Manufacturing
Industry accounts for well over half Louisiana’s carbon emissions, research shows
Louisiana’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study by the LSU Center for Energy Studies, are “dominated by the industrial sector,” which accounts for 61% of the state’s total carbon dioxide emissions. That’s nearly three times the national average share, according to the study. Emissions from all other sectors of Louisiana’s economy measured well […]
Plastics company to build $13.3M expansion in North Louisiana
BATON ROUGE – Continental Structural Plastics is planning a $13.3 million expansion project, Gov. John Bel Edwards and CSP CEO Steve Rooney announced in a joint news release Wednesday. The expansion will take place at the company’s Sarepta facility. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the project is expected to support 200 construction jobs, create 65 […]
Science catches up to what residents of Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ have been saying about pollution | Jarvis DeBerry
If you’re ever inclined to describe how healthy you are, you’d do well to remember that the world is bigger than Louisiana and that you could simultaneously be better off than the average person here and worse than the average person in the U.S. Consider the debate about whether the communities along the Mississippi River […]
RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne wins Goldman Environmental Prize
Sharon Lavigne, a retired special needs teacher in St. James Parish and the founder of the faith based environmental justice group RISE St. James has been named the 2021 North American winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for fighting to keep multibillion dollar chemical plants out of her already polluted community in the heart of […]
This session made the 8th consecutive year the Louisiana Legislature heaped praise on Formosa Plastics
For nearly a decade, Louisiana lawmakers have passed annual resolutions encouraging closer economic ties with Taiwan. Dating back to 2014, these resolutions have mentioned Formosa Plastics, the company behind a controversial plan to build a giant plastics manufacturing complex in St. James Parish. This year, Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 by Sen. Barrow Peacock (R-Bossier City) […]
Group of attorneys general demands review of Formosa facility in ‘Cancer Alley’
A group of attorneys general sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday demanding a deeper analysis of the climate, wildlife and environmental justice impacts of Formosa Plastics’ proposed petrochemical complex in St. James Parish. Formosa Plastics’ proposed petrochemical complex would include 10 chemical manufacturing plants and numerous support facilities. The […]
House passes bill that would hide corporate tax break data from the public
House lawmakers on Thursday voted 59-38 for a bill that would change the public records law to allow the state economic development agency to hide certain corporate tax incentive records from the public. House Bill 456, sponsored by Rep. Rick Edmonds (R-Baton Rouge), proposes to make an exception to Louisiana’s public records law for certain […]
One bill would reform tax incentives while another would undo tax incentive reforms
Louisiana’s House Ways and Means Committee advanced a bill Thursday that would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to enact any new tax incentives. However, a separate bill that threatens to remove the authority that local governments have over corporate property tax exemptions was proposed and ultimately deferred. House Bill 202, sponsored by Rep. […]
St. James Parish resident to testify at United Nations session on “Cancer Alley”
A St. James Parish resident who has been pushing for cleaner air surrounding her home in “Cancer Alley” will address the United Nations Working Group on Peoples of African Descent on Thursday. The session is public and available online through the OHCHR’s website. Sharon Lavigne, founder of the grassroots, faith-based activist organization RISE St. James, […]
United Nations experts condemn pollution of Cancer Alley as environmental racism
A group of United Nations Human Rights experts has raised “serious concerns” about the continued industrialization of the region of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley,” calling the permitted development of petrochemical facilities and ongoing pollution of St. James Parish a form of environmental racism against the mostly-Black community. The group of 14 U.N. Human Rights […]
Cancer Alley’s been ignored by state’s top Democrats, activist says in Poor People Campaign event
One of the nation’s most prominent defenders of the poor and their right to live in environments free of pollution included Louisiana’s Cancer Alley in his weekly call to activism Monday during which a St. James Parish resident accused the state’s leading Democrats, specifically Gov. John Bel Edwards and former Rep. Cedric Richmond, of ignoring […]
Report: Internal memo shows DuPont knew its LaPlace plant was polluting air
Chemicals manufacturer DuPont decided to sell its LaPlace plant after determining it would cost too much to reduce its emissions of a toxic chemical, according to the Guardian, which based its report on an internal memo from DuPont that was entered as an exhibit in a lawsuit filed in St. John the Baptist Parish. The […]