The Last Refinery Corridor Healing Walk
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The large crowd on July 16, the last Refinery Corridor Healing Walk. Photo: Constance Taylor
Last Sunday, July 16 marked the last of the Refinery Corridor Healing Walks. This project was organized by Idle No More SF Bay after the Richmond Chevron refinery exploded on Aug 6, 2012, and sent 15,000 people to the hospital. Since January 2014 there have been four healing walks a year to draw attention to the five oil refineries along the Northeast San Francisco Bay (the Refinery Corridor), and the communities in the sacrifice zones that bear the environmental burden.
At the Chevron train yard. Photo: Constance Taylor
This 13 mile walk started at the Conoco Phillips 66 Refinery in Rodeo and ended at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond. As explained by the walk organizers, these walks are not intended to focus on what we don’t want, but rather on what we do want for our communities:
Clean Air, Water & Soil
Safe Jobs, Roads, Railroads & Waterways
A Vibrantly Healthy Future for All Children
A Just Transition to Safe & Sustainable Energy
Gloria Ushigua Santi at the Chevron Refinery. Photo: Constance Taylor
Gloria Ushigua Santi, a leader of the Sapara tribe in the Amazon of Ecuador, was a special guest at this last walk. Gloria has been battling the fossil fuel industry for decades to prevent the destruction of her culture and ancestral home in the heart of the rainforest. While she was in the Bay Area, a letter was delivered to the Chinese Consulate demanding that Andes Petroleum cancel the contract to explore and drill oil in Sapara territory immediately. To add your name to the letter to defend the Sapara people, sign the petition here. It’s easy and it only takes a minute! Do it!
Though the Refinery Corridor Healing Walks are over, there’s still much to be done and many ways to get involved. To learn more, visit:
