Challenges
Key Challenges
When it comes to dealing with air pollution and public health there are many risk factors that comes into play within the community. For instance, social determinants of health and environmental disparities may hinder an individual’s ability to seek care and assistance. Some examples of social determinants of health include lack of education, the inability to receive healthcare services, and poor, neglected neighborhoods. These determinants of influences someone’s lifestyle and health outcomes. In addition, the lack of government attention and awareness on air pollution makes it challenging to address health concerns related to air pollution exposure. In St. Parish James they have experienced many challenges when it comes to protecting their home and fighting against the production of petrochemical industries. Two key challenges that St. James Parish have faced is environmental racism and political tension.
In Saint James Parish, the community consist of low-income families and poor housing areas. This community is living in poor housing conditions due to the production of harmful companies emitting air pollution. The construction of petrochemical companies is also making it difficult to live in St. James and causing individuals to become susceptible to health issues in the process. These companies are endangering the well-being of the BIPOC communities. For this reason, there are many individuals falling to sickness. Whenever, this issue was mentioned to government officials they neglected and brushed off the matter. This was due, to the lack of concern they had for the BIPOC community. Additionally, there is also political tension taking place within the St. James Parish. The petrochemical companies are constructing multiple factories in Louisiana without taking into consideration the living situation in St. James Parish. These companies fail to realize they are doing more harm than good to the community. Therefore, due to poor socioeconomic status, St. James is facing challenging obstacles such as environmental racism and neglect from government officials.
Furthermore, St. James Parish is also a town that has existed for decades. Prior to the town it is today, it was filled with many plantations with large fields for farming and slaves. The land there was/is very sacred for black families that currently occupy the town; it was their ancestors land. In the book called All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, And Solutions by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson, it states that “today, community elders measure the age of their towns by the depth of the black soil, since every farmer in every generation contributed to its creation1“. One of the reasons that Rise St. James wanted to stop the construction of Formosa Plastics, is because it was an ancient slave burial ground that the community wanted to respect. The community, has also developed a deep connection with the land because it once was the homes of their loved ones and family. In addition, there’s a lot of history deep within the “soil”. For this reason, Rise St. James hopes to preserve their land, to improve the environment, community and public health. However, they have faced many challenges in trying to preserve their land and continue to work hard to create change.
References:
1.) Johnson, A. E. & Wilkinson, K. K. (2021). All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. One World Press. (p. 2 – 8).