{ Heroes } Rev. Jackson Protests BP In Whiting
via [ Post Trib ] “Rainbow-Push Leader Leads BP Spill Protest” By Christin Nance Lazerus
Photo by Stephanie Dowell/Post-Tribune
As crews struggle to contain the largest oil spill in American history in the Gulf of Mexico, critics of BP are starting to turn up the heat.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a group of protesters on a march outside of BP’s Whiting refinery on Wednesday afternoon to focus attention on what he says is the lax environmental enforcement that allowed the Gulf oil spill to occur — and problems closer to home.
“We need the (Environmental Protection Agency) standards enforced,” Jackson said. “At this point, businesses look at EPA fines as the cost of doing business.
“This reckless behavior is a threat to us all,” the Rainbow-PUSH leader said.
About 20 pickets walked along the busy stretch of Indianapolis Boulevard, carrying signs emblazoned with “Spill Baby Spill?,” “We Want Clean Energy,” and “Don’t Pay the Bill for the Spill.”
Jackson and Sierra Club Illinois director Jack Darin criticized BP for its $3 billion expansion of the Whiting refinery, which could see an increase the pollution due to processing oil from tar sands.
“There is a tragedy occurring right here in our midst,” Jackson said. “We all deserve the right to breathe free.”
Many of the protesters belong to Greater First Church in East Chicago.
Bishop T. Lane Grant II criticized the air and wastewater permits approved for BP by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
“There’s no plan to ensure that BP wouldn’t continue violations,” Grant said.
East Chicago resident Tanya Moss said concern about the Gulf oil spill prompted her to act.
“We want to to make sure they take every safety precaution,” Moss said. “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for their ‘oops,’ since they wouldn’t pay for my ‘oops’.”
Darin said he hopes this critical time prompts political leaders to action on planning a cleaner energy future.
“We’re well positioned to act,” Darin said.
“We have a president who is pointing in that direction, and the House passed an energy bill. It’s one of big things on senate’s agenda this summer.
“We want a future free of oil spills.”
