When Home is Next to an Oil Refinery

9/11/2020

Wilmington doesn’t have a single five-star resort, but my city, with a population that is 97% people of color, has five local refineries, the largest concentration in all of California. These refineries — owned by BP, ConocoPhillips, Tesoro and Valero — have helped turn my home into “Cancer Alley.” Young children and adults here die of lung and throat cancer at a rate up to three times higher than the surrounding areas, according to a report by Communities for a Better Environment. Wilmington is also home to the nation’s third-largest oil field and hundreds of active oil wells — all wedged in by three freeways and the nation’s largest trading hub. - HCH

matthew khalil

9/13/2020 07:19:38 pm

What I took away from this article is that 97% of the people that live there are people of color. And these people are going through a lot of stuff. There are going through things that we go through at a higher rate in my opinion. It's an eye opener to see things going on around you while you're not aware.

Caleb McCray

9/13/2020 08:24:20 pm

It seems that big companies have polluted this living space. It is a low income neighborhood that is right next to a multi million dollar plant. this relates to the content of capitalism and how it affects people that live around these plants

Tucker Williams

9/13/2020 10:11:14 pm

Wow, this article really shows how many different elements have all come together to create what we know as Earth today. This entire article connects to our module because of how it all aligns with Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift.

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When Home is Next to an Oil Refinery

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