WEBVTT - "Cancer Alley" Fiights Back 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:15.280 Welcome back to Drilled. I'm Amy Westervelt. Back in twenty 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.079 twenty one, we did a season of the podcast on 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:23.160 the fossil fuel industry's turn toward plastic and petrochemicals as 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.920 the thing that would save it as the world turned 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:30.960 away from combustion engines. They have only leaned further into 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.440 that plan over the last two years, but as we 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:38.159 documented in our Plastic Pipelines season, grassroots activists have had 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:42.240 a lot of success holding them off one ethane cracker 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:46.839 facility at a time. The Foremosa plant that was planned 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:50.519 for Saint James Parish back then is still on hold 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:54.240 now thanks to various legal complaints filed on behalf of 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.600 local groups like Rise Saint James, whose efforts we profiled 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:02.320 in that season. You can tell the organizers in Louisiana 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:06.679 are getting it done because suddenly the industry is organizing 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:11.959 against them. Last year, some serious money joined the petrochemicals 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.959 fight when Bloomberg Philanthropy is committed eighty five million dollars 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:20.760 to the new Beyond petro Chemicals campaign. The campaign is 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:25.160 focused on stopping the one hundred and twenty new petrochemical 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:31.320 facilities proposed in Louisiana, Texas, and Pennsylvania. So suddenly a 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:36.600 new advocacy group has emerged. It calls itself the Sustainability Council, 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.640 and it's led by big oil companies and industry groups 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:45.039 and backed by local officials and chambers of commerce. The 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:51.120 sustainability this council is interested in is the petrochemical industry's sustainability, 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.400 so it's working hard to try to discredit local organizers 0:01:55.520 --> 0:02:00.360 and paint the push against petrochemicals and Louisiana's cancer ali 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:05.520 has an effort pushed by outsiders. I got a chance 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.840 to speak with a couple of those organizers, Samirah Levine 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:12.040 with Rye Saint James and Joe Banner of the Descendants 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.760 Project last month about their ongoing work and what they 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:20.320 think of this new challenge to it. That conversation's coming 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.600 up right after this quick break. 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.120 My name is Shamira Levine Ormyra Levine either way, and 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.200 I am the executive assistant at Rhys Saint James. I've 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.919 been working with ry since twenty twenty. But I was 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.880 born and raised in Saint James, so I have first 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.080 and experience in cancer ally, and I grew up with 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.040 these industries. And to give you a little bit of 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.760 background on Ridse Saint James. It is a faith based 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:11.680 grassroots organization that was founded by my mom, Sharon Levian, 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:15.600 that is fighting the expansion in the build of petro 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:19.760 chemical facilities in Saint James Parish and in cancer rally 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.840 in surrounded areas. The fifth district, where I'm from and 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:26.399 where my mom still lives to this day, is overburdened 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:32.359 with pollution from petro chemical facilities. In a ten mile radius. 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:36.760 There are twelve industries. The industries have used a lot 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:42.440 of financial persuasion to get the local leaders and politicians 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:46.680 to side with them, so we are fighting local leadership 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.640 as well. They refuse to represent us instead they're choosing 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:54.320 to represent the industries. The whole purpose of fighting these 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.600 industries is so that we can have clean air, clean water, 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.960 and clean soil. We want to play for our children 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:02.640 to be able to grow up and live in. And 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.160 if you've never been to Saint James, I highly recommend 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.280 it you come see it because it's over burden, but 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:11.880 it's a sanctuary. It's beautiful and it's peaceful, and it's green, 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.280 and it's lush, and it's a place that I look 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.479 to retire at one day, and it's always going to 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:20.960 be my home, and I want to go back to 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:24.720 live there after we get all these industries out of 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:26.279 Saint James. 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.000 I talked to your mom a few years ago, and 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:33.000 I was so struck to learn about just how rural 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:37.159 and agricultural Saint James was before all of these industries 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.320 came in, and how not that long ago. 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:44.279 That was absolutely My grandfather was a farmer, so I 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.159 had memories growing up going to his house and seeing 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.039 the chickens eating eggs at the chicken coop so we 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.960 can make breakfast, the cows, the goats, the bull that 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.240 we were scared of, and also growing up a little 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.240 girl eating the sugarcane that grew in the backyard, you know, 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:03.120 just put peel that stalk all down and just sucking 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:04.080 the sugar off of it. 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:05.120 It was like heaven. 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:09.400 I thought that I had the paradise of life in 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.120 James with me, that I can just walk up to 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.120 a tree and pull the fruit off, or walk in 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.680 the backyard and eat a sugarcane. So it breaks my 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:20.520 heart to see the condition that is in and it 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.080 breaks my heart to know that the government and the 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.240 leaders here know that this is going on, and they're 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:26.880 choosing to allow it to continue. 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.040 That's what breaks my heart the most. 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.279 Yeah, that was very powerful. Mayra. 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.920 I love hearing you all talk about Saint James and 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:37.559 my family. We were in Saint John the Baptist Parish, 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.159 which is right on the border of Saint James Parish 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.320 on the West Banks, and unfortunately we share a lot 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:48.320 of the same history, the ruralness, the families and family names, 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.000 and we also are part of cancer rally, so we 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.680 struggle to fight against petro chemical as well. But Joe 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.760 and I, how you got started was really our love 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:01.760 for Louisiana, our history and our hair. Our grandparents would 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:05.120 babysit us as our parents, who actually worked for industry, 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:08.440 were at work. We would come home and we would 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.679 listen to our grandparents who loved to tell stories about 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.679 life along the river and their history and talking about 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:19.120 their grandparents and the folklore and the folk tales. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.040 So we just had this real deep rootedness in the. 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.520 Community through them, like they made us feel so connected 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:27.040 to the area that we're at. 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:30.040 It's in the country. I still live there by the way. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.640 In my same little neighborhood, our village that was started 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:36.440 by my great grandfather. So about one hundred or so 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:41.000 years ago, my great grandparents bought land and my great uncle, 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:44.039 their son, also bought land when he was fourteen years old. 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:47.600 So through those land purchases, my family created a village 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.520 and we were all able to live together. So our 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.960 days as children were just spent running through the neighborhood, 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:56.960 through the cane fields and the open area with our 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.719 cousins because we lived in like this sanctuary. Almost there's 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:02.800 no such thing as immediate family. I like to say, 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.640 like I never knew that term existed because our family 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:07.960 was so big. You can never just consider your parents 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.080 or your siblings as your immediate family because everyone is 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.360 immediate to us. And it just offered us a way 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:19.160 of support and sharing and nurturing and just also good 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:21.560 times that you like. 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:24.000 That's part of the American dream that we hear about. 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:27.280 So having that lifestyle, having that connection made us really 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.720 love our culture, and that led us into the tourism 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:35.840 industry and tourism and our part of Louisiana is plantation tourism. 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:40.200 So the best way to tap into our love of 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:44.640 our area and our ancestry was through plantations, which is 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:47.200 bittersweet that that's the way we have to access our 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.880 history if we want to make a living through that, 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:51.520 if we want to stay in that space. 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.520 But anyway, Joy and I like we did that. 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:58.080 We worked for Our first job that we had was 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:03.680 at Laura Plantation. My ancestor descended from Laura Plantation, so 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:07.040 we've started there. But it was the best African American 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.320 history that I ever had was being on that plantation, 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.640 Like I understood what it meant to be descended from 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:16.480 the enslaves and their intelligence and their skills. So I 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.240 say that as a good thing but also kind of 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:20.080 a bad thing that I had to go there at 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.840 eighteen years old to get that history, the history that 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.160 has not been allowed to our people. 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.400 It's been hard to access it because it's trauma, so. 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:30.760 You almost have to be buffered a little bit to 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:33.720 kind of get that history. And ironic that it comes 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:37.200 from a plantation. When a history is done better, you know, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:39.320 I'm not going to say it's always done the right way, 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.680 but when it's done better, it can be cathartic and 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.760 it could be educational. So that led us on to 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.480 the being in the space of tourism, and Joy later 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.920 worked for Whitney Plantation as the director of Communications. I 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.920 worked for a tourist commission in a River parish, so 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.920 I was representing eleven different plantation halls in addition to 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.800 other attractions. But being in that world, what it exposed 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:07.000 me to was just how much Descendants were excluded from 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.760 our own history and how we were not allowed to participate. 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:14.000 We were not given the same access and space that 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:17.360 these plantations were given, and when we tried to like 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:22.000 infuse our own narratives, our truths, we were shot down 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:23.560 because it wasn't making money. 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.280 But in addition to tourism, what I saw was that tourism. 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.400 And heavy industry and the petrochemical companies are in bed 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.440 together in the River Parish in Cancer rally. It's not 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.240 an advocate for us, it's not an advocate for descendants, 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:38.720 for the past or the futures. And we were getting 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.960 eaten up by the policies of both right, one that 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.920 was not giving us the space to have participation and 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:48.720 contribution to own history, and the other one, you know, 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:50.800 killing us and trying to run us off of our land. 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.960 So we started the Descendants Project to counter that it 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.319 was really initially what it was first like, we want 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.760 to be engaged in tourism, we want to have this 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.560 und each other owned story, and we also saw it 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:06.200 as a way that descendants can engage in a healthier industry. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.400 So if we're involved in this, we don't have to 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.120 work in plants, we don't have to work in the 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:13.040 industries that are killing us, and we can do something 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:17.120 that speaks to our creativity, to our humanity and the 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:21.199 humanities of our communities. So that was what we wanted 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.800 to do, knowing that environmental justice is part of the 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:29.160 overall well being the descendant community. But as soon as 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.720 basically six months within us starting our organization and starting 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:36.000 to formalize, we then had to face a green terminal 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:41.160 from Greenfulle Louisiana that's proposing to locate on the former 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:42.560 grounds of Formosa Plantation. 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.800 So, because of zoning that happened thirty years. 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:49.560 Ago to facilitate for Mosa, Formosa didn't come, thankfully, although 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.080 I hate that they're trying to locate to Saint James still, 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.640 but they didn't come. But the land stayed zoned for Formosa, 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.000 so that allows any heavy industry to come in histor 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.400 reason why we have to now stop a grain terminal 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.160 that causes a lot of pollution and it would destroy 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:04.840 our community. 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.239 That's so interesting. 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.680 Thank you for sharing that both of you, and I'm 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:15.520 really curious to hear more about this quote unquote sustainability 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:19.320 council that has just started. What were these folks kind 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:23.679 of doing before and how have they organized into this 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:27.040 council to try to work against the work that you're 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:27.680 both doing. 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.040 Well, what's infuriating to me is if you look at 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.440 this council, there's a lot for example, the Tourist Commission 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.199 that I work for. I don't know if the Tourist 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.040 Commission will participate, but they are one of these people 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.160 that's on the list, which is something that I've always. 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.280 Known about these through lines. 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.760 Right, So, now you have tourism that is fighting against 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:51.840 the things that they're supposed to be protecting. But you know, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.920 the Paris presidents that ignore us, that refuse to meet 0:11:55.960 --> 0:12:00.480 with us, are now meeting and this other space they're 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.840 talking about, you know, Mike Bloomberg and money from the 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:07.800 outside quote unquote, which is ridiculous because if you think 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:11.200 about Louisiana, the reason why Louisiana was made or was 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:15.400 created was before for commerce, international commerce to make money 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.160 from other areas of the world. So the fact that 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.240 they have the same people that will brag about international 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:25.280 or interstate correct commerce on a daily you know, are 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.960 now saying that this is a bad thing because it's 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:32.040 somebody that is going against their interest and they shouldn't 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.000 have any interest. We are the locals. We do try 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.560 to talk to them. They ignore us. They ignore us, 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.160 so you can't we are hyperlocal and they refuse to 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.680 talk to us. So now they get mad at us 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.320 because other people listen. You know, when we gave them 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.360 the opportunity to talk to us and they refuse, they 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.800 now get mad because other people want to listen. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:52.280 I agree with that. 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.839 Joe very Well said, I find the humorous almost that 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.920 they do not want outside money coming in. However, these 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:05.319 chemical plants are owned by foreign owners, so Formosta itself 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:11.000 was is a Taiwanese project. So getting foreign funds is 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:12.640 the name of the game when it comes to petro 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.880 chemical industries. But I think that the sustainability console quote 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:23.080 unquotes is worried about Bloomberg helping and shining light on 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:27.560 this fight because of how successful his Beyond Coal campaign was. 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.080 It reduced seventy percent of the coal emissions and shut 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:34.120 down all of the facilities except for one, if I'm 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.599 not mistaken. So you know, when Bloomberg gets involved in 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:40.240 something that's starts to campaign for something, you know things 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.880 are going to change, there's going to be success. You 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:44.640 know that he has the power and the authority to 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.080 do it. And so I was very honored whenever he 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.800 launched the Beyond petro Chemicals campaign and had my mom 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.720 come and reverende would attend, and I intended as well 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:58.160 to watch this monumental moment. So of course, but listen, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.959 like Joe said, they wouldn't meet with us, so not 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:02.400 as someone else is listening to us. 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.840 Now that's a problem, So you know it is what 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:08.040 it is. Amy. 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.600 So have they not reached out to meet with any 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:14.840 of the environmental groups directly. 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.000 No, and they never do interesting. 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.320 They meet with the parish council and the local leaders, 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.840 and those local leaders do not represent the opinion. 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:26.000 Of the people. 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.680 And we have the fifth district councilman on tape saying 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:33.200 that he knew that the community did not want Promosa 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.240 to build there, but he's still voted yes for Promosa 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.960 indirect conflict with. 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:39.040 What the community wanted. 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:42.840 But it shows you too when you have somebody like 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:47.160 Mike Bloomberg and beyond Petro team come in and saying, Okay, well, 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:48.160 you know here's money. 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.400 They don't want that money, that money is not good 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:52.560 or that money is the wrong type of money. So 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:54.600 it's not only just about money. Would It shows you 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.120 it's about power, which is why we are. 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.240 You know what happens when you have a system that's 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:03.200 so tied to slavery, it's still to this day it's 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:04.360 still not enough of money. 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.280 Is that they want control of us. 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.640 And they hate the fact that we are showing them 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.240 they do not have control of us, and neither does 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.120 Mike Bloomberg. By the way, you know we are this 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.160 is a person who wants to listen to us, and 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.880 we listen to anybody if whether they donate a dollar 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.000 or whether they donate eighty five million, We listen to 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.520 everybody who listens to us. So you know, we love 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.440 everybody who support us, and it should be no different 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:30.640 with Mike Bloomberg. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:35.080 Yeah, the grassroots groups there in the Gulf had some 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:40.520 big victories pre Bloomberg funding, So I can see why 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:44.400 they might be worried that with additional funding that gets stronger. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.680 But it's not like the only reason that your work 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:51.120 is winning is because of this new money. Have you 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:55.000 seen anything prior to this, you know, these messaging slides 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:59.200 and stuff being leaked. Did you notice anything coming out 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:02.720 of this sustainability council where they were trying to push 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.840 this messaging that like, oh, it's out of state elites 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.320 that are trying to tell Louisiana what to do and 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:09.200 that sort of thing. 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:11.760 Yes, I did. 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.440 We have an intern that's working for us and she's been, 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:16.800 you know, researching and keeping an eye on it, and 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:17.520 she came to. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:19.600 Let me know, oh, there's a bunch of. 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:23.280 Different industries and people that represent industries that are saying 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:27.880 they're forming a council to combat what we're doing. And 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:29.440 I looked at her as she told me this, and 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.160 she showed she pulled it up online and showed me 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.880 some things they had put on social media, and I 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.520 was like, this is so interesting, but it does not 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:43.720 intimidate me whatsoever, because I feel like, this is my opinion. 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:49.800 We want clean air, clean soil, clean water for our kids. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.320 To have a sustainable future. We want to be able 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.600 to live and breathe without illnesses and disease. We want 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.240 what any parent will work for their child, their grandchildren, 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:02.320 their great grandchild. So even the people that's working in 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:07.000 these industries, we can relate on that same premise that 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.399 you want to keep your job most likely because you 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:11.280 want to be able to provide and make sure your 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.120 kids have sustainable future and healthy that's what you want. 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.800 We want the same things. What we're saying is we're 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.560 not against those industry workers. We're against the collution that's 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.480 coming from the billionaires that own these facilities. That they 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:27.879 own these facilities, they let it pollute and then they 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.000 go on and leave and go back to their country 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.800 or their city or their state. But most of the 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.560 industry workers don't live in cancer rally, but the ones 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.240 that do, you are facing the same problems that we have. 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.840 The wind doesn't just blow at our house. The wind 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:45.200 blows all around and you cannot escape that. So we 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.040 are not in opposition with the people that work in 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:51.800 those industries. And I see the Sustainability Council and I 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.639 think that it's a joke because you're trying to deny 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.560 that we only want to live a healthy life, and 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:01.320 I know that the workers there want to live a 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.800 healthy life as well. We're a lot more similar than 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.840 we are different, So I'm not phased by this. To me, 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.720 it tells me that they're worried and that they're scared. Yeah, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.639 and they're concerned about what we have going on. This 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.000 fight was brewing up a long time before. My mom 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.640 was lit up and decided to fight back. But now 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.560 she has fought back, and now the power is with us. 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:24.359 We have had victories. We have gotten fromosa's permits revoked 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:28.040 by a judge in September of twenty twenty two. We 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:30.560 have stopped South Louisiana Methanol from being able to build. 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.879 We saw wandwaff for coming in, but only because we 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.359 want to have a healthy environment for our kids. 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:37.159 That's it. 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.040 So if Bloomberg recognizes that and see the humanity in us, 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:43.760 maybe they should try it well. 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.720 And I think Joe you said this earlier too, that 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:51.879 you know the out of state money pushing this industry 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.600 in Cancer Alley has been there for a long time. 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:57.880 I don't know, it seems like a weird talking point 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.120 to try to push are you seeing them try to 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.440 need this talking point in the media. Is it working 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.520 at all? Or how's the public responding? Is anyone actually 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:09.600 taking this council seriously? 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:12.480 I will say that, And you know, I think with 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.320 shamar made some really great points. But to add that, 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:16.800 I think. 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.639 It's really it's it's racist to feel that. So you 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.640 think about the victories that you know that. 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.520 That Shamira and her family and Sharon and Rise and 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:29.440 you know, Sierra Club and and Earth Justice and all 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.320 these groups have been working towards how much success they've had. 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.440 But now this is Mike Bloomberg into the picture. Wow, 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:37.400 we got to make a sustainability council. 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:41.440 Right, we were winning before, Right, we have our case. 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:44.320 We have a hearing tomorrow about the zwning on the land, 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:47.760 you know, for the Grand Terminal. So all of the success, right, 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:51.399 but only now they make a sustainability council when a 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:54.480 white man enters the picture in that way. So I 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.040 think that's such a racist trope if you ask me 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:00.600 that now our success will be tied to just this 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:03.400 one person now, and not to say that these campaigns, 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:05.560 campaigns don't help, and that we need we don't need 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.840 the help but let's get credit where credit is due 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:10.000 to the many people who have fought through all to 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:12.920 get to the space to buy time, right to buy time, 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:15.920 so that we do have this other layer to come. 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:20.160 But what I have noticed is that they're using sustainability 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:21.639 as part of that title. 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:22.840 They knew what they were doing. 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:25.720 And also, like if you go to that websites, any 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.119 of these companies websites, it looks like it's an environmental 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:29.720 justice group. 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:33.840 It's totally green. There's like flowers everywhere. They have the 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:36.520 lead so buried to where you look on. 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:38.960 The first two pages of their website and you really 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:42.719 see more about the climate and the new processes that 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:46.359 are making everything better. So they're very skilled at what 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:48.560 they're doing when it comes to green washing. 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:51.160 I will give them that, But we're not falling forward. 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:53.840 And I think more people understand that this is a 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.640 trojan horse and we know exactly what they want, which 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:58.800 is they want to destroy us. 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:01.919 Is there anything that you guys are. 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:07.239 Planning to do to sort of like publicly address this. 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:09.840 I know you're doing some media outreach. Is there any 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:12.520 kind of campaign you're thinking of or you just kind 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:14.600 of like, Eh, we don't need to because it's such 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:15.320 a nonsense. 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.400 Well, we're always in the works of campaign and advertising. 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:24.159 I have a feeling that they're going to do you know, 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.720 a lot of media, a lot of advertising, and so 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:30.280 we're preparing for that. We're preparing to dismantle their argument. 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:34.919 We're preparing to show the hypocrisy that they are, and 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:40.120 we're preparing to expose the projective that they're doing. Even 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:44.400 the name Sustainability Council is a joke. But as always, 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:46.560 we know that we have to fight the politicians and 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:48.200 the local leaders, and we know that we have to 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:50.800 fight the people that's in the industries. But we also 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:53.800