Currently — November 3rd, 2022

What you need to know, currently.

Protesters gathered outside the World LNG and Gas Series Summit, which was held in Lake Charles, Louisiana today at the Golden Nugget Casino. Lake Charles is a petrochemical, oil, and gas hub in Southwest Louisiana about two hours from Houston that’s particularly vulnerable to climate change. It was hit by two back to back hurricanes in 2020.

Over the past decade, Southwest Louisiana — specifically Cameron Parish, south of Lake Charles, has become the LNG capital of America. Residents have seen few benefits however — jobs often go to oil and gas workers who are brought in from out of state and because of Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program, companies receive billions in tax abatements while locals struggle to fund public schools and badly needed infrastructure improvements.

“What we have is a community that’s solid but has been shaken this year by all of these storms,” Louisiana Bucket Brigade organizer, James Hiatt, told KPLC 7 news. “We’re tired of being resilient, we’re tired of people calling us resilient. What we want is action, and what we need is for people to listen and become aware of what’s going on in this area.”