Overview
50 words minimum per response.
Discussion One
. What is one new thing you learned by watching the video?
I learned that there are 85 miles of petrochemical plants right next to the Mississippi River. Also that your home can be 500 feet from a chemical plant in Louisiana.
2. How is Cancer Alley an Environmental Justice issue?
Cancer Alley is an Environmental Issue because peoples homes and where they live could be right next to a plant, those people have to suffer the consequences. These people want their homes protected from the environment they are in, which makes this an environmental justice issue.
3. What are some reasons petrochemical plants are located in this area and not in neighboring areas?
The government in this area supports the large companies that are using the oil and putting fossil fuels into the air. So these areas with large companies that support the government prevent the government from supporting the people. Another reason the plants are located in this area because the democracy has been hijacked.
4. Why are Cancer Alley residents more susceptible to COVID-19?
These residents are more susceptible to Covid because there information from the CDC is not accurate and they have health issues due to the chemicals and fossil fuels they are not fully aware of. For example, one lady did not know why her child was having health issues until a lady knocked on her door spreading awareness of the petrochemical plants. Another reason is the chemicals contribute to autoimmune diseases.
5. What do you think the residents of Cancer Alley could do about the situation?
This area is also extremely difficult to find information about, so if the community did a little work to get some facts together they could raise awareness of the situation. Having others aware of the health and governing issues they would be able to have enough people to make a difference.
6. Give an example of a place experiencing an environmental justice issue similar to Cancer Alley. For example, what other marginalized community/region do you know about that is disproportionately impacted by pollution. Explain how this example is similar to Cancer Alley.
An example of another region effected heavily by pollution is from a documentary I watched called Seaspiracy. In this documentary, along the coast of Africa, there are fishermen who rely on the fishing for life who now have to go out further into the ocean on small boats to fish due to the amount of ocean pollution. This is similar to Cancer Alley because it is not well known information, it is in a poor area and people are dying due to pollution.
Discussion Two
. Before watching this video, I had never heard of Cancer Alley. I had no idea that an area like this existed and how frequently people in this area have experienced loss due to their poor living conditions as a result of these harmful companies.
2. Cancer Alley is an Environmental Justice issue because it is an example of how people with less money and in minority groups are being forced to live in worse conditions than other people. As one person in the video mentioned, many of them don't have a choice about where they live because they can't afford to move.
3. Some reasons petrochemical companies are located in this area are because the St. James Parish Council changed their district into a future industrial district to allow for more companies to take over, and the petrochemical companies often choose to locate near water sources, such as the Mississippi River, which is where Cancer Alley is located next to.
4. Cancer Alley residents are more susceptible to COVID because of the link between air pollution and harsher COVID-19 effects.
5. Residents of Cancer Alley should continue to share their stories and protest the increase in petrochemical companies. It's hard to say what they should do because they are the ones suffering the most, yet they don't have much input in what's happening to their health or environment.
6. An example of a city with a similar issue to Cancer Alley is in Los Angeles, California. According to the California Health Report, African Americans and Hispanics breathe in 40% (and Asian Americans 20%) more harmful chemicals caused by vehicle pollution than white Californians. It has been shown that people in minority groups and those with lower household earnings have no choice but to live in more densely populated areas which are more affected by the pollution coming from gas and diesel. This pollution has lead to lung and heart problems.