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# Have Faith
- URL: https://www.possibilities.news/louisiana-carbon-capture-storage/
- Published: 2024-08-15T18:00:37.000Z
- Updated: 2024-08-15T18:00:39.000Z
- Description: I'm learning how, at least.
- Author: Yessenia Funes

**LISTENING:** *to Spotify, duh*  
**FEELING:** *accomplished*  
**SEEING:** *"YOU ARE LOVED" on my desk coaster*

It's another late one. So sorry, y'all! Your girl has been cranking out [story](https://atmos.earth/how-a-carbon-tax-could-help-fund-a-universal-basic-income/?ref=possibilities.news) after [story](https://www.curbed.com/article/playground-pier-42-sun-shade-extreme-heat-park-design.html?ref=possibilities.news). They're all linked below with greater detail, promise. It's been a busy couple of weeks, and I'm off for vacation next week and the following. I'm going to El Salvador to spend time with family. I don't go often, so it's kind of a big deal. My niece and nephew are coming, too! It's their first time visiting the motherland, and the first time my sister and brother will see our father after some 15 years.

It's sure to be an emotional rollercoaster. Don't worry, though. I plan to write next week's newsletter from there. Fingers crossed the internet doesn't let me down. 

#### º ⋱・♡ Donate! ♡・⋰ º

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Anyway, I wanted to talk today about a [big story](https://www.vox.com/climate/359230/carbon-capture-environmental-justice-louisiana?ref=possibilities.news) I published last week in Vox. It asks an important question: Will carbon capture and storage solve the climate crisis? I'm sure y'all know the answer to that one, though. Of course, it won't.

[Here's a subscription deal that won't last!](https://www.possibilities.news/SUMMER)

Welcome to **Possibilities**, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I’m **Yessenia Funes**, and I've been so inspired to see the community of St. Rose stand up to a giant private company.

I visited Louisiana at the start of hurricane season. It was my first time there, which is kind of wild considering how long I've covered air pollution and industry encroachment in the state. I spent most of my time in St. Rose, a small town that sits in Cancer Alley, an 85-mile sacrifice zone between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Everyone welcomed me with smiles and prayers. 

Most of the people had never heard of me or my work — most didn't know about Vox, the outlet I was writing for — but they were grateful that someone was there to interrogate the prospect of an ammonia plant that is being planned in their backyards. They were grateful to have someone with whom to share their woes.

Ammonia is one of those chemicals we produce that I think most Americans rarely think of. It's major, though. Every year, countries produce some [176 million metric tons](https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/green-ammonia/green-ammonia-policy-briefing.pdf?ref=possibilities.news) of it, largely for fertilizer. Fertilizer helps us grow all our crops for food and clothes! It's kind of wild. The thing is: Producing ammonia requires a shit ton of natural gas aka methane. At least how we do it right now. What if developers captured all the CO2 that came out of that process to make the ammonia cleaner? 

[What happens when a so-called climate solution risks your community’s safety?The environmental injustice of a $4.6 billion carbon capture project in Louisiana.![](https://www.vox.com/static-assets/icons/apple-touch-icon.png)VoxYessenia Funes![](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/ALR7991.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200)](https://www.vox.com/climate/359230/carbon-capture-environmental-justice-louisiana?ref=possibilities.news)

That's the idea for the $4.6 billion plant that may come to this community. Carbon capture and storage tech has struggled to succeed, though. Plants haven't been able to actually capture all the carbon they promise. There's concern over the CO2 infrastructure, like pipelines, and the fallout if one leaks.

And in this community, residents didn't care much about efforts to curb climate change. They cared about their health. They cared about their kids' futures. This plant is being cited immediately adjacent to an already-existing polluter where chemicals are stored in giant tanks. At least once a week, locals complain about bad smells that make them feel sick. To make the situation worse, the ammonia plant developers want to build their facility atop wetlands. The community needs its wetlands — for floods and for actually storing carbon dioxide!

The U.S. government is pouring so much money into carbon capture and storage. My main source, Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh, was so confused about why the administration is heralding the tech as a climate solution and pouring billions when communities need help. In St. Rose, for instance, people are still recovering from Hurricane Ida three years ago. The ones benefiting from carbon capture, however, are private industries. They're getting paid! Majorly! Amy Westervelt [wrote](https://www.vox.com/climate/363076/climate-change-solution-shell-exxon-mobil-carbon-capture?ref=possibilities.news) an incredible piece for Vox about that. Meanwhile, the locals reap little benefit. The ammonia plant developers are promising jobs, but is it enough?

When I was in St. Rose, one of the company executives pulled me aside and told me that "Cancer Alley" was a lie. He doesn't believe that people in the community are suffering disproportionately due to industry presence. His point was that cancer rates are higher elsewhere, so "Cancer Alley" must be bullshit — but that's not what Cancer Alley is about. It's about the industrial contribution to cancer rates. I was shocked. 

I spoke to so many residents there. I couldn't include most in my story. But what I took away was their lack of trust and their abundance of fear. Even those who were more open to hearing the company out ultimately wanted a third party's perspective. They don't trust politicians or business executives. Hell, they don't even trust the media. Some were skeptical of my intentions, and I get why. 

Black communities in this county have long been pushed to the side, especially southern Black communities with rich histories. They deserve recognition and honor. St. Rose was founded as a freetown. That history has been lost to many. The descendants of the town's founding families deserve so much more than another industrial facility in their backyards. 

Why can't their community thrive economically by building off that history? Why must their only option be further industry presence and labor? What about tourism? What about cultural heritage? What about reparations?

In St. Rose, everyone had faith that their community would be OK. I'm not familiar with faith, but my therapist has been helping me understand it better. It's a trust in self — a belief in the universe. I am learning to build my faith in humanity. The people of the Gulf South helped show me what's possible when a community takes care of one another. 🌀

👛

In case you weren't aware, you can always adjust your subscription [here](#/portal/account/plans). The newsletter has several tiers, so if you're able to give more or need to give less, please adjust it as you see fit!

📘

I'm also giving y'all a first look into my attempt to write my children's book. I [wrote](https://www.possibilities.news/a-year-of-possibilities/) about this a few weeks ago, but here is the [landing pag](https://www.possibilities.news/childrens-book/)e where I'm keeping track of all the editions where you can find what I've shared so far.

## Rest in Power

**While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.**

Not sure if I'm missing something, but I'm not finding anything new — just updates to last week's awful numbers. Share in a comment if I've missed something.

## Currently Reading

Here's [that](https://www.vox.com/climate/359230/carbon-capture-environmental-justice-louisiana?ref=possibilities.news) Vox story again :)

I [wrote](https://www.curbed.com/article/playground-pier-42-sun-shade-extreme-heat-park-design.html?ref=possibilities.news) for Curbed about a new park in the Lower East Side that's missing something fundamental as climate change makes the world hotter: shade!

I got two ones for Atmos this week. Let's fund a [universal basic income](https://atmos.earth/how-a-carbon-tax-could-help-fund-a-universal-basic-income/?ref=possibilities.news) with a carbon tax! And here's how the [American Climate Corps](https://atmos.earth/these-american-climate-corps-workers-are-paving-a-just-green-future/?ref=possibilities.news) is shaping out.

[More](https://nonprofitquarterly.org/the-future-of-climate-justice-is-grounded-in-geography/?ref=possibilities.news) on geography!

How do we determine where is safe to build or buy in the face of climate change? [Bloomberg investigates](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-flood-fire-climate-risk-analytics/?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcyMzIxOTgwOCwiZXhwIjoxNzIzODI0NjA4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTSFlLR0VEV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI5RjJFMEMxNDRGQkY0Q0M1OUJCRDA3MzQ0QkI2RUZDNCJ9.v2mR0nS7tJbnNJ23UVEKn98Ev917FWYgcoWm7TttUJ4&ref=possibilities.news). 

Stephen Robert Miller is one of my oldest friends, and his [story](https://www.noemamag.com/inside-silicon-valleys-grand-ambitions-to-control-our-planets-thermostat/?utm%5Fsource=noemainstagram&utm%5Fmedium=noemasocial&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabI2IaSYCOS%5FG1vm-1eJY%5FIRLqM8e2uGYYiPjWzMnHGp4%5FwbNc-mcUpSzE%5Faem%5FvRMF9QC%5Fgv5waezgY4LVsQ) for Noema Magazine about geoengineering is a must-read.

## Poetry

changes are all around us  
in the direction of the wind,  
in the color of a leaf

some changes can't be seen  
they can't be felt  
they can only be believed 

they live in your head  
and shift in your heart  
you never know  
when the change starts

faith —  
what a foreign thing  
to close your eyes and trust

to dive into the unseen

****What are you reading and seeing? Share in a comment.**

**I'll be in El Salvador next week. Yay! Talk to you from the tropics then.**

\- Yessenia xx