Douglas is working hard just to keep up. His 17-year-old daughter can run a 5k almost twice as fast as he can, and his 15-year-old son passes him on Nordic skis without breaking a sweat. One thing Douglas really enjoys doing? Running Environmental Health Sciences, pushing good science into public discussion and policy.
A proposed $9.4 billion plastics plant received another body blow Wednesday, after a Louisiana state judge vacated 14 state permits and lambasted regulators for failing to live up to their "constitutional public trust duty."
The ruling is a clear environmental justice win for residents of tiny Welcome, La., a small community with a 99 percent minority population, 87 percent of whom identify as Black.
That town, and the plant's impact on the land and the families living off it, was foremost in Judge Trudy White's 34 page ruling.
"The blood, sweat and tears of their ancestors is tied to the land," White wrote, noting that Welcome's demographics reflect its roots as a place once dominated by plantations and now populated by descendents of slaves who worked those plantations.
In the ruling, White cited Sharon Lavigne, director of RISE St. James, a local advocacy group, and winner of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize: "These are sacred lands. They were passed down to Black residents from their great-great-great grandparents who worked hard to buy these lands along the Mississippi to make them productive and pass them on to their families."
Editor's note, Sept. 14, 2022: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Queen Elizabeth II was much beloved for her apolitical marshmallow diplomacy. Her very outspoken son will have his work cut out for him, especially on climate change.
Diversified Energy’s liabilities exceed its assets, according to a new report, sparking concerns about whether taxpayers will wind up paying to plug its 70,000 wells.
