Manchester, Houston: An Environmental Battleground
On Thursday, December 27th, in Houston, TX, residents of Manchester gathered with allies to issue new demands on Valero. “We demand to know what you are forcing us to breathe! ¡Exigimos saber lo que nos están obligando a respirar!”
The community came together in a celebration of unity and strength. Manchester is populated almost completely by Latin@s, and surrounded on all sides by industry.
A massive Valero refinery looms over the community’s only park and its smokestacks poison the people who live there 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Manchester is plagued by a long list of diseases and ailments including asthma, respiratory disease and inflammation, infertility, birth defects, and a myriad of deadly cancers. The National Disease Clusters Alliance reports (pg. 2) that children living within two miles of the Houston Ship Channel have a 56% higher likelihood of developing leukemia than those who live more than ten miles away. Continue reading “Houston Community fights #TarSands Criminals”