A massive 2,500-acre petrochemical facility called the Sunshine Project is currently being instructed along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. When completed in 2029, it will be the one of the LARGEST GREENHOUSE GAS EMITTERS in our country’s history.

And what are they going to manufacture?

More plastic.

This January, regulators approved a bogus air quality permit which will allow the Sunshine Project to release almost 14 MILLION TONS of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere EVERY YEAR.

According to an E&E News review of EPA data, this is more CO2 than any US industrial facility has reported to emit in the last 8 years. Why won’t they consider carbon capture technology? Because they determined that it would not be cost effective.

In 2020, we should be working to reduce and remove plastic from our environment, not add more. According to SAS.co.uk, 8 million pieces of plastic pollution enter the ocean every day. Plastic can take centuries to biodegrade, and recycling has proven not tp be a sustainable solution. There are many renewable, degradable materials we could replace plastic with, but because plastic manufacturing profits oil companies, it’s a very challenging battle to face. A battle that we consistently have lost because money can buy lobbyists, and lobbyists influence legislation.

This is corruption.

Any corporation that contributes to global warming is violating our human rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone is entitled to dignity, freedom, equality, justice, and peace. How can we have any of these elements when the planet we call home is being destroyed for profit. How can we expect to have dignity when climate change has caused famines and many are starving. How can we have freedom when we have no control over the caustic regulations that are harming our planet? How can we have equality when big oil gets richer and many of us can’t afford health care or clean water? And how do we have justice or peace when we are watching species go extinct at a monumental rate? When we watch island nations drown in rising ocean waters? Or even when we are forced to buy plastic packaging because we have no better alternative.

The construction of The Sunshine Project goes against our inalienable rights to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Polluting the environment effects our health which immediately effects our happiness. This is unconstitutional.

This project is estimated to cost 9.4 billion dollars. Imagine the possibilities if that money was put toward the benefiting the environment, not destroying it for money.

We need to stop the construction of The Sunshine Project.

Louisiana regulators: we do not want your facility on our planet.