our

125
00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:49,880
Speaker 6: history if we want to make a living through that,

126
00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:51,520
Speaker 6: if we want to stay in that space.

127
00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 5: But anyway, Joy and I like we did that.

128
00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,080
Speaker 6: We worked for Our first job that we had was

129
00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:03,680
Speaker 6: at Laura Plantation. My ancestor descended from Laura Plantation, so

130
00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,040
Speaker 6: we've started there. But it was the best African American

131
00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,320
Speaker 6: history that I ever had was being on that plantation,

132
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,640
Speaker 6: Like I understood what it meant to be descended from

133
00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,480
Speaker 6: the enslaves and their intelligence and their skills. So I

134
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,240
Speaker 6: say that as a good thing but also kind of

135
00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,080
Speaker 6: a bad thing that I had to go there at

136
00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,840
Speaker 6: eighteen years old to get that history, the history that

137
00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,160
Speaker 6: has not been allowed to our people.

138
00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,400
Speaker 5: It's been hard to access it because it's trauma, so.

139
00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:30,760
Speaker 6: You almost have to be buffered a little bit to

140
00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:33,720
Speaker 6: kind of get that history. And ironic that it comes

141
00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,200
Speaker 6: from a plantation. When a history is done better, you know,

142
00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,320
Speaker 6: I'm not going to say it's always done the right way,

143
00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,680
Speaker 6: but when it's done better, it can be cathartic and

144
00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,760
Speaker 6: it could be educational. So that led us on to

145
00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,480
Speaker 6: the being in the space of tourism, and Joy later

146
00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,920
Speaker 6: worked for Whitney Plantation as the director of Communications. I

147
00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,920
Speaker 6: worked for a tourist commission in a River parish, so

148
00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,920
Speaker 6: I was representing eleven different plantation halls in addition to

149
00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,800
Speaker 6: other attractions. But being in that world, what it exposed

150
00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,000
Speaker 6: me to was just how much Descendants were excluded from

151
00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,760
Speaker 6: our own history and how we were not allowed to participate.

152
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,000
Speaker 6: We were not given the same access and space that

153
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,360
Speaker 6: these plantations were given, and when we tried to like

154
00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:22,000
Speaker 6: infuse our own narratives, our truths, we were shot down

155
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:23,560
Speaker 6: because it wasn't making money.

156
00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 5: But in addition to tourism, what I saw was that tourism.

157
00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,400
Speaker 6: And heavy industry and the petrochemical companies are in bed

158
00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,440
Speaker 6: together in the River Parish in Cancer rally. It's not

159
00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,240
Speaker 6: an advocate for us, it's not an advocate for descendants,

160
00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,720
Speaker 6: for the past or the futures. And we were getting

161
00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,960
Speaker 6: eaten up by the policies of both right, one that

162
00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,920
Speaker 6: was not giving us the space to have participation and

163
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,720
Speaker 6: contribution to own history, and the other one, you know,

164
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 6: killing us and trying to run us off of our land.

165
00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,960
Speaker 6: So we started the Descendants Project to counter that it

166
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,319
Speaker 6: was really initially what it was first like, we want

167
00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,760
Speaker 6: to be engaged in tourism, we want to have this

168
00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,560
Speaker 6: und each other owned story, and we also saw it

169
00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,200
Speaker 6: as a way that descendants can engage in a healthier industry.

170
00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,400
Speaker 6: So if we're involved in this, we don't have to

171
00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,120
Speaker 6: work in plants, we don't have to work in the

172
00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,040
Speaker 6: industries that are killing us, and we can do something

173
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:17,120
Speaker 6: that speaks to our creativity, to our humanity and the

174
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,199
Speaker 6: humanities of our communities. So that was what we wanted

175
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,800
Speaker 6: to do, knowing that environmental justice is part of the

176
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:29,160
Speaker 6: overall well being the descendant community. But as soon as

177
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,720
Speaker 6: basically six months within us starting our organization and starting

178
00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,000
Speaker 6: to formalize, we then had to face a green terminal

179
00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:41,160
Speaker 6: from Greenfulle Louisiana that's proposing to locate on the former

180
00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:42,560
Speaker 6: grounds of Formosa Plantation.

181
00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,800
Speaker 5: So, because of zoning that happened thirty years.

182
00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,560
Speaker 6: Ago to facilitate for Mosa, Formosa didn't come, thankfully, although

183
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,080
Speaker 6: I hate that they're trying to locate to Saint James still,

184
00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,640
Speaker 6: but they didn't come. But the land stayed zoned for Formosa,

185
00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,000
Speaker 6: so that allows any heavy industry to come in histor

186
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,400
Speaker 6: reason why we have to now stop a grain terminal

187
00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,160
Speaker 6: that causes a lot of pollution and it would destroy

188
00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:04,840
Speaker 6: our community.

189
00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,239
Speaker 4: That's so interesting.

190
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,680
Speaker 3: Thank you for sharing that both of you, and I'm

191
00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:15,520
Speaker 3: really curious to hear more about this quote unquote sustainability

192
00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:19,320
Speaker 3: council that has just started. What were these folks kind

193
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,679
Speaker 3: of doing before and how have they organized into this

194
00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,040
Speaker 3: council to try to work against the work that you're

195
00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:27,680
Speaker 3: both doing.

196
00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,040
Speaker 6: Well, what's infuriating to me is if you look at

197
00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,440
Speaker 6: this council, there's a lot for example, the Tourist Commission

198
00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,199
Speaker 6: that I work for. I don't know if the Tourist

199
00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,040
Speaker 6: Commission will participate, but they are one of these people

200
00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,160
Speaker 6: that's on the list, which is something that I've always.

201
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,280
Speaker 5: Known about these through lines.

202
00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:48,760
Speaker 6: Right, So, now you have tourism that is fighting against

203
00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,840
Speaker 6: the things that they're supposed to be protecting. But you know,

204
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,920
Speaker 6: the Paris presidents that ignore us, that refuse to meet

205
00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,480
Speaker 6: with us, are now meeting and this other space they're

206
00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,840
Speaker 6: talking about, you know, Mike Bloomberg and money from the

207
00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,800
Speaker 6: outside quote unquote, which is ridiculous because if you think

208
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,200
Speaker 6: about Louisiana, the reason why Louisiana was made or was

209
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,400
Speaker 6: created was before for commerce, international commerce to make money

210
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,160
Speaker 6: from other areas of the world. So the fact that

211
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,240
Speaker 6: they have the same people that will brag about international

212
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,280
Speaker 6: or interstate correct commerce on a daily you know, are

213
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,960
Speaker 6: now saying that this is a bad thing because it's

214
00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,040
Speaker 6: somebody that is going against their interest and they shouldn't

215
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,000
Speaker 6: have any interest. We are the locals. We do try

216
00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:37,560
Speaker 6: to talk to them. They ignore us. They ignore us,

217
00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,160
Speaker 6: so you can't we are hyperlocal and they refuse to

218
00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,680
Speaker 6: talk to us. So now they get mad at us

219
00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,320
Speaker 6: because other people listen. You know, when we gave them

220
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,360
Speaker 6: the opportunity to talk to us and they refuse, they

221
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,800
Speaker 6: now get mad because other people want to listen.

222
00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:52,280
Speaker 4: I agree with that.

223
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,839
Speaker 2: Joe very Well said, I find the humorous almost that

224
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,920
Speaker 2: they do not want outside money coming in. However, these

225
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:05,319
Speaker 2: chemical plants are owned by foreign owners, so Formosta itself

226
00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:11,000
Speaker 2: was is a Taiwanese project. So getting foreign funds is

227
00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:12,640
Speaker 2: the name of the game when it comes to petro

228
00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,880
Speaker 2: chemical industries. But I think that the sustainability console quote

229
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:23,080
Speaker 2: unquotes is worried about Bloomberg helping and shining light on

230
00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,560
Speaker 2: this fight because of how successful his Beyond Coal campaign was.

231
00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,080
Speaker 2: It reduced seventy percent of the coal emissions and shut

232
00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:34,120
Speaker 2: down all of the facilities except for one, if I'm

233
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,599
Speaker 2: not mistaken. So you know, when Bloomberg gets involved in

234
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,240
Speaker 2: something that's starts to campaign for something, you know things

235
00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,880
Speaker 2: are going to change, there's going to be success. You

236
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,640
Speaker 2: know that he has the power and the authority to

237
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,080
Speaker 2: do it. And so I was very honored whenever he

238
00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,800
Speaker 2: launched the Beyond petro Chemicals campaign and had my mom

239
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,720
Speaker 2: come and reverende would attend, and I intended as well

240
00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:58,160
Speaker 2: to watch this monumental moment. So of course, but listen,

241
00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,959
Speaker 2: like Joe said, they wouldn't meet with us, so not

242
00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,400
Speaker 2: as someone else is listening to us.

243
00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,840
Speaker 4: Now that's a problem, So you know it is what

244
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:08,040
Speaker 4: it is. Amy.

245
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,600
Speaker 3: So have they not reached out to meet with any

246
00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,840
Speaker 3: of the environmental groups directly.

247
00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,000
Speaker 4: No, and they never do interesting.

248
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,320
Speaker 2: They meet with the parish council and the local leaders,

249
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,840
Speaker 2: and those local leaders do not represent the opinion.

250
00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:26,000
Speaker 4: Of the people.

251
00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,680
Speaker 2: And we have the fifth district councilman on tape saying

252
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,200
Speaker 2: that he knew that the community did not want Promosa

253
00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,240
Speaker 2: to build there, but he's still voted yes for Promosa

254
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,960
Speaker 2: indirect conflict with.

255
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,040
Speaker 4: What the community wanted.

256
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:42,840
Speaker 6: But it shows you too when you have somebody like

257
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:47,160
Speaker 6: Mike Bloomberg and beyond Petro team come in and saying, Okay, well,

258
00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:48,160
Speaker 6: you know here's money.

259
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,400
Speaker 5: They don't want that money, that money is not good

260
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:52,560
Speaker 5: or that money is the wrong type of money. So

261
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:54,600
Speaker 5: it's not only just about money. Would It shows you

262
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,120
Speaker 5: it's about power, which is why we are.

263
00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,240
Speaker 6: You know what happens when you have a system that's

264
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,200
Speaker 6: so tied to slavery, it's still to this day it's

265
00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:04,360
Speaker 6: still not enough of money.

266
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:06,280
Speaker 5: Is that they want control of us.

267
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,640
Speaker 6: And they hate the fact that we are showing them

268
00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,240
Speaker 6: they do not have control of us, and neither does

269
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,120
Speaker 6: Mike Bloomberg. By the way, you know we are this

270
00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,160
Speaker 6: is a person who wants to listen to us, and

271
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,880
Speaker 6: we listen to anybody if whether they donate a dollar

272
00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,000
Speaker 6: or whether they donate eighty five million, We listen to

273
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,520
Speaker 6: everybody who listens to us. So you know, we love

274
00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,440
Speaker 6: everybody who support us, and it should be no different

275
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:30,640
Speaker 6: with Mike Bloomberg.

276
00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, the grassroots groups there in the Gulf had some

277
00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:40,520
Speaker 3: big victories pre Bloomberg funding, So I can see why

278
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,400
Speaker 3: they might be worried that with additional funding that gets stronger.

279
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,680
Speaker 3: But it's not like the only reason that your work

280
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,120
Speaker 3: is winning is because of this new money. Have you

281
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:55,000
Speaker 3: seen anything prior to this, you know, these messaging slides

282
00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,200
Speaker 3: and stuff being leaked. Did you notice anything coming out

283
00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,720
Speaker 3: of this sustainability council where they were trying to push

284
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,840
Speaker 3: this messaging that like, oh, it's out of state elites

285
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,320
Speaker 3: that are trying to tell Louisiana what to do and

286
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:09,200
Speaker 3: that sort of thing.

287
00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:11,760
Speaker 4: Yes, I did.

288
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,440
Speaker 2: We have an intern that's working for us and she's been,

289
00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:16,800
Speaker 2: you know, researching and keeping an eye on it, and

290
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:17,520
Speaker 2: she came to.

291
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,600
Speaker 4: Let me know, oh, there's a bunch of.

292
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,280
Speaker 2: Different industries and people that represent industries that are saying

293
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,880
Speaker 2: they're forming a council to combat what we're doing. And

294
00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:29,440
Speaker 2: I looked at her as she told me this, and

295
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,160
Speaker 2: she showed she pulled it up online and showed me

296
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,880
Speaker 2: some things they had put on social media, and I

297
00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,520
Speaker 2: was like, this is so interesting, but it does not

298
00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,720
Speaker 2: intimidate me whatsoever, because I feel like, this is my opinion.

299
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:49,800
Speaker 2: We want clean air, clean soil, clean water for our kids.

300
00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:53,320
Speaker 2: To have a sustainable future. We want to be able

301
00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,600
Speaker 2: to live and breathe without illnesses and disease. We want

302
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,240
Speaker 2: what any parent will work for their child, their grandchildren,

303
00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,320
Speaker 2: their great grandchild. So even the people that's working in

304
00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,000
Speaker 2: these industries, we can relate on that same premise that

305
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,399
Speaker 2: you want to keep your job most likely because you

306
00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,280
Speaker 2: want to be able to provide and make sure your

307
00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:15,120
Speaker 2: kids have sustainable future and healthy that's what you want.

308
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,800
Speaker 2: We want the same things. What we're saying is we're

309
00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,560
Speaker 2: not against those industry workers. We're against the collution that's

310
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,480
Speaker 2: coming from the billionaires that own these facilities. That they

311
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,879
Speaker 2: own these facilities, they let it pollute and then they

312
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,000
Speaker 2: go on and leave and go back to their country

313
00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:32,800
Speaker 2: or their city or their state. But most of the

314
00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,560
Speaker 2: industry workers don't live in cancer rally, but the ones

315
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,240
Speaker 2: that do, you are facing the same problems that we have.

316
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,840
Speaker 2: The wind doesn't just blow at our house. The wind

317
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,200
Speaker 2: blows all around and you cannot escape that. So we

318
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:47,040
Speaker 2: are not in opposition with the people that work in

319
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:51,800
Speaker 2: those industries. And I see the Sustainability Council and I

320
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,639
Speaker 2: think that it's a joke because you're trying to deny

321
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,560
Speaker 2: that we only want to live a healthy life, and

322
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,320
Speaker 2: I know that the workers there want to live a

323
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,800
Speaker 2: healthy life as well. We're a lot more similar than

324
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,840
Speaker 2: we are different, So I'm not phased by this. To me,

325
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,720
Speaker 2: it tells me that they're worried and that they're scared. Yeah,

326
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,639
Speaker 2: and they're concerned about what we have going on. This

327
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,000
Speaker 2: fight was brewing up a long time before. My mom

328
00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:17,640
Speaker 2: was lit up and decided to fight back. But now

329
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,560
Speaker 2: she has fought back, and now the power is with us.

330
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,359
Speaker 2: We have had victories. We have gotten fromosa's permits revoked

331
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,040
Speaker 2: by a judge in September of twenty twenty two. We

332
00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:30,560
Speaker 2: have stopped South Louisiana Methanol from being able to build.

333
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,879
Speaker 2: We saw wandwaff for coming in, but only because we

334
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,359
Speaker 2: want to have a healthy environment for our kids.

335
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:37,159
Speaker 4: That's it.

336
00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,040
Speaker 2: So if Bloomberg recognizes that and see the humanity in us,

337
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,760
Speaker 2: maybe they should try it well.

338
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,720
Speaker 3: And I think Joe you said this earlier too, that

339
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,879
Speaker 3: you know the out of state money pushing this industry

340
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,600
Speaker 3: in Cancer Alley has been there for a long time.

341
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:57,880
Speaker 3: I don't know, it seems like a weird talking point

342
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,120
Speaker 3: to try to push are you seeing them try to

343
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,440
Speaker 3: need this talking point in the media. Is it working

344
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,520
Speaker 3: at all? Or how's the public responding? Is anyone actually

345
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,600
Speaker 3: taking this council seriously?

346
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,480
Speaker 6: I will say that, And you know, I think with

347
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,320
Speaker 6: shamar made some really great points. But to add that,

348
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:16,800
Speaker 6: I think.

349
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,639
Speaker 5: It's really it's it's racist to feel that. So you

350
00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,640
Speaker 5: think about the victories that you know that.

351
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,520
Speaker 6: That Shamira and her family and Sharon and Rise and

352
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,440
Speaker 6: you know, Sierra Club and and Earth Justice and all

353
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,320
Speaker 6: these groups have been working towards how much success they've had.

354
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,440
Speaker 6: But now this is Mike Bloomberg into the picture. Wow,

355
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,400
Speaker 6: we got to make a sustainability council.

356
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,440
Speaker 5: Right, we were winning before, Right, we have our case.

357
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,320
Speaker 6: We have a hearing tomorrow about the zwning on the land,

358
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,760
Speaker 6: you know, for the Grand Terminal. So all of the success, right,

359
00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,399
Speaker 6: but only now they make a sustainability council when a

360
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,480
Speaker 6: white man enters the picture in that way. So I

361
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:57,040
Speaker 6: think that's such a racist trope if you ask me

362
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,600
Speaker 6: that now our success will be tied to just this

363
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,400
Speaker 6: one person now, and not to say that these campaigns,

364
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,560
Speaker 6: campaigns don't help, and that we need we don't need

365
00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:07,840
Speaker 6: the help but let's get credit where credit is due

366
00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,000
Speaker 6: to the many people who have fought through all to

367
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,920
Speaker 6: get to the space to buy time, right to buy time,

368
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,920
Speaker 6: so that we do have this other layer to come.

369
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,160
Speaker 6: But what I have noticed is that they're using sustainability

370
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:21,639
Speaker 6: as part of that title.

371
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:22,840
Speaker 5: They knew what they were doing.

372
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,720
Speaker 6: And also, like if you go to that websites, any

373
00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 6: of these companies websites, it looks like it's an environmental

374
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:29,720
Speaker 6: justice group.

375
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,840
Speaker 5: It's totally green. There's like flowers everywhere. They have the

376
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,520
Speaker 5: lead so buried to where you look on.

377
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,960
Speaker 6: The first two pages of their website and you really

378
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,719
Speaker 6: see more about the climate and the new processes that

379
00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,359
Speaker 6: are making everything better. So they're very skilled at what

380
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,560
Speaker 6: they're doing when it comes to green washing.

381
00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,160
Speaker 5: I will give them that, But we're not falling forward.

382
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,840
Speaker 6: And I think more people understand that this is a

383
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,640
Speaker 6: trojan horse and we know exactly what they want, which

384
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,800
Speaker 6: is they want to destroy us.

385
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:01,919
Speaker 5: Is there anything that you guys are.

386
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:07,239
Speaker 3: Planning to do to sort of like publicly address this.

387
00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 3: I know you're doing some media outreach. Is there any

388
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,520
Speaker 3: kind of campaign you're thinking of or you just kind

389
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:14,600
Speaker 3: of like, Eh, we don't need to because it's such

390
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:15,320
Speaker 3: a nonsense.

391
00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:21,400
Speaker 2: Well, we're always in the works of campaign and advertising.

392
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,159
Speaker 2: I have a feeling that they're going to do you know,

393
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,720
Speaker 2: a lot of media, a lot of advertising, and so

394
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,280
Speaker 2: we're preparing for that. We're preparing to dismantle their argument.

395
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,919
Speaker 2: We're preparing to show the hypocrisy that they are, and

396
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,120
Speaker 2: we're preparing to expose the projective that they're doing. Even

397
00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:44,400
Speaker 2: the name Sustainability Council is a joke. But as always,

398
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 2: we know that we have to fight the politicians and

399
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,200
Speaker 2: the local leaders, and we know that we have to

400
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 2: fight the people that's in the industries. But we also

401
00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,800
Speaker 2: plan to connect with these workers. So let them know,

402
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,000
Speaker 2: you know, we're moms and dads and grandma's and grandpas

403
00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,520
Speaker 2: that care about their kids and care about the environment

404
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:00,639
Speaker 2: and care the future.

405
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 6: I would like to add, in attempts to protect our area,

406
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,720
Speaker 6: we have been named West Bank of Saint John in

407
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,800
Speaker 6: Baptist Parish, which includes Wilace, has been named to the

408
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,960
Speaker 6: National Trust of Historic Preservation's most eleven most Endangered Historic

409
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,679
Speaker 6: Site for the country. So being on that list, it's

410
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 6: kind of like, yeah, it's good to be on the list,

411
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,119
Speaker 6: but it is scary, but out of the three hundred

412
00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:25,000
Speaker 6: and fifty sites that have been placed on that list,

413
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,080
Speaker 6: only a handful have ever been lost. So the media

414
00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:31,480
Speaker 6: attention and also like the historic preservation fight that we've

415
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,640
Speaker 6: been putting up, especially in regards to the Army Corps

416
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 6: of Engineers and going through that process has been so helpful.

417
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,000
Speaker 4: And also we want to let them know.

418
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,000
Speaker 2: Like Joe said, with Bloomberg, we're so grateful for his help,

419
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,480
Speaker 2: but we've had victories before Bloomberg, so we're planning to

420
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,360
Speaker 2: continue to keep fighting. This is only going to add

421
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,160
Speaker 2: few to our fire. This only excites us and motivates

422
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:54,840
Speaker 2: us even more.

423
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,920
Speaker 1: That's it for this time, Thanks for listening, and we'll see.

424
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:15,120
Speaker 3: Time Drilled is an original Critical Frequency production. Our producer

425
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,880
Speaker 3: is Sarah Ventry. Sound design, mixing and mastering are by

426
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 3: Peter Duff, who also wrote our original score. Our First

427
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 3: Amendment Attorney is James Wheton at the First Amendment Project,

428
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,119
Speaker 3: and the show is recorded, written, and hosted by me

429
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:31,480
Speaker 3: Namy Westervelt