Environmental Racism: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

The reporter was 100% correct in asking the man “why don’t you move”? So many idiots would watch the report and think the same thing. Asking the question gives the man a chance to answer it directly, give voice to his frustration and make his quandary clear. The question wasn’t an accusation, it was an opportunity.

Arguably more important than the impacts on lifespan are the impacts on 'healthspan'. Losing out on two years you would have otherwise lived is horrible, but if you have to spend an extra ten years in and out of care due to a build-up of health problems, all of a sudden you are looking at bills that directly and indirectly effect your family. One of the many examples of 'expensive to be poor.'

I'll be honest after the "Why don't you move?" question, I half-expected another British comedian to start destroying the set and yell "Just one small problem! Sell their houses to whom? Fucking Captain Pollution?"

It's also worth mentioning that we export waste overseas to the Global South too. The problem, and the racism, need to be addressed globally, not just within any one country's borders.

"When people aren't scripted, you can really learn what they believe and what they think." This is one of my favorite sentences now

Whoever failed to notify the residents of that city for 31 years deserves a prison sentence for their dangerous, malicious incompetence.

Grew up in one of those towns. Dad died of cancer, mom just beat breast cancer last year but we’re still watching and I’ve got a host of ovarian cysts. Absolutely shameful to have grown up in those conditions and I fight like hell everyday to not go back.

I'm a black Memphian and the second Germantown popped up on the screen I knew John would have a joke about it. On a serious note, the Byhalia pipeline proposal was infuriating. Shoutout to local organizers, activists, and ordinary citizens who were instrumental in shutting it down.

18:18 massive respect to this man for actually giving a fuck about who would buy his house if he were trying to move. We need more humans to think like this.

I respect the old man at around the 18:30 mark that even though he has to go through hell, he still has the decency to think about others and not just trying to pass the problem on to someone else. It takes a lot to do that for sure.

Growing up in cancer alley the most baffling thing is whenever it got brought up in conversation there's always people who just laugh and either say it's not real or treat it like it isn't a problem. Louisiana is so full of people who would go out of their way to help their neighbor with any problem they might have, and then would take joy in being able to vote to make sure their neighbor's children starve as long as a rich asshole proposed it. Everyone there pretends to care about the environment to protect the cypress trees, but will at the same time say anyone who votes for a politician who is trying to deal with pollution in any form, including preventing erosion the thing they pretend to care about, is an evil commie who hates whites. I have family living in some of the worst parts of cancer alley who care more about pretending to be mad at school boards for making all the kids gay or hate whites, than they do ensuring their children's health or financial future.

As an environmental scientist, I am utterly disgusted. I feel sick. Unfortunately, it's not just environmental policy that targets people of color. Transportation and infrastructure projects often treat communities of color as expendable. It is something that professionals in these fields need to be aware of and actively fight against.

That man who talked about selling his house has more decency and ethics than the government ever will.

The failure to notify West Calumet residents that they're living on dangerously poisoned land is especially outrageous. At the very least, legislation should be passed to ensure notification doesn't take 31 freaking years!

I lived next to a superfund site, dioxin levels were 1,000 times above average in soil. “As long as you don’t eat the dirt there’s no risk” was what was said to us with a chuckle by the city. It was insulting.

Glad to see the statement "You can point at anything in america and ask: How is that racist? and get a comprehensive answer." still holds true.

Fun fact: The Dakota Access Pipeline was originally going to go across the northern part of Bismarck, ND, which is a predominantly white wealthy area of town, but it was shut down real quick and instead moved to north of the Standing Rock reservation.

You want politicians to act? Force them to live in the same zip code they represent full time. Force their kids to go to the same schools... See how fast they clean up their act

John Oliver is still talking about unpopular topics..after all these years..I appreciate the voice

Surprised that he didn't bring up the Dakota access pipeline, where the original route to the North was rejected because it might contaminate drinking wells serving the mostly White population areas, so instead it was rerouted through tribal lands and directly under the tribal water source.