Cancer-wary locals in Miss. resist Chevron’s fuel made from plastic
A highly-engaged group of neighbors who live within miles of the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery and other large industrial facilities in Pascagoula, Mississippi formed their collective activism in 2013 after realizing they were experiencing severe health effects as a result of exposure to the industrial pollution. The group, Cherokee Concerned Citizens, works to protect the health of residents in Pascagoula, telling Prism that 23 people within their 130-household subdivision neighborhood have died from cancer, heart problems or lung disease in the last five years. “Honestly, we stay sick,” said one resident who has lived in Pascagoula for 14 years. Residents have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for approving Chevron's use of "climate friendly" fuel made from plastic waste.
“Recycling Champions” help neighbors recycle in this Minn. countyMohamud Roble (pictured above) has spent the past six months encouraging his neighbors to recycle more. The initiative is part of a campaign to boost recycling rates in multifamily buildings in Hennepin County, Minnesota's most populous county, where many residents are immigrants, people of color or low-income. “Contamination is a big issue at multifamily properties,” Carolyn Collopy, Hennepin County’s supervising environmentalist, told Sahan Journal. "Recycling Champion" Roble, 37, whose interest in reducing waste began in his native Somalia, approaches people individually and at events about what is and isn't recyclable and why it's important for the environment.Sahan Journal has more →
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Calif. campuses to provide fentanyl testing strips amid state’s opioid crisis
California's Riverside County recorded 208 unintentional fentanyl overdoses in the first five months of this year. Two years prior, in 2021, neighboring San Bernardino County recorded 354 fentanyl overdose deaths. The state's fentanyl-related death rate has continued to rise, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass Assembly Bill 461, which provides fentanyl testing strips at California State University and community colleges. “This is a bill aimed at saving student lives and reducing the skyrocketing number of opioid fatalities among our young people,” said Assemblymember James Ramos (D-San Bernardino) in a press release cited by Black Voice News.
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
Dr. Abdirahman Madar has dedicated his life to improving healthcare outcomes in his adopted home of Minnesota and his native Somaliland. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Somaliland, he founded the Somalilander American Health Association to provide medical supplies and on-the-ground education