A new Amnesty International report titled “The Cost of Doing Business? The Petrochemical Industry’s Toxic Pollution in the USA” documents the health and environmental impact of fossil fuel and petrochemical plants run by corporations like ExxonMobil and Shell along the Houston Ship Channel in Texas, identifying it as a “sacrifice zone” where the harms are disproportionately borne by marginalized communities. “Our findings are exemplary of broader challenges and issues in terms of poor regulations and inadequate laws at the state and federal level,” says author Marta Schaaf, who calls for a moratorium on new projects while pursuing the long-term phase-out of fossil fuels.
