01/30/24 01/30/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> what we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life. we saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. we saw spit. we saw all sorts of stuff from his mouth developed on the mask.

we saw this man tied to the gurney and him ripping his head forward over and over and over again. amy: just days after alabama became the first state to gas a man to death using netra jen, ohio considers adopting the same practice which the u.n. has warned is a form of torture. we will speak to the spiritual advisor for kenneth smith about last week's execution. then environment justice and climate activists are praising president biden for pausing approval of new liquified natural gas projects. >> as the public and someone who lives in louisiana, a town surrounded by fossil fuel extractive industry, living here with my six children who suffer from asthma and eczema and other

respiratory issues, i can say these facilities are not in the public interest. and we applaud the biden administration for listening to frontline communities like mine. amy: plus, we look at a pair of landmark studies by amnesty international and human rights watch on how the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are devastating communities from texas to cancer alley in louisiana. >> i feel like it is a death sentence, like being cremated. dying from inhaling it going into our bodies. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in the occupied west bank, israeli soldiers raided jenin's ibn sina hospital earlier today disguised as civilian women and

medical staff, killing three palestinians. shocking hospital surveillance footage shows the israeli forces storming the hospital with guns raised as they searched for the three militants they said were using the facility as a hideout. israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 370 palestinians in the west bank since october 7, while more than 6300 people have been arrested. meanwhile, deadly attacks continue in gaza, where reports say israeli strikes killed large numbers of civilians in residential areas of gaza city. the death toll has now topped 26,700 since the start of israel's assault. hamas said it is renewing a truce proposal negotiated during we can talks between qatar, egypt, israel, and the united states. the political chief said he will visit cairo soon as part of the ongoing negotiations.

meanwhile, displaced palestinians continue to flee as israeli attacks target every part of the besieged territory. this is a young boy who fled khan younis by wheelchair after he lost his legs in an israeli airstrike. >> my dream was to play football for the occupation army will not let me play. they cut off my legs. thank god it was not worse. they stole my drink. amy: an average of over 10 children have lost one or both legs each day since israel's assault started on october 7. many amputations have been performed without anesthesia due to the shortage in medical supplies. u.n. secretary-general is meeting with key donors to unrwa that's the u.n. agency for , palestinian refugees, after the u.s. and a dozen other

countries halted funding for the agency after israel accused 12 unrwa employees of helping hamas stage the october 7 attack. unrwa has 13,000 employees. a group of at least 20 aid organizations -- including actionaid, oxfam, and save the children -- issued a statement condemning the decision to suspend funding, warning it could lead to a complete collapse of the humanitarian response in gaza. unrwa has fired nine staffers in response to the allegations and the matter is being investigated. on monday, the u.n. said israeli authorities have not directly shared any evidence to substantiate their claims. >> we have seen this reference to a dossier. we saw it in "the times" and "the wall street journal does quote and cbs -- "the wall street journal" and cbs. that information is not been

given to us officially by the israeli authorities. amy: unrwa reported israel has attacked facilities. the pentagon on monday identified three u.s. soldiers killed in a drone attack at a base in jordan over the weekend. they were all reservists from georgia. all three, african-american. early reports say the drone was able to bypass defenses because it had been mistaken for u.s. drone returning to the base. a group called the islamic resistance in iraq has claimed responsibility for the attack. iran denies any involvement. president biden has vowed to retaliate. while the white house has said it is not seeking war with iran, republican lawmakers are urging the president to bomb iran directly.

over a dozen palestinian and muslim students at harvard filed a federal civil rights complaint with the department of education, accusing harvard of discrimination and failing to protect them from racism and harassment. the students, who are represented by the muslim legal fund of america, say they have been repeatedly targeted for attacks, including doxxing, stalking, and physical assaults, in some cases simply for wearing a palestinian keffiyeh on campus. this comes as the city council of cambridge, which is home to harvard, passed a resolution monday calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza and the release of remaining hostages. in related news, the university of michigan faculty senate assembly passed a resolution to demand the school divest from any company profiting from israel's war on gaza. in pakistan, a court has sentenced former prime minister imran khan to 10 years in prison, accusing him of leaking state secrets. khan has rejected the charges against him as politically motivated. he is already serving a three-year prison sentence on corruption charges.

shah mahmood qureshi, former foreign minister and a top official in imran khan's pti party, has also been sentenced to 10 years. this all comes one week ahead of february 8 elections, which khan has been barred from. khan was ousted as prime minister in 2022, blaming the military and rival parties for plotting against him. in other news from pakistan, the iranian foreign minister traveled to islamabad monday as the two countries moved to de-escalate tensions following deadly air strikes within each other's borders earlier this month. this is iranian foreign minister hossein amirabdollahian. >> if you look at the history of iran and pakistan, there never been any cases of territorial differences. so this is one of our prides and clear manifestations of our good bilateral relations. amy: in sudan, at least 54 people were killed, including children and two u.n. peacekeepers, in attacks along

the border with south sudan. this weekend's clashes in the oil-rich territory of abyei, which is claimed by both sudan and south sudan, is the deadliest since at least 2021. meanwhile, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court said there is evidence both the sudanese army and the rsf are committing war crimes in darfur. this is icc prosecutor karim khan. >> report it is my assessment fast approaching and breaking point in the conflict in sudan demands your attention now more than ever. amy: nearly half of sudan's 49 million residents are in urgent need of aid, while about 8 -- with about 8 million have been displaced by violence. the u.n. estimates some 12,000 people have been killed, but the true death toll is believed to be much higher. the united states has reinstated economic sanctions against venezuela following a decision by the venezuelan supreme court

to ban opposition presidential candidate maria corina machado from running. elections are slated for later this year. maduro accuses machado of supporting u.s. sanctions and backing a u.s.-imposed, un-elected interim opposition government. machado spoke yesterday. >> i received the command of almost 3 million venezuelans come exercise popular sovereignty october 22. the opposition primary election day. i represent the popular sovereignty. they cannot have elections without me, nor the millions that voted that day. amy: the white house has given maduro's government until april to allow machado to run. last october, the u.s. eased some sanctions on venezuela's oil industry under the condition maduro allowed other presidential candidates on the ballot. sanctions could also be rolled

back if the ban on machado is kept in place. tension continues to mount as the senate pushes negotiations for a bipartisan border enforcement deal attached to military aid for ukraine. far right republicans encouraged by former president trump has said they will sabotage the deal even though it has some of the harshest immigration restrictions yet, including blocking people from applying for asylum was the number of every do migrants at the u.s.-mexico border reaches a daily average of 5000 in a week, president biden has already vowed to use the new emergency authorities to shut down the southern border, praising the deal as "the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we've ever had in our country." immigration rights groups have condemned the deal, urging biden support humanitarian relief. the proposal also drew criticism from mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador. >> that is not realistic will stop with all do respect, how

are we going to solve the migration problems with walls? how are we going to solve migration problems by closing the border? why these proposals? because elections are coming. amy: here in new york, harlem councilmember and exonerated central park five member yusef salaam was pulled over by police friday night while driving with his family. dashcam video shows the officer appearing to back off after salaam, who was sworn in less than a month ago, identifies himself as a member of the new york city council. salaam says the officer never responded to his request to know why he was stopped. the nypd later said it's because his car windows were illegally tinted and he had an out-of-state license plate. the incident comes as the new york city council appears poised to override mayor eric adams' veto on a police accountability bill and legislation that bans solitary confinement in prisons.

intro 586, known as the #howmanystopsact, would mandate officers record demographic information and give a reason for stopping people. last week, councilmembers, including yusef salaam, faith leaders, and community organizers gathered in support of the act. this is activist crystal walthall. >> this intro 586 is not going to stop everything in this moment, but it will give us the data, information, call on our in ypg to act differently. -- nypd to act differently. we have stood on those steps too many times for people who have been murdered by police. one too many times. we have stood on these city hall steps too many times demanding the nypd be transparent. we have stood on these steps too many times demanding accountability.

asking and demanding our nypd stop killing our people. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show with news that ohio lawmakers are taking the "next steps to kickstart" their execution chamber with experimental nitrogen gas just days after alabama used the same method for the first time in u.s. history. gassing a prisoner to death. the u.n. has warned this is a form of torture. ohio's republican governor mike dewine had said lethal injection was no longer an option for executions after a federal judge ruled it could cause "severe

pain and needless suffering." but ohio's republican state attorney general dave yost wrote on x, "perhaps nitrogen -- widely available and easy to manufacture -- can break the impasse." yost and other officials are holding a news conference today, less than a week after alabama executed 58-year-old kenneth smith with the nitrogen gas asphyxiation last thursday. this is media witness ivana hrynkiw. she is a journalist with al.com. >> made a lengthy final statement. "tonight caused humanity to take a step backwards." he also made an "i love you" signs in sign language. he appeared conscious for

several minutes. for about two minutes, kenneth smith writhed for about two minutes on the gurney, followed by several minutes of deep breaths. his breaths slowed until it was no longer perceptive for me to witnesses. time of death pronounced at 8:25. amy: the day after alabama executed smith, alabama attorney general steve marshall encouraged other states to use nitrogen hypoxia. >> to my colleagues across the country, many of which were watching last night, alabama has done it and now so can you. we stand ready to assist you in implementing this method in your states. amy: alabama officials claim the nitrogen gas execution was humane and effective. but for more, we are joined by

kenneth eugene smith's spiritual adviser reverend jeff hood, who says it was the most horrible thing i've have ever seen. welcome to democracy now! so you were there watching smith die. watching him gassed to death. describe what you saw. and we realize this is not easy. you are just coming off of this execution. >> good morning. thank you so much. like i said, it was the most horrific thing i have ever seen. the gas mask hits from the top of the head to under the chin. it looks like a fire fighters mask. once the execution began, it was very clear that kenny was suffering immensely. he begins to pump back and

forth. it really looked like a fish out of water, a fish on the dock. as he pumps back and forth, the gurney was shaking. very clear he was resisting or pushing against the restraints. every time he pushed forward, his face would thrust into the mask. the mask was tied to the gurney by two short, small pieces of material. so every time he came forward, his face would slam into the front of the mask. there was spit, mucus come all sorts of fluids coming out of his mouth. it was hitting the front of the mask. what it look like was mucus and these fluids were streaming down the mask.

he was very clearly and unbelievable duress. his face is turning purple and red, his eyeballs look like they were about to pop out. it was horrible. it was absolutely horrible. it was shocking this is taking place in a nation that prides itself on being one of the human rights leaders of the world. juan: reverend hood, this is the fifth execution you have seen now in 13 months. why do you witness these? what about this argument officials are constantly claiming that this is a humane way to execute? >> for me, there are two reasons. one is to provide witness like i'm doing right now to the horror that these executions are. two, to provide spiritual

comfort to the guys i work with. i believe the message of jesus is very clear that we are to love the least of these, those who society has shunned, the marginalized and the oppressed. with regards to the humaneness of this, anyone who would say that is either a lunatic or a liar. this idea that what we saw last week was textbook or it was normal or anything like that is absolutely absurd. there is no humane way to kill people. there is only a way to kill people. there only ways to perpetuate evil. it is hard to believe as a modern society that we are still so addicted to killing each other. of course as we kill each other, we teach our young people to continue killing as a form of vengeance and as a perpetuation

of violence. amy: reverend hood, this was the second -- well, there was a failed attempt at an execution of mr. smith several years ago, is that right? it was november 22. the executioners frantically sought a vein to deliver the deadly cocktail, at one point subjecting smith strapped to a gurney to an inverted crucifixion position as one team on the team repeatedly and painfully jabbed a needle under his collarbone. even alabama's ultraconservative governor kay ivey said there had to be alternative means of execution. the reason states are moving toward gassing prisoners to death is european companies that provided the chemical, right, for an injection, have set it

can't be used execute people because it harkens back to the holocaust. >> right. i can tell you if these attorney general's around the country saw what i saw last week -- like i said, this is absolutely horrific. i am thankful lethal injection has slowed down. i am thankful for european companies that have pushed back sending these drugs to the united states. but i will also say it is very clear that what we are witnessing is -- again, a moral apocalypse. we are seeing states trying different methods that are going to increase the quotient of torture in this country. it is horrendous. amy: reverend jeff hood, spiritual death row advisor, most recently to kenneth smith,

we thank you for being with us. the previous spiritual adviser who witnessed the first failed execution attempt could never see mr. smith again because he was destroyed by what he watched. in an extraordinary development, though, the u.s. supreme court ruled last week that oklahoma death row prisoner richard glass of will now get the chance to argue for a new trial after maintaining his innocence for three decades. glossip has faced nine execution dates, been given his final meal three times. in 2015, he was saved from death just hours before his execution only after prison officials admitted they ordered the wrong drug. last monday, richard glossip was granted what might be is last lifeline. the supreme court will hear his appeal, which is supported by

gartner drummond. on monday, democracy now! spoke to sister helen prejean on, one of the world's most anti-death penalty activists, who has been glossip's spiritual advisor since 2015. >> the response of the supreme court to grant it to richard glossip was greeted by us ecstatically. what a miracle it is coming from three really close calls to execution and then to see the turn of events in this case where because of his good lawyer don knight who is in there with obama legislators, really -- oklahoma legislators, really bringing them to death row to meet richard -- all of these guys are for the debt to handle tea. it is a red state. they look at all of these cases

and they get in his court. they get on his side and they begin to speak out. unbelievable to me, i had never seen this before, the attorney general of the state of oklahoma meets richard and actually files with the defense attorneys to the supreme court saying the state made mistakes in this case and we withdraw the death penalty. so we were waiting and waiting on the court because -- what are they going to do? if you have the main prosecutor in the state withdrawing the death penalty, the supreme court is not a prosecutor, you know? it is an adjudicator, an judge. but it took a long time to acknowledge it in the great served with the arguments will probably be heard in june. so over 25 years of the new

evidence that surfaced of all of the state all they did wrong will finally be heard by the server room court at the united states. i believe what will be happen is they will remand it back for new trial which i don't believe any court in oklahoma is about to do because they did 70 underhanded things that will all be exposed and i think they will let richard go free. amy: she is the author of "dead man walking." president biden has positive approval of new liquefied natural gas projects. we go to louisiana. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "fables of faubus" by charles mingus. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. in a victory for the climate movement, the biden administration has paused approvals for new plants to export liquified natural gas. the move comes after years of organizing by activists and frontline communities in louisiana and other gulf states who have decried the lng terminals as carbon mega bombs. in a statement, president biden said -- "this pause on new lng approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is -- the existential threat of our time.

we will heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act." oil change international called biden's decision to pause the gas projects a "huge win for people and planet." youth activists in louisiana have been campaigning against the expansion of lng terminals for years. >> my name is kami and i live in sulfur, louisiana. liquefied natural gas has been in my community makes me very afraid. we need to protect the gulf coast communities by stopping the approval of new and expanded lng export projects. there deliberately built in low income neighborhoods and communities of color. amy: we are joined by roishetta ozane, the founder and director of the environmental justice organization the vessel project. she is the mother of kami we just heard in that clip.

can you respond to this momentous announcement of biden last friday? what exactly it means for your community, not to mention the planet? >> thank you so much for having me. the biden administration made a monumental decision in the fight for climate justice financing they're going to pause reviewing applications for new liquefied natural gas facilities. those facilities are called liquefied natural gas, lng facilities, that we know in my community, there's nothing natural about releasing methane pollution into the community where children play, where adults are inflicted with things like cancer and asthma and other respiratory conditions. every day there is flaring, there some type of release of chemicals. there is noise pollution. it sounds like trains. we are thrilled the biden

administration listened to the people who are impacted by those decisions and we are saying bravo to the administration. juan: congratulations on achieving this win. are you concerned this is just a pause by the president and could very well be an election year action that he could then reverse later on? >> this pause is not just a minor achievement, it is a significant milestone because it sets the stage for potential rejection and slows down the progress of these projects, making it harder for them to secure financing. he could not have been possible without frontline leadership, but our work is not over. we are aware this is an election year and this could be some kind of action to help give voters or encouraging people to vote for this administration because they

told this administration straight outcome if you don't make a bold move toward climate, then we are not going to vote for you. we are aware of it stop but what this has done is opened the door for investigation to see if these projects are in the best interest of the public. once these reports come out, if frontline leaders like myself another frontline community members along the gulf coast and in other communities where these projects are located, then they will see these projects are not in the best interest -- out of my six children, two have asthma. my sister dealt with cancer. my nephew had cancer. this is not right. enough is enough. it doesn't matter what president comes after, once we prove that these projects are not in the best interest of the communities and show the harm they are doing, if they listen and look

at facts and data and still allow these projects to come in communities, then it will be even more evident that we have been sacrificed and they don't care about black, brown, indigenous, and low income people in this country. amy: roishetta ozanen thank you for being with us, founder and director of the environmental justice organization the vessel project of louisiana. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to look more closely at the area of louisiana known as cancer alley. and 85 mile corridor stretching from baton rouge that is filled with fossil fuel and petrochemical plants. a new report by human rights watch has found newborns living in cancer alley experience low birth weights at more than three times the national average. the rate of preterm births is also twice the national average, which can cause several

long-term health problems later in life, including respiratory illnesses such as asthma and cognitive issues. cancer alley is home to predominantly black communities who suffer from the highest pollution-related cancer rates in the country. this is an excerpt from a new video produced by human rights watch beginning with caitlin joshua. >> i first heard the term cancer alley when i was in college. i thought it defines what we've been dealing with in this area for some time. cancer alley is by definition the long stretch between baton rouge and new orleans filled with petrochemical industry. if you look at the map or plantations once existed, now majority black and brown population along the same line and also the similar map of the petrochemical industries and the buildout.

amy: "we are dying here" video produced by human rights watch which has just published a new report, "the fight for life in a louisiana fossil fuel sacrifice zone." we're joined by the reports author antonia juhasz, senior researcher on fossil fuels at human rights watch. she is award-winning, long-time investigative journalist covering oil and energy. author of several books, including, "black tide: the devastating impact of the gulf oil spill." this is the first time that human rights watch has investigated the human rights toll of the oil, gas, and

petrochemical industry in the united states come the first time in the gulf coast. talk about the significance of this. the facts and figures in this video and your report are devastating. >> thank you for having me and thank you so much for havingroishetta. human rights watch did a fantastic report and investigation on coal and mountaintop removal in 2018. but that is the only time we have done this type of traditional human rights investigation looking at accusations of human rights harms and investigating them on the ground for oil, gas, petrochemicals in the united states. as you said, the first time in the gulf coast. the significance is documenting the devastating harm and demonstrating the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry's role in bringing about these harms.

i covered the gulf coast and cancer alley for some time. i was astounded at the level of pollution simply to -- the scale that we uncovered. in the role of the fossil fuel c petrochemical mistry covering it. citizens are exposed to the worst toxic pollution of any people across the united states. the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry contributes to the worst air pollution in the state, second-leading cause of water pollution in the state. civil largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. the state is failing to regulate those emissions so that people across louisiana, cancer alley in particular, and black communities in particular, are exposed to devastating amounts of extremely harmful pollution causing expanded rates or extreme rates and risk of

cancer, respiratory ailments, and as you showed in the clip, the new research we were able to share finding for the first time -- the first time this has been investigated in louisiana -- what exposure to extreme air pollution causes to maternal reproductive and newborn health. what we were able to add to that was isolating out fossil fuel and petrochemical company is the single largest contributor. three times the national rate for low birth rate, 2.5 times for preterm birth. in the devastating toll that has on people's lives, their livelihoods, and the well-being. and the failure of the federal and state governments to protect , uphold, and defend human rights of people living in cancer alley. juan: i wanted to ask you, this

reminds me, decades back in the 1980's when i was a young reporter and worked on a series of articles, that time philadelphia county had the highest cancer death rate of any urban county in the united states. it was at the bottom of what was then called cancer alley in new jersey, where the petrochemical and oil-producing companies were strong along the new jersey turnpike down to philadelphia. when i reported back then the death rates were highest in philadelphia within the neighborhoods, in the two neighborhoods that were filled one with well refineries -- philadelphia was one of the few cities that had oil refineries within the city limits -- and chemical plants, there is a huge uproar. interestingly, all of the people who were dying were largely white working-class people.

i am wondering, you mentioned the black communities affected here. do you think there's a difference in the reaction to this kind of information when it affects communities of color versus white communities? >> i think that is the case. what you're saying in louisiana -- its history is very important . the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry moved in -- basically on top of former plantations, some even took the names of the plantations that they moved and on top of. many pushed out, moved in top of committees that have been built that were called freetown, built by formerly enslaved communities and their families, pushed them out, destroyed them, built side-by-side within black communities. what research by kimberly terrel

also showed is as the years progressed in the 1960's and 1970's a moving forward, the industry concentrated the worst polluting facilities and more facilities, even more firmly into black communities. you do have white communities throughout cancer alley that are getting harmed, but the worst and most polluting facilities are concentrated in the black communities where sharon levine is from, throughout the region, and we are seeing significantly disproportionate harm and disproportionate toll on the black communities as a result. so now the community with the highest risk of cancer in the entire nation, with seven times the risk rate of anywhere else in the u.s. from industrial air pollution, is in cancer alley, where robert taylor lives. he was also in the video. what you have here is -- the federal government sets a minimum bar by which all states

need to have their laws it here to. louisiana basically has its laws at the lowest bar. then it does not enforce them. the state is failing to enforce the federal laws. the federal government is failing to step in and ensure the state enforces the law. i was able to report data that the industry puts out itself -- the industry self-reports its pollution. what we know about how much it pollutes only comes from the industry itself. first of all, that data has been shown to be sometimes 28 times too low. the about their reporting is 28 times more than -- the actual emissions are 28 times more than they are reporting. but even based on the self-reported data, they're showing themselves they are polluting beyond what is allowed under the clean water act, under

clean air act, under federal law. there's a failure of enforcement. so you have this extreme burden, extreme amount of pollution resulting in extreme human health harm. what is important, as you demonstrated with what happens in other locations, is you can enforce the law. you can tighten the regulation. you can make them tighter. you can increase enforcement. you could make the facilities saver. you can force the industry to spend its money not on expanding the rather keeping the existing operations as clean and they've as i possibly can. some places do a better than others. they tighten the enforcement. we also found, and one reason we took on this research, was to say can you regulate this problem away? the answer is no. not only do you have not do, unnecessary burden being caused by the industry, on the ground

and the human rights harms on the ground, you have an industry that is the single largest contributor to the climate crisis. the fossil fuel and petrochemical operations in cancer alley and asked louisiana are the single largest industrial contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. 15% of the gas produced in louisiana and moved around in louisiana and consumed in louisiana simply goes to moving around more oil and gas. this explains the necessity and why local communities are calling for a moratorium on any new fossil fuel a couple -- chemical plates. we got trust you could operate safely and we don't what you to continue to contribute to the climate crisis. so we support moratoria on new or expanded operations like the one biden has basically put in place for lng. and we also say don't expand

with things like -- instead, figure out how to implement the just phaseout. changes to regulation and enforcement and laws that can help speed up that phase out a and petrochemical operations in cancer alley, in louisiana. and do it in a model that is already being used through the inflation reduction act. that is then applied to abandon oil and gas wells. the workers have been employed to remediate those old sites, tournament to -- let's do that as we move out of fossil fuels and petrochemicals. hire workers to remediate those sites. implement localized, renewable sources of energy that are safer, cleaner, play workers to do that.

we are offering recommendations that could help move through that transition, better regulated industry now and transition away. amy: antonia juhasz is a senior researcher on fossil fuels at human rights watch. we will link to the report "'we're dying here': the fight for life in a louisiana fossil fuel sacrifice zone." coming up, we continue with amnesty international's new report, the cost of doing business -- report "the cost of doing business? the petrochemical industry's toxic pollution in the usa." back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "with you" by aloboi. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. "the cost of doing business? the petrochemical industry's toxic pollution in the usa." that is the name of a new amnesty international report which finds the left expectancy in predominately black communities along the houston ship channel in texas is to 20 years less than and nearby white communities. the houston ship channel is lined by over 600 petrochemical plants that operate 24 hours a day come disproportionately polluting low income, largely black and latinx communities. in a moment we will talk about the report but first to the new video produced by amnesty. >> a new report reveals human rights are being sacrificed along the houston ship channel in texas by devastating pollution from over 600

petrochemical plants in the area. these plants process fossil fuels and chemicals to make things like plastics, fertilizers, pesticides freeze in the usa and around the world, including europe. frontline communities are regularly exposed to toxic substances link to a wide range of illnesses such as cancers and respiratory diseases. >> people who work at the plant told us, oh, that is benzene, that is sulfur. they burned all of this off. >> these communities are marginalized and lack access to the health care they need, let alone the resources they need to fight the injustices and environment of racism. >> minority communities tend to be the ones having to deal with the brunt of the issues and some people continue to battle and educate people what is going on. >> despite regulations come the texas commission rarely imposes

penalties, allowing companies to evade fines by claiming air pollution is unavoidable. >> they get slapped on the wrist with fines and pay the fines but are still polluting. there still making people sick. >> in the past decade, while the reported fires and unexpected toxic leaks in the area resulting in evacuations, injuries, and even deaths. despite the danger to local communities, the environment, the petrochemical industry continues to expand as oil and gas companies look to offset anticipated falls in the demand for fossil fuels. we can all play a part by protecting front and communities from the toxic petrochemical industry. to make accountability and remedy for frontline communities. amy: a new video report by amnesty international. we're joined now by marta schaaf , director of the program on climate, economic and social justice and corporate accountability at amnesty international, which just released the new report "the cost of doing business? the petrochemical industry's

toxic pollution in the usa." thank you so much for being with us. you are naming names from exxon mobil to shell. talk about the significance of the houston channel and what the cost of doing business is. >> thank you. we are naming names. we did case studies of four specific facilities. three of them produced petrochemicals, which are derived from fossil fuels and used in everyday products such as fertilizers and single-use plastics -- which are the production of single-use plastics is projected to double in the u.s. by 2040. the u.s. is the number two producer after china. we looked at one facility, storage facility. often petrochemicals are stored until there is a more favorable price and then shipped outcome

so exposing communities to further harm. we are naming names. at the same time as the segment noted, there are over 600 facilities along the houston ship channel which runs from houston to the gulf of mexico. our findings are exemplary of broader challenges and issues in terms of poor regulation and inadequate laws at the state and federal level. juan: i am wondering, years ago when i was looking into some of these issues of pollution in the petrochemical industry, the big problem was government regulators only came during working hours and these companies were very good at emitting the worst pollution at night and on weekends so the regulators were not even around. i wonder what you've been able to find these days that is happening? >> what we found is that many of

the air quality monitors, for example, they are sparsely located and not necessarily in the communities at issue. and that when the residents report problems such as vibrations, chemical odors, smoke, other things that would cause them to believe there's been some sort of accident or pollution event, they're not always responded to in a timely fashion. texas has a law stating if a community has made multiple complaints, the regulators are not required to respond to their complaint. this flies in the face of logic because we know several communities are exposed disproportionately to these challenges, to these excedences. this law came into effect in august 2023 and expected to even further undermine residence capacity to report smoke and other odors and events that cause them to think there's been

some sort of pollution event. we conducted the intviews -- juan: i just want to ask you, you mentioned something in your report called the affirmative defense that companies use. could you talk about that? >> the affirmative defense is basically a loophole in state law that allows companies to say our particular emissions event was "unplanned and unavoidable." so they make this claim with great frequency. they are granted the defense with great frequency by the texas commission on environmental quality. it basically provides them an out. they may or may not be levied with a small fine but these fines are so small that it is more beneficial to the company to continue to operate cheaply

and deliver these exceedances as a cost of doing business and it is the community's living on the fence light of these facilities that pay the price for that. for that high cost of doing business, in fact. amy: finally, amnesty international's recommendations? >> we recommend -- we look at local, state, and federal law and find there are gaps in all of these and on top of the fact the laws themselves are inadequate, they are poorly implemented. we call for much stronger implementation of existing law as regards to responding to complaints, to permitting -- permitting renewal is a key opportunity to ask companies to look at their compliance, look at the number of times they have been noncompliant, and make demands or not renew their permits. to insist on changes or close

the facilities. similarly, the epa should look at the state -- the extent to which they implemented federal all in the state and make a man's on what is required to ensure these companies are allowed to continue to operate. like human rights watch, we recognize the petrochemical industry should not be growing, that fossil fuel derived products should be phased out over time. we also call for a moratorium on expansion and suggest several avenues the state can use to transition folks to good jobs in the renewable energy industry and remediation in the petrochemical industry. amy: we want to thank you for being with us. marta schaaf is the director of the program on climate, economic and social justice and corporate accountability. we will into amnesties new report "the cost of doing business? the petrochemical industry's toxic pollution in the usa." amnesty has noted the production

of plastics by petrochemical plants is set to double by 2040 despite the fact that it poses environmental pollutant and health hazards, to say the least, particularly in communities of color. that does it for our show. democracy now! is currently accepting applications for a