DW Discovers 'Cancer Alley' Residents Exist, Decades Later
DW notes residents are 'standing up' to petrochemical giants in Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley.' An inspiring story, to be sure. But the article conveniently glosses over the systemic political rot that allowed this environmental apartheid to flourish. These communities, predominantly low-income and Black, have been gaslit for generations while politicians, including Louisiana’s current Governor Jeff
Landry, received substantial campaign contributions from the very industries poisoning their air and water. (OpenSecrets.org shows petrochemical and energy contributions totaling millions to Louisiana state-level candidates, ensuring minimal regulatory oversight). It appears 'standing up' is only newsworthy when decades of legal and political avenues, lubricated by industry cash, have been
exhausted. One might wonder if the 'giants' would be so giant without their political facilitators.