Biomass energy plants: see themselves as a cost-effective solution for farmers who need to get rid of dead trees and other woody waste that pose wildfire risks without openly burning them; they also produce energy
Utilities companies: looking for the "least-cost, best-fit" source of energy, don't care where it comes from just that it's reasonably priced
Farmers: need cheap ways to dispose of waste
Technology to dispose of woody waste from almond trees in ways other than open burning or biomass facilities doesn't exist yet, at least at the scale needed for massive almond orchards
Closures of biomass energy plants have forced SJVAPCD to allow more open burning of agricultural waste, which produces particulate matter and contributes to already severe air quality in the Central Valley
Kingspan workers: Two workers from Kingspan, Lucas Hernandez and Israel Maldonado, detailed both their unsafe working conditions at Kingspan and the response from the company when they submitted complaints. Note that this conversation was moderated with questions from Ms. Meredith Schafer.
Dr. Shahir Masri: Dr. Masri oversaw the air pollution monitoring at Kingspan. He used worker-collected pollution data to quantify PM2.5 levels at the plant.
Rev. Terry LePage: Rev. LePage spoke on behalf of CLUE, a faith-based organization that has helped with Kingspan unionization efforts and written letters to Kingspan re: the pollution and safety hazard complaints.
Jose Rea: Mr. Rea spoke on behalf of MPNA-GREEN, a community group that donated the AtmoTubes used for air pollution data collection.
Before this event I hadn’t known much about faith-based community organizing (such as CLUE), and would like to investigate more about the role of these types of organizations in local EJ efforts.
The lack of importance that Kingspan has placed on employee complaints about safe work environments suggests a lack of inbuilt methods (e.g., regular strict evaluation of workplace standards) of holding a company like Kingspan accountable for the health of their workers, despite the existence of workplace standards.
This event showed the very real ways in which large corporations directly profit from cutting corners in ways that hurt the health of their lowest-wage workers. The effort it takes to hold a company accountable for the health of their workers is immense, and while the groups present at this event are clearly making it happen, this accountability is not systematically enforced and requires individuals and relatively small organizations to impose justice.
The need for multiple agents to commit to EJ changes like this, including many not directly affected by it.
The power of both local and global community organization networks in creating change.
Civic responsibility as a necessary catalyst for political change and attention to certain issues.
Dr. Masri presented data collected by the Kingspan workers that clearly showed levels of air pollution at the plant that were much higher than EPA allowable levels during working hours.
The event was primarily focused on efforts by Kingspan workers and supporting parties to get Kingspan to improve working conditions, especially indoor air pollution at the plant.