A US citizen living in Texas has won the influential Goldman Environmental Award for his service fighting refineries on pollution in the town of Port Arthur.
The city has a population of 60,000 and one of the largest levels of air pollution in America. Hilton Kelley has consumed almost ten years for battling to lower Port Arthur's air pollution through demonstrations and lawful measures against huge oil and chemical companies. The Goldman award is financed by the family of Richard Goldman, a San Francisco generous donor who died last year.
Hilton Kelley grew up in a poor, African-American neighborhood. I was born and grown in Port Arthur, Texas, which is associated with the refineries," said Kelley.
Kelley left from Port Arthur when he was young now he is living in California. When he came into his home town in 2000, he was shocked at the situation of his neighborhood "People are residing at or under the poorest line right next to so much wealth due to lesser jobs, yet we have to tolerate the impact of the piousness waste that's discharge from these factories," said Kelley.
Kelley was serving as an actor in California when he took a decision to take on a new role. He lived in Port Arthur to assist people residing near the refineries. And he found that biggest quantity of poison was being discharged into the air.
"I reveal that most of the people were sick, generally cancer-linked, and there were a large number of children with respiratory problems," added Kelley.
He observed about polices governing industrial pollution, and decided to take a step to the local association to clean up Port Arthur. "I perceived when I went back there to call at first that nobody considered to be done something about this health related problem" recalled Kelley. "So I made a decision that I would take it ahead of myself to do what I could to bring focus to the issue, and begin to battle these big polluters head-on to do what I could to get the discharge decreases that were most important"
Kelley provoked locals to assess air quality. "I begun advocating the people on what was going on, and how they were being taken benefit of, and how they were being scientifically poisoned," Kelley added. In 2006, Motiva Enterprises, a supplementary of the huge Shell Oil Company declared it was growing its Port Arthur capacity.
Kelley agreed Motiva to begin a $3.5 million finance to raise pollution controls and encourage economic recovery in the area. He also launched a campaign to end another company from trade in toxic chemicals from Mexico for burning at its Port Arthur plant.
"We did not desire that poison material discharge into our environment and so we fought with full energy to get it ended," said Kelley.
Kelley is one of six environmentalists from several areas of the world who received the annual Goldman Award, including 150,000 dollars. He says he will use part of the money to carryon his resistance.
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