Cancer Alley: Fighting For Environmental Justice in Louisiana

Petrochemical plants have been polluting an area of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley for years, and now the residents there are taking action.

The petrochemical plants of Cancer Alley. GinesAlberto. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Along an 85 mile stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the landscape is dotted with petrochemical plants. They were built in the 1980s, when it was thought the plants would bring an economic boom to the region. Now, the residents of the region, known as Cancer Alley, believe that the preponderance of petrochemical plants have caused great harm to their communities.

Today, Cancer Alley contains 25% of the United State’s petrochemical plants. The concentration of petrochemical plants in the area has resulted in widespread pollution. The state of Louisiana produced 145.9 million pounds of toxic waste in 2018, with much of it coming from the petrochemical plants of Cancer Alley. The chemical chloroprene is especially prone to increasing the risk of cancer, as is benzene. Over the course of 2019, the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery and Chemical Plants increased its release of benzene from 6.5 micrograms per cubic meter to 8.5 micrograms per cubic meter.

The widespread pollution of the region has led to health disparities among its residents. Emissions from a chloroprene manufacturing plant in St. John the Baptist Parish have caused the area around it to have a cancer risk 700 times above the national average. And while there may be a dispute about the true connection between the pollution and cancer rates—research has shown that of over 400 cancer clusters examined in the last 20 years, only one can be identified as a true cancer cluster—there is no dispute that the cancer disproportionately affects impoverished and Black communities.

Cancer Alley is 40% Black, compared to 12% nationally. Over 79 census tracts in Jefferson, St. John the Baptist, East Baton Rouge and Orleans Parishes report being 90% Black and extremely low household income. Those living low-income census tracts have a cancer risk of 12% more than those living in high-income tracts, and those living in predominantly Black areas have a 16% elevated risk of cancer compared to those in predominantly white areas. 

Petrochemical companies have traditionally taken advantage of the impoverished communities of the region, building their plants there without the regard for the local communities. They also employ surprisingly few residents of the local community, with a 1995 survey revealing that only 9% of the jobs at those plants were held by local residents. The communities surrounding those plants have now had enough. They are starting to organize to prevent further expansions of the petrochemical industry in the area and are holding the companies accountable for the amount of pollutants that they release.

In 2018, Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality granted Formosa, a Taiwanese petrochemical company, approval to build a new plant in St. James Parish. When Sharon Lavigne first heard of those plans, she immediately expressed her disapproval and turned her outrage into a grassroots community organization RISE St. James. That group opposes the new construction or expansion of petrochemical plants in Cancer Alley. 

Other efforts have also been made to oppose the petrochemical companies. In St. Gabriel, residents pushed to incorporate their town in the 1990s so the residents themselves could control building permits in the area, rather than county officials working an hour’s drive away. That effort was successful, and in 2015, the municipal government denied a Chinese company’s request to build an industrial complex. In 2017, the town also denied an expansion by hazardous waste incinerator Absorbent Solutions. 

However, unincorporated communities do not have the ability to push back against new plants, and the county and state government have a history of ignoring concerns of the local communities of Cancer Alley. In fact, UN experts have called the government policy regarding Cancer Alley to be a prime example of environmental racism. However, the outlook is changing, as the EPA is opening a civil rights investigation over pollution in Cancer Alley, examining whether the factors that cause the preponderance of petrochemical plants in the region violate the rights of African Americans. In a victory for RISE St. James, the Army Corps suspended the permit for the Formosa plant on October 4, 2020.

Bryan Fok

Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.

Donating Used Clothing May Do More Harm Than Good

Donated clothes rarely end up in the hands of someone who needs them. Instead, they usually end up in landfills or overwhelming already struggling industries.

Landfill in Kenya. Thad K. CC BY-SA 2.0. 

Many Americans assume donating is the best thing they could do with their old, unwanted clothing. However, in reality, more than 80% of donated clothing ends up in landfills. Only clothing in the best condition is accepted into secondhand stores in the U.S., such as Goodwill or Buffalo Exchange. Even then, if the clothing remains in the store without being purchased for weeks at a time, the store itself often disposes of it. The rejected clothing often ends up in landfills or is shipped overseas. 

Americans buy five times as much clothing, on average, than they did 30 years ago. However, the quality of the clothing most people buy has decreased due to fast fashion trend cycles, resulting in an average of only seven wears per piece. The increase in purchasing combined with the decrease in wear time has resulted in an overwhelming influx of clothing donations in the past 30 years. 

In theory, shipping unwanted clothing to countries seems like a good thing; it has the potential to create jobs and provide more affordable clothing. Unfortunately, many countries (mostly in East Africa, where unwanted clothes are most commonly sent to, with the exception of Ghana)  cannot handle the sheer mass of the clothing they are receiving. The U.S. ships up to 700,000 tons of clothing overseas every year, which is simply too much for the textile and clothing industries to disperse. Additionally, secondhand clothing sells for such a small fraction compared to new clothing in East Africa, causing local companies unable to compete with cheap clothing to go out of business. 

Clothing Donation Stop. Laura0509. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Several East African countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda) even signed a ban on the importation of used clothing from the U.S. in 2016. The Trump administration negotiated with the East African Community (EAC) to reverse the ban, which they did, mostly due to international pressure. With that being said, certain countries, such as Kenya, claim to rely on the influx of clothing from the U.S. to keep their textile industry up and running. But while that is the case for Kenya, donated clothing does more harm than good for the majority of East African countries. 

In terms of the environment, secondhand clothing markets in every country in the world are simply unable to keep up with the amount of discarded clothing as the fast fashion industry continues to ramp up production exponentially. Whether the clothing begins its journey in a thrift store in the U.S. or on a plane to Kenya, it is ultimately most likely to end up creating more waste. The myth of clothing donation is part of what propels the fast fashion industry; people think donating their clothes will have an ultimately positive impact, and so they feel justified in continuing to amass more clothing. 

Ultimately, the most effective fix for this problem would be to reduce collective clothing consumption. The less unnecessary clothing that is bought, the less clothing waste will be produced. With that being said, there are other options to reduce your clothing waste. Instead of donating your unwanted clothing, giving it directly to someone that you know wants and will use it ensures that it won’t end up in a landfill, at least in the short-term. Donating your clothing to homeless or women’s shelters is also another option, as they have more need than thrift stores such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. However, even when it comes to donating clothing to shelters, the clothing must be in good enough condition to actually be worn. If it’s not, another option is to keep and repurpose it yourself. Old fabric can be used as stuffing or kept for a future art project. All in all, donating excess clothing can be the last resort, which comes after making an effort to buy less, trade within your own circles and repurpose used materials.

Calliana Leff

Calliana is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University majoring in English and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about sustainability and traveling in an ethical and respectful way. She hopes to continue her writing career and see more of the world after she graduates.

Underwater Noise Pollution is Shrinking Whales' Worlds

Human-caused noise pollution impacts sound-reliant species of whales and other marine life. Seismic mapping, shipping and boating traffic mask the acoustic communication systems they’re reliant on. 

Jumping Humpback Whale, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 

When a strand of eight adult female beaked whales were found on the shores of the far-flung Aleutian Islands in Alaska, members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration response team were bewildered. The whales appeared to be healthy, with no major external injuries, but their presence was unusual. What was thought to be a rare occurrence in 2018 has turned out to be part of a recurring pattern. Marine Mammal Science published a study which revealed that since the original discovery of the species, Alaska has had 74 known beaked whale strandings in 42 separate events. 

Military and naval operations in the area were put to a halt in 1997 but the U.S. Geological Survey’s monitors at the Alaska Volcano Observatory have detected human-caused seismic survey activity along the islands. New research suggests that the surveys may have been involved in the mass stranding. Underwater sonic tests are only the latest example of ocean noise pollution cited by environmentalists. Growing concern has spurred research into the potential threats of human-made noise for marine life. 

During seismic surveys, blasts of compressed air produce pulses of sound that analyze the seafloor for natural resources. At 220-250 decibels, these seismic air guns are the loudest noise created by humans underwater, producing a sound louder than a Saturn V rocket during launch. According to an article in Nature, “in the five decades before 1950, researchers recorded just seven mass strandings; but from then to 2004, after the introduction of high-power sonar for naval operations, there were more than 120.”

During the Trump administration, a ban on offshore drilling was lifted and companies from Central Florida to the Northeast were granted permits to carry out seismic mapping for gas and oil exploration. Senior bioacoustics researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Christopher Clark has studied whale communication for 40 years. Clark described the noise produced from seismic mapping as a “living hell” for undersea life.

Another primary contributor to ocean noise is shipping traffic, both commercial and recreational. Between 1950 and 2000 ship traffic doubled, producing an increase in noise of about three decibels per decade. This has led to communication masking — a term used to describe the reduction in the area over which animals are able to acoustically communicate. Research shows that across species, the combination of noise contribution from commercial and recreational vessels led to a reduction in communication range of up to 82%. A recent study found that shipping noise has the potential to double by 2030, further limiting the distance whales and other marine life are able to communicate between.

In the marine ecosystem, where visibility is limited, acoustics are the primary form of communication. For whales, every aspect of their lives is dependent on sound. Many of their species are highly intelligent, social beings who communicate in clicks and songs, and are even known to have their own languages. Some whales and orcas are known to use echolocation, a natural sound wave sonar, to hunt and locate food. Noise masks their expressions between their families, affecting their ability to feed and care for their young, as well as their orientation and ability to detect prey or oncoming ships. 

In 1956, French oceanographer Jacues Cousteau released a documentary misleadingly titled The Silent World, that fed into the misconception of a quiet underwater seascape. Today we know that a healthy ocean isn’t a silent one. The ocean thrives on the familiar sounds of its natural world, sounds that marine life recognizes as home. Lead author ofThe Soundscape of The Anthropocene Ocean Carlos Duarte says that “The soundtrack of home is now hard to hear, and in many cases has disappeared.”

Claire Redden

Claire is a freelance journalist from Chicago, where she received her Bachelor’s of Communications from the University of Illinois. While living and studying in Paris, Claire wrote for the magazine, Toute La Culture. As a freelancer she contributes to travel guides for the up and coming brand, Thalby. She plans to take her skills to London, where she’ll pursue her Master’s of Arts and Lifestyle Journalism at the University of Arts, London College of Communication. 

A Romanian City Swallowed by Toxic Waste

The landscape of Geamăna is a reminder of the impact mining has on local communities and environments. A nearby copper mine, Rosia Poieni, continues to leak its contaminated deposits further into the water sources of surrounding areas. 

Geamana church flooded with toxic waste, Flickr.com, CC BY NC-ND-2.0

Geamăna, Romania was once a quaint village nestled in the Sesii Valley of the Apuseni Mountains, a range in Transylvania, Romania. In the late 1970s, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu made way for a new copper mining project called Rosia Poieni. Work began in less than a year and the 400 families who lived in Geamăna were evacuated. Their village was replaced by an artificial lake used as a catch basin for the large quantities of toxic waste the mining project produced. 

Before displacing the villagers in Geamăna, the government promised the residents they would be relocated to a new village five miles away. They ended up being moved more than 60 miles away, receiving land and a small amount of money. Locals were upset because the government didn’t fulfill their promise to relocate the community’s gravesite, which still remains around the flooded church. 

Rosia Poieni is Romania’s largest copper mine and the second-largest copper mine in Europe. The mine is owned by the state company, CupruMin. In its prime, the copper pit produced 11,000 tons of copper a year, representing 65% of the total copper reserves in Romania. Before 1993, the discharge into the lake contained very few metals. When they could no longer sell the iron sulfate, CupruMin began discharging it into the water. 

Ever since, the metals released and the acidity of the water have increased significantly. As of 2016, more than 130 million tons of tailings containing metals such as copper, iron and zinc, have been discharged into the settling basin, an act referred to as “acid mine drainage.” Despite measures to counteract the phenomenon, a 2000 report by the French Geological Survey found the water to be very acidic, with a pH of 2.7. 

Recurring incidents of contaminated water leaking from the basin have spread pollution as far as Turda, a city more than 50 miles downstream. In 2008, millions of fish were found floating in the Aries river, a distributary of the Valea Șesii that connects to the artificial lake, as a result of CupruMin’s failure to charge the electric pumps that protect the area from biohazards. In 2011, a broken pipe led to 100 tons of waste poured into another nearby river, the Curmătura, and eventually into the Aries. Another incident occurred in 2012 when a few mineshafts flooded, spilling more of the contaminated water into the Aries. 

CupruMin receives fines from the local authorities every year for their actions, but these reprimands don’t seem to have much of an effect. The deposit of the Rosia Poieni copper mine is estimated at 900,000 tons, allowing the company to continue its exploitation for at least 20 years. As production continues, the contaminated lake will only expand and increase the range of its environmental impact. All that’s left to be seen of the old village of Geamăna today is the spire of what was once the town’s church, engulfed in toxic water: a surreal landscape that serves as a striking image of what could become of nearby towns if CupruMin isn’t held accountable. 

Claire Redden

Claire Redden is a freelance journalist from Chicago, where she received her Bachelor’s of Communications from the University of Illinois. While living and studying in Paris, Claire wrote for the magazine, Toute La Culture. As a freelancer she contributes to travel guides for the up and coming brand, Thalby. She plans to take her skills to London, where she’ll pursue her Master’s of Arts and Lifestyle Journalism at the University of Arts, London College of Communication. 

Senegal’s Artisanal Fishing Sector Faces a Rising Tide of Troubles

As vaccine rollouts speed up and restrictions loosen, some countries are beginning to piece back together life from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Other countries, like Senegal, have seen just the opposite. 

Fish market in Senegal. Evgeni Zotov. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. 

For many, a job is just a job—a way to keep food on the table and to pay the bills. For others, the wealth brought from working is deeply cultural, offering up a steady stream of personal meaning supplemented by financial gain. In the West African nation of Senegal, artisanal fishermen and women take great pride in their heritage, with the women standing center stage. 

Senegal is a relatively poor nation, with 30% of households grappling with food insecurity. The fishing industry plays a substantial role in Senegalese society: over 600,000 people are employed by the fishing industry and half of the protein consumed by the country’s residents comes from fish.

The women of Senegal’s coastal fishing villages sustain a matriarchy built on the fishing industry. The women process by hand loads of fish brought in by fishermen. They sun-dry and smoke the fish before selling them in local markets and to foreign fishing companies. Their work done by these women upholds their families, with one income from a fish processor able to feed up to eight family members. 

The Senegalese fishing women possess profound resilience; the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished their income to nearly nothing, which only increased their determination and creativity. By pooling money and taking hold of other resources, the Senegalese women have discovered a way to push through the pandemic.

However, Senegal’s artisanal fishing industry faces other major hurdles besides the COVID-19 pandemic. The rising sea levels brought on by climate change have ravaged many families’ coastal homes, with many unable to build new houses on their income. Additionally, rising sea levels have forced the men to venture much farther off the coast to haul in the same catch. This proved particularly difficult with Senegal’s COVID-19 curfew, which limited how far the men could travel out to sea. The women who process the fish have experienced decreased production as well, with many processing sites closed or greatly limited in capacity.

Lastly, larger industries have threatened the livelihood of this comparatively small field. Nearby construction threatens Senegal’s waters with pollution, while major fishing companies easily outproduce the women selling their catch. In addition, the government permits other countries to fish in local waters within regulation, but failure to effectively enforce these rules has greatly hurt the artisanal fishing industry.

Although there seems to be one hurdle after the next, the fishermen and women of Senegal have proven again their resilience. The country’s fishing women, in particular, stand not just as hopeful examples for their neighbors, but as a sign of strength for the entire world. 

Ella Nguyen

Ella is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.

Environmental Racism is Poisoning Black Communities in the US

Black Americans are 79% more likely than White Americans to live in areas where industrial pollution poses a health threat. The environmental injustice that members of the community face is rooted in centuries of systemic racism and segregation. 

In 2016, Flint, Michigan, was declared to be in a state of emergency by its mayor, Michigan’s governor, and then-President Barack Obama. These state of emergency declarations brought national attention to a crisis that citizens of Flint, a majority-Black community, had been dealing with for two years at that point: undrinkable water. In 2014, the city switched its drinking water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River in an attempt to cut costs. The Flint River runs through the center of town and has historically been used as an unofficial disposal site for refuse from local factories and mills. The river’s pollution, combined with inadequate water treatment and testing, led to discolored, bad-smelling water being pumped into Flint homes. Water from the Flint River caused rashes and hair loss, and it also potentially contributed to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that killed 10 people. Later studies showed that the contaminated water had also led to increased cases of elevated blood lead levels in Flint’s children, a condition which can create a range of developmental problems. Flint is still dealing with lead in its water supply because of corroded pipes. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission concluded that the government’s poor response to the Flint water crisis was a result of implicit bias and systemic racism. 

Flint is not the only city to fall victim to environmental injustice, the phenomenon of certain communities, such as communities of color and poor communities, being disproportionately subjected to environmental risk. Environmental injustice is believed to be rooted in systemic racism, and is sometimes referred to as environmental racism. While White people generally breathe 17% less air pollution than they are responsible for generating, Black people breathe 56% more than they cause. In 19 states, Black Americans are at least 79% more likely than White Americans to live in areas where industrial pollution is a health threat. 

St. James Parish, Louisiana, is riddled with factories, chemical plants and refineries. Residents in the area have some of the highest cancer rates in the country, and the region has been nicknamed “Cancer Alley.” Environmentalists say that the area’s fossil fuel industry is the reason for the community’s dismal health. Residents of Grays Ferry, a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, also face disproportionate rates of cancer, which experts attribute to the community’s proximity to a massive refinery. Like Flint, St. James Parish and Grays Ferry are majority-Black communities. 

Factories, refineries and other forms of polluting infrastructure have historically been built in low-income communities of color. Many of these communities were created through segregation and redlining, the refusal of the Federal Housing Administration to issue mortgages in Black neighborhoods. Housing policies under the New Deal were geared toward providing housing to middle-class White families, pushing people of color into urban housing projects. The Federal Housing Administration subsidized the production of subdivisions for White families, requiring that none of the homes be sold to people of color. White neighborhoods received more community investment and better infrastructure, while communities of color suffered from poverty and poor amenities. Companies began exploiting this segregation by buying out Black residents in order to use the land for industrial purposes. After all, people in low-income communities often lacked the means necessary to hire legal representation that could fight back against major corporations. 

The systemic racism that led to segregation and the creation of many low-income communities of color in some ways still perseveres, as these communities are taken advantage of by companies at the expense of residents’ health. Black people have historically been left out of the environmentalist movement, with White people making up 80% of the staff of environmental nonprofits. More recently, Black communities have begun advocating for environmental justice. Activists hope to combine the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impact of proposed projects and infrastructure, with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits federally funded entities from discriminating on the basis of race, to create a policy that would dismantle environmental injustice. Environmental policy changes are considered by many to be badly needed, and until they occur, companies will continue to prosper at the expense of Black communities.

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

10 Isolated Travel Destinations in the US 

Thinking about your next trip once the pandemic eases? This year, try one of these remote spots where isolation will be the theme. From Maine to Montana, explore nature free from crowds.

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The Lungs of the Earth are Burning

 The Amazon Rainforest is currently burning and has been for weeks, while little to no coverage has been given to the immediate and dire situation. 

Fire. Cullan Smith. Unsplash.

The Amazon is on fire and has been for a little over a month. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “40,000 different types of plants” are estimated to have been affected by the fires raging in the Amazon. The Amazon fires have been burning for a while now, but coverage on the fires has been little to none. Now, though, through the outcry on social media, attention has been brought and countries across the globe are pitching in, trying to do their part in reversing and stopping the fires. 

According to a NY Times article, “Hours after leaders of some of the world’s wealthiest countries pledged more than $22 million to help combat fires in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil’s government angrily rejected the offer, in effect telling the other nations to mind their own business — only to later lay out potential terms for the aid’s acceptance and then, on Tuesday evening, accepting some aid from Britain.”

Denying the aid could prove detrimental to the people and animals living in the Amazon forest. According to a CNN video, Daniel Aristizabel, a member of the Amazon Conservation team, states that the fires are affecting tons of the wildlife in the Amazon, stating “if you lose one species, you cause a chain reaction”. This “chain reaction” can cause a major shift in our ecosystem and possibly put many animals on the endangered species list. 

Being far-removed from the fires makes it difficult to understand the scope and how big of areas the fires are covering. In an ABC video, Andres Ruzo from National Geographic Explorer and Conservationist and also the Director of the Boiling River Project states that “we could be losing, in certain areas, as much as 3 soccer fields of jungle every single minute”. The rate at which the Amazon is burning is huge and will have an impact on ourselves. To put the size in perspective, CNN reporter also adds that the amount of land burning is equivalent to “two thirds the size of the contenential United States”. The Amazon Rainforest has often been called the lungs of the Earth but now they are clogged with smoke. 

Senior VP of Forests, WWF, Kerry Cesareo, states “we have seen a dramatic increase in deforestation in the Amazon, recently, and it is driven by humans and this is happening in part due to demand for food and other resources from the forests and exacerbated by the decline and enforcement of laws”. The apparent need for land for farming is the reason behind the fires. A great need for profit and resources are killing the Earth’s lungs.

If you would like to contribute to the efforts of saving the Amazon rainforest, you can donate to Protect and Acre Fund at https://act.ran.org/page/11127/donate/1 which “has distributed more than one million dollars in grants to more than 150 frontline communities, indigenous-led organizations, and allies, helping their efforts to secure protection for millions of acres of traditional territory in forests around the world.” You can also reduce your wood, paper, and beef consumption as those are the top reasons deforestation is currently happening to the Amazon. 






OLIVIA HAMMOND is an undergraduate at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She studies Creative Writing, with minors in Sociology/Anthropology and Marketing. She has travelled to seven different countries, most recently studying abroad this past summer in the Netherlands. She has a passion for words, traveling, and learning in any form. 



Ireland Becomes the First Country to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Executive Director of Trócaire calls the bill “both substantive and symbolic.”

Sunset in Skerries, Ireland. Giuseppe Milo. CC BY 2.0

Last July, Ireland moved to take public funds out of fossil fuels. While many universities, organizations, and even cities have made similar commitments, Ireland will be the first country to do so. According to the New York Times, Ireland’s action represents the most substantial advance for divestment in the world.

The bill commiting to divestment was passed with all party support by the lower house of Parliament and necessitates that money from the sovereign fund (8.9 billion euros) be taken out of fossil fuels. According to a statement, the change will be made, “as soon as practicable.” (The phrase likely refers to changes made to the bill: originally it called for divestment within five years, but was altered to give the government more flexibility.)

According to the Guardian, the bill defines a fossil fuel company as one that receives 20% or more of its income from the “exploration, extraction or refinement of fossil fuels.”

The divestment bill will move on to the Senate which has the ability to delay, but not overturn it. According to the aid of Thomas Pringle, the parliament member who introduced the bill, it has the support of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and is thus almost guaranteed to become law. Varadkar’s support is expected, as he has professed hopes that Ireland will become a “leader in climate action.”

According to Pringle himself, the “movement is highlighting the need to stop investing in the expansion of a global industry which must be brought into managed decline if catastrophic climate change is to be averted. Ireland by divesting is sending a clear message that the Irish public and the international community are ready to think and act beyond narrow short term vested interests.”

Eamonn Meehan, director of Trócaire, the environmental organization that advocated for the bill, told the New York Times that the bill, “will stop public money being invested against the public interest, and it sends a clear signal nationally and globally that action on the climate crisis needs to be accelerated urgently, starting with the phase-out of fossil fuels.”

Currently, Ireland has over 300 million euros in fossil fuel investments, according to the Guardian. The country's decision to divest is so momentous in part because of its reputation as slacker in fighting climate change. According to a survey by Climate Action Network, conducted a month before the decision, Ireland was was ranked second to last in the category of climate action, followed by Poland. The country’s decision to divest promises a greener future for Ireland.

Now, Ireland hopes that other countries will follow its lead. According to Gerry Liston of the Global Legal Action Network, and drafter of the bill, “governments will not meet their obligations under the Paris agreement on climate change if they continue to financially sustain the fossil fuel industry. Countries the world over must now urgently follow Ireland’s lead and divest from fossil fuels.”

 

 

 


EMMA BRUCE is an undergraduate student studying English and marketing at Emerson College in Boston. While not writing she explores the nearest museums, reads poetry, and takes classes at her local dance studio. She is passionate about sustainable travel and can't wait to see where life will take her.