Beamont-Port Arthur, Texas, and the Petrochemical Industry
Overview
For much of their history, Port Arthur, Beaumont, and other cities of Texas’ “Golden Triangle ” owed their vitality to local plants producing petrochemicals. This industry has long brought jobs and wealth to this town; however, those benefits are not at all what they used to be. Meanwhile, Golden Triangle residents–and some more than others–have shouldered long-accumulating impacts of their local refineries and chemical plants, from pollution to climate change to lower property values. And the region has also given rise to robust movements for environmental and climate justice that seek to address and alleviate many of these problems.
Contents
Timeline
1. The accumulation of environmental impacts alongside other adversity in Port Arthur
2. Jim Crow Roots of Port Arthur’s Environmental Inequalities
3. Modern Pollution Control in the Era of White Flight
4. Port Arthur’s Environmental Justice Movement
5. Impacts of climate change and stirrings of a just transition in Port Arthur
Witness Seminar
Oral Histories
Video and Audio Clips by Theme and Speaker