"Goliath has been running things in St. John for a long time"
May 15, 2021 3:55 PM Subscribe
"But the Davids have got themselves a slingshot." A celebration of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's 50th anniversary, by Together Louisiana. A video, called "When Goliath stays in charge, places stay poor," was created for a celebration of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's 50th anniversary, by the group Together Louisiana.
When we talk about Cancer Alley in the USA, what do we talk about? Is there a "Cancer Alley"? This video has been produced as part of a statewide communications effort in Louisiana, but I wanted to share it out to see others' perspectives.
Climate and Political Context
Marathon Oil, the subject of the video, is Louisiana's 7th largest climate polluter (EPA FLIGHT DATA, 2021), and Texas' 7th largest, at 3,967,921 and 7,655,594 metric tons of CO2e (11.6 MT) emitted in 2019 from two facilities. Marathon has donated Over one million dollars in political donations in the 2020 election cycle.
Health Context of St John Parish
More than a year ago, St John Parish had the highest death rate from COVID19 in the USA. It contains the block groups with some of the largest risk of cancer in the USA, according to EPA NATA 2014 data.
Some Historical Context
As the video alludes, St John has been home to the San Franscisco plantation, now home to Marathon Refinery. Marathon rents the big house out for destination weddings. Marathon's new office on Sugarcane Rd is built in a faux-antebellum style.
This kind of export development is not unusual in the River Parishes, where the head of the tourism commission is also the director of the Port.
St John Parish is also home to the Whitney Museum and Plantation. Originally owned by the Haydel family, the Whitney is one of the only museums in the United States focused on enslavement.
This property itself had been the subject of degradation by another petrochemical concern in 1991. Formosa Plastics had hired Gerald Haydel, then with Walk, Haydel, and Associates, to construct a Rayon plant on the site. Bill Moyers documented the struggle in his special "Politics, People, and Pollution." [link to video clip]
WILFRED GREENE, Retired School Principal: But I’m the one that’s got to breathe that stuff at night. I’m the one that’s going to be laying around here going [pants] “I wonder can I get my breath?”
Lastly, the current USA president's call for action on climate reminds me of older concerns of how the river parishes play a geostrategic role for the United States. In 1862, after the Union had established Camp Parapet, where many enslaved people fled to free themselves, General Butler was apparently perplexed about what to do with the situation.
Treasury Sec. Chase had this advice:
“I have heard intimations from the President that it may possibly become necessary, in order to keep the (Mississippi) river open below Memphis, to convert the heavy black population of its banks into defenders.”
When we talk about Cancer Alley in the USA, what do we talk about? Is there a "Cancer Alley"? This video has been produced as part of a statewide communications effort in Louisiana, but I wanted to share it out to see others' perspectives.
Climate and Political Context
Marathon Oil, the subject of the video, is Louisiana's 7th largest climate polluter (EPA FLIGHT DATA, 2021), and Texas' 7th largest, at 3,967,921 and 7,655,594 metric tons of CO2e (11.6 MT) emitted in 2019 from two facilities. Marathon has donated Over one million dollars in political donations in the 2020 election cycle.
Health Context of St John Parish
More than a year ago, St John Parish had the highest death rate from COVID19 in the USA. It contains the block groups with some of the largest risk of cancer in the USA, according to EPA NATA 2014 data.
Some Historical Context
As the video alludes, St John has been home to the San Franscisco plantation, now home to Marathon Refinery. Marathon rents the big house out for destination weddings. Marathon's new office on Sugarcane Rd is built in a faux-antebellum style.
This kind of export development is not unusual in the River Parishes, where the head of the tourism commission is also the director of the Port.
St John Parish is also home to the Whitney Museum and Plantation. Originally owned by the Haydel family, the Whitney is one of the only museums in the United States focused on enslavement.
This property itself had been the subject of degradation by another petrochemical concern in 1991. Formosa Plastics had hired Gerald Haydel, then with Walk, Haydel, and Associates, to construct a Rayon plant on the site. Bill Moyers documented the struggle in his special "Politics, People, and Pollution." [link to video clip]
WILFRED GREENE, Retired School Principal: But I’m the one that’s got to breathe that stuff at night. I’m the one that’s going to be laying around here going [pants] “I wonder can I get my breath?”
Lastly, the current USA president's call for action on climate reminds me of older concerns of how the river parishes play a geostrategic role for the United States. In 1862, after the Union had established Camp Parapet, where many enslaved people fled to free themselves, General Butler was apparently perplexed about what to do with the situation.
Treasury Sec. Chase had this advice:
“I have heard intimations from the President that it may possibly become necessary, in order to keep the (Mississippi) river open below Memphis, to convert the heavy black population of its banks into defenders.”
I have never heard the phrase "cancer alley" before, but it strikes a chord: I've driven through other industrialized communities before, and those staircase-twined smokestacks always make me wince for whoever lives downwind.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:04 AM on May 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:04 AM on May 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
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