Gary C. Watson Jr., who was born and raised in St. John the Baptist Parish, poses for a photo in Edgard, La., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, across the river from a Marathon Petroleum Refinery. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) “In a stretch of Louisiana with about 170 fossil fuel and petrochemical plants, premature death is a fact of life for people living nearby. The air is so polluted and the cancer rates so high it is known as Cancer Alley .
“Most adults in the area are attending two
