Cancer Alley.
These two words are used for the 85 mile stretch of land between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where oil refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial centers line the Mississippi River. The pollution created causes massive health issues to the people who live there, most of which are lower income and minority communities. Over exposure to the oils and chemicals produced by these plants can cause life-long and life threatening illnesses, including respiratory problems and comas in adults. It can cause birth defects to fetuses in utero and infant death or miscarriages. Permanent burns can easily form on bodies of individuals exposed to oils or chemicals. And, of course, the biggest problem we are seeing that is affecting these communities the most: cancer. In the decades since the term entered into use, the area described has stretched further down the river, now being used to describe places in Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes. Residents of New Orleans have noticed substantial detriments to their health and to their environment. Specifically in the Irish Channel, and other Uptown neighborhoods, people have been pushing for city council and their representatives to fight against the expanding industrial centers on the West Bank which pushes fumes and pollutants into the air across the river.
These companies have committed chemical warfare against the citizens of this state for the endless, mad quest to increase their “bottom line”. If there is going to be any change, we need to come together in one voice and say, ‘no more.’ We must rage against these abominations of greed, and match their unstoppable desire for profit with an unbreakable will. They may have poisoned our bodies, but we will not let them take our futures. With the scourge of deregulation and further corporatization of our economy and our governments, it is clear why cancer rates are on the rise in many parts of the state. As our politicians line their pockets with blood money born from oil, the poor Louisianans suffer the worst. But this is not just a problem for the residents who live in Cancer Alley, it’s a problem for all of Louisiana.
Louisiana has always been home to companies in the oil and chemical industries that have shown a callous disregard for humanity and a criminal negligence towards the people. Cancer rates are rising all over New Orleans, not just in areas that feature these industrial monstrosities, and toxic fumes continue to flood our streets.
Politicians have lined their pockets at our expense in order to climb the ladder. Louisiana stands as one of the poorest states, and one with one of the highest rates of corruption.
As a community, we need to begin to demand that we end the constant deregulation that continues to be a scourge on our politics, and continues to allow these companies to harm us unchecked. As the state that is one of the most threatened by climate change currently, we need to demand that we make a quicker transition to sustainable energy sources, and energy sources that don’t harm our health or our environment. We have had the technology for decades. And we’ve known about the threat to our environment and our world that the fossil fuel industry has caused for decades. We need our leaders to take real action against these people who have been putting profit over people for decades. We need real leaders who understand the true gravity of the situation that we’re in. These companies, and the people who run them, have been robbing us of our environment and our wilderness by continually destroying our ecosystem for these resources. And, they’ve also been robbing us of our lives and of our health.
In spite of the fact that time and time again, these companies prove that their profit comes before people, and the state and federal governments have done little to help, especially when the ones affected are members of marginalized communities, there is something that can be done. The more aware we become now of these issues, and the more action we take as individuals and as a community to push for our leaders to rise to the occasion. And this is critical. Now is the time to act. To take action in pushing for our leaders. Now is the time to be an advocate for justice of all kinds, especially environmental justice. As a Jesuit school and community, we need to seek justice in everything that we do. Little actions as well as big actions need to be taken in order to make real change in this moment. We stand at a critical point between a past of negligence and a future of disaster, and it is up to us to decide that future.
