7 June 2021 – by Evelyn Workman
Climate activists from the youth climate group Sunrise Movement have been marching 400 miles from New Orleans to Houston, following the path of thousands of families who permanently fled New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The activists’ aim is to pressure President Biden into including a Civilian Climate Corps in his $2.26 trillion infrastructure plan, which will create good-paying jobs for young people within environmentally friendly careers.
Along the way the group is making stops in communities disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. At these stops the group will be holding protests and rallies, and will be joined by many figures including political leaders and environmental justice activists. One of these stops was St James parish, a community about an hour outside of New Orleans, where the group protested the proposed construction of a petrochemical complex. St James parish sits on an 85-mile industrial corridor along the Mississippi River, which has been dubbed “Cancer Valley” due to housing more than 150 chemical plants and oil refineries. Last year, the government approved permits for plastic company Formosa Plastics to build 14 plastic plants in St James parish.
Environmental justice group, Rise St James, has been leading the fight to block Formosa from building the facility in their community. The Sunrise Movement organised the protest along with Rise St James, to bring greater awareness to the issue. Researchers have found that if the proposed Formosa complex is built it would leave communities vulnerable to extreme flooding, due to the destruction of nearby wetlands. The facility is also expected to emit and discharge a variety of pollutants, including carcinogens, into the air and water. St James parish is a predominantly black community, and Varshini Prakash, the co-founder and executive director of Sunrise Movement, has described the situation as “the epitome of environmental racism”.
