Dear John,
Big Plastic is pushing for approval on a new plastic facility that would destroy over 100 acres of wetlands across the Gulf of Mexico.
The plastics this facility would produce are horribly damaging to our environment. Turtles, whales, and birds are choking on plastics. If we continue on this trajectory, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.
Because of the pandemic, the communities that will be most impacted by the toxic plant can’t easily fight back. So we’re counting on you to stand up for our oceans and marine life and demand the Army Corps of Engineers cancel the project.
Tell the Army Corps of Engineers: Say no to a new plastic facility near the Gulf of Mexico!
The proposed facility is a petrochemical plant that will bring even more plastic pollution to the Gulf. It will irreversibly damage wetlands and wildlife habitats. And the plastics that it produces will inevitably end up in oceans and waterways around the world.
But in addition to the impacts of the plastics themselves, petrochemical plants pollute and harm the communities they’re located in. This plant would release more toxic pollution into the air, further increasing the rates of cancer and other respiratory ailments. And its proposed location is in “Cancer Alley,” Louisiana -- a place where low-income and communities of color are already facing higher cancer rates because of industrial development.
These same communities are being hit especially hard by coronavirus. St. John the Baptist, one of the areas that will be impacted by the plant, has the highest COVID-19 death rate per capita in the country.
The Army Corps cannot, in good faith, continue the permitting process knowing the communities that will be most impacted by the plastic plant are dealing with a pandemic and will be limited in their ability to weigh in.
Take action now: Tell the Army Corps to put people and the planet over Big Plastic’s profits!
Every minute, the equivalent of an entire garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans. It’s killing sea turtles and driving blue whales closer to extinction. And plastic breaks down into micro-particles that never go away -- poisoning our aquatic systems forever.
But we can’t rely on beach cleanups to solve our plastic pollution problem. We need to cut off plastics at the source -- by rejecting new petrochemical plants that fuel this destructive industry.
The Army Corps is going full speed ahead on approving this Louisiana petrochemical plant. Big Plastic is surely pushing for its quick approval. If you don’t speak up now, the agency could fail to weigh the clear environmental, public health and community impacts.
Send a message to the Army Corps of Engineers: Stop the approval of plastic infrastructure!
Standing with you,
Marcie Keever,
Oceans and vessels program director,
Friends of the Earth
