Benutzer:Almtiger/Sharon Lavigne
Vorlage:Infobox person/Wikidata
Sharon Lavigne (born May 1950) is an environmental justice activist in Louisiana focused on combating petrochemical complexes in Cancer Alley.[1][2] She is the 2022 recipient of the Laetare Medal, the highest honor for American Catholics, and a 2021 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Activism
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]Lavigne, who is from St. James Parish, Louisiana which is at the center of the alley, has testified before Congress, and runs a faith-based organization, RISE St. James, focused on preventing expansion and worsening petrochemical plant pollution in the area.[1][2][3][4][5]
Lavigne is also a collaborator on the Coalition Against Death Alley, a regional environmental justice group.[3] She is also a plaintiff in White Hat v. Landry, an environmental justice case, focused on changes in Louisiana Oil and Gas law.[6]
Lavigne is focused in part on defending the cultural heritage of the African American community.[2] In 2019, she organized the community against a new Formosa Plastics Corp factory that would have disrupted a slave grave in the community.[2][3][4] In December 2020, the plant's process was stalled by court ruling.[7] She had previously help stall similar projects from Wanhua Chemical Group and South Louisiana Methanol.
Lavigne was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2021.[8][9] She was named the 2022 recipient of the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal on March 27, 2022.[10] The same year, RISE, Earthjustice, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and other plaintiffs won a lawsuit against Formosa that argued the potential air pollution of the proposed plant would violate federal standards.[11]
Personal life
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]Lavigne is a retired special education teacher.[3] Her father was a sugarcane farmer in the area, and her mother a homemaker.[3] Her family participated in civil rights actions in the area during the civil rights movement.[3]
She is also a Black Catholic, a parishioner at St. James Catholic Church in St. James, Louisiana.
Einzelnachweise
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- ↑ a b The Fight for Life in Death Alley: Testimony from Sharon Lavigne, St. James, Louisiana. In: Kairos. 27. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ a b c d Sharon Lavigne's fighting faith on the bayou. In: National Catholic Reporter. 30. Oktober 2020, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ a b c d e f The Plastics Giant and the Making of an Environmental Justice Warrior. In: DeSmog. 7. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ a b One Woman's Fight for Clean Air in Louisiana's Cancer Alley. In: Sierra Club. 11. Februar 2020, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ Cancer Alley Rises Up. In: Earthjustice. 8. Mai 2019, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ Sharon Lavigne. In: Center for Constitutional Rights. Abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ Court rulings stall controversial plastics factory in Louisiana. In: National Catholic Reporter. 1. Dezember 2020, abgerufen am 20. Dezember 2020 (englisch).
- ↑ Introducing the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners. In: Goldman Environmental Prize. 15. Juni 2021, abgerufen am 15. Juni 2021.
- ↑ Nina Lakhani: Cancer Alley campaigner wins Goldman prize for environmental defenders In: The Guardian, June 15, 2021
- ↑ Carrie Gates: Environmental activist Sharon Lavigne to receive Notre Dame's 2022 Laetare Medal. In: Notre Dame News. Abgerufen am 28. März 2022 (englisch).
- ↑ Louisiana Court Vacates Air Permits for Formosa's Massive Petrochemical Complex in Cancer Alley. In: Earthjustice. 14. September 2022, abgerufen am 1. November 2022 (englisch).
[[Category:Environmental justice]] [[Category:People from St. James Parish, Louisiana]] [[Category:Climate activists]] [[Category:African-American Catholics]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Goldman Environmental Prize awardees]] [[Category:American environmentalists]] [[Category:Activists from Louisiana]] [[Category:American women environmentalists]] [[Category:1950 births]] [[Category:Roman Catholic activists]] [[Category:21st-century American women]] [[Category:Laetare Medal recipients]]