Clean Air Journal
Jilisa Milton, Co-Director of GASP, emphasized the importance of holding Bluestone Coke’s owners accountable, stating, “We must ensure that the health and safety of Birmingham families take precedence over profit-driven interests.”
“Fountain Heights includes the civil rights district, it includes the historically Black Bussiness District, and it goes all the way down to the bus stations and Morris Avenue,” Said Dominique.”We are a diverse neighborhood that could be benefiting by sharing the resources we each have through reinvestments and people who are willing to listen.”
“We were so close to it. I could taste it in my mouth. The smell was in the house. I felt like I couldn’t get away from it. I couldn’t let my window up; I couldn’t let my window down. It’s in the ground. It’s in the foundation.”
Sustainable development means economic development without the depletion of natural resources. Another way to think of it is; meeting the needs of today without creating problems tomorrow.
Soot, is a dangerous and deadly pollutant composed of metals, organic chemicals and acidic substances. It is produced by power plants vehicle tailpipes and other industrial sources as well as wildfire smoke. Soot threatens our health and our environment, posing particular risks for children, seniors and people with chronic illnesses.
Industrial plants in Birmingham, Alabama — including one now owned by WV Gov. Jim Justice’s family — have polluted the air and land in its historic Black communities for over a century.
