The fossil fuel industry is banking its future on petrochemicals — the toxic precursor to plastics. In this episode, Katharine and Leah speak with activists who are fighting back against petrochemicals in “sacrifice zones” across America, from the Ohio River Valley to the Gulf Coast. Learn where petrochemicals come from, how they harm people, places, and the climate, and why the fossil fuel industry wants them as a lifeline.
We hear from three guests who are leading us to a world beyond petrochemicals and plastics: Michele Fetting, program director at the Breathe Project in Pittsburgh; Shilpi Chhotray, co-founder and executive director of People Over Plastics, a BIPOC storytelling and environmental justice power-building collective; and Yvette Arellano, founder and director of a Houston-based environmental justice organization, Fenceline Watch.
Katharine mentions the Clean Air Council’s fact sheet on the Shell Appalachia Ethane Cracker plant and cites data from the OECD on projected global plastic emissions. Leah references a study on cancer rates in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” If you want to dive deeper on the many problems with plastics, explore the bounty of resources from Beyond Plastics. Check out the comprehensive policy solutions proposed in the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.
Next time, we’ll bring you a special holiday episode, featuring an audio essay from the bestselling anthology All We Can Save: “Indigenous Prophecy and Mother Earth” by Sherri Mitchell. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and don’t miss a single episode this season!
Live Episode: A Climate Book Talk with Rebecca Solnit
The Tongass: A Way Forward For The Forest
The Journey of Justice40
The ‘Darth Vader’ of Electric Utilities
The Case of the Killer Heat
New Year’s Reflections, Resolutions, and Inspiration from Sherri Mitchell
Bold vs. BS in Corporate Climate Pledges
Crypto Has a Climate Problem
How To Cope with All the Climate Feels
Live Episode: Vice President Kamala Harris on Climate Leadership, Justice, and Solutions
“What Can I Do?” Part 3 — The Political
“What Can I Do?” Part 2 — The Professional
“What Can I Do?” Part 1 — The Personal
Welcome to Season 3 of A Matter of Degrees
This is a Big (Climate) Deal: What’s in the Inflation Reduction Act?
How Gender Equality Can Save The Planet
Paid in Blood
The ‘Win-Win-Win’ Strategy To Retire Coal
The ‘Bond Vigilante’ Exposing Fossil Fuel Risk
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