Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, and Margie Richard's Fight to Save Her Town [Hardcover]

Ronnie Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

The Diamond neighborhood was an all-black enclave in the mostly white town of Norco, aptly named for the New Orleans Refining Co, which owned an industrial plant that produced a host of products used to manufacture hundreds of chemicals used in the creation of trash bags, laundry detergent and other household and industrial goods. Margie Eugene Richard was raised in the shadow of this giant and witnessed her neighbors fall ill as a result of the toxic waste the plant emitted year after year. Eventually, her own sister Naomi succumbed to a rare lung disease linked to environmental hazards. Determined to see Shell take responsibility for their actions, Margie and her neighbors-- largely poor and with few obvious resource-- educated themselves not only on the consequences of environmental poison but also on how to fight back. Theirs was a battle that took them from the Diamond’s four streets all the way to The Hague and beyond. The unexpected results landed Margie the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, helped clean up a community and demonstrate how determination and grit can move even the most stubborn of corporate giants.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This passionate book from a Miami Herald journalist demonstrates that humble grassroots activism can eventually unsettle a corporate Goliath. In 1958, Margie Richard was a pregnant 16-year-old, whose home had been displaced by a Shell oil refinery expansion and had recently resettled in Diamond, a tiny neighborhood in Norco, La. The neighborhood was poor, predominantly African-American and a stone's throw from another Shell chemical refinery. Two explosions at the refineries (one killed two residents) and the 1983 death of Richard's beloved sister from sarcoidosis, a lung ailment rooted in industrial pollution, propelled Richard into 15 years of activism, demanding that Shell recompense the neighborhood for decades of steady poisoning. Along with other residents, Richard formed the Norco Relocation Committee, determined to wrest realistic relocation funds from Shell, the international behemoth whose profits would eventually exceed $1.5 million per hour. After two court cases and almost 14 years, Shell capitulated in 2002. Greene's mix of vivid oral history and hard evidence is a rousing reminder that with stubborn determination, ordinary citizens can prevail against the most powerful of opponents. (May)
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From Booklist

Infamously known as “Cancer Alley,” one particular stretch of Louisiana coastline became an unlikely but fierce battleground for a David-and-Goliath struggle that ultimately focused the efforts of an international coalition of environmentalists bent on exposing one petrochemical giant’s egregious disregard for human health and welfare. Within the small town of Norco, the African American community of Diamond was particularly hard hit by the various pollutants wantonly released by the Shell Oil chemical plant. Standing a mere 25 feet from Shell’s fence line, Margie Richard’s childhood home was not only a central vantage point from which to witness the noxious flare-ups that presaged disasters to come, it also put her family and neighbors directly in harm’s way. Investigative journalist Greene chronicles the decades of blatant abuse, callous disregard, and criminal neglect Shell Oil perpetrated upon the underprivileged community, and showcases the selfless dedication of Richard and other environmental activists whose tireless efforts achieved justice for a beleaguered community, and curtailed the destructive practices of a ruthless corporation. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Amistad; 1St Edition edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061123625
• ISBN-13: 978-0061123627
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, May 8, 2008

By 

Leslie Lipson (Decatur, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, and Margie Richard's Fight to Save Her Town (Hardcover)

Reads like a thriller. Brilliant and entertainingly well-written examination of economic corruption, grass roots advocacy, and a personal struggle that becomes far more. Well worth it.