Panel On Plastic Pollution Will Feature Activists Arrested At Livingston Protest

LIVINGSTON, NJ — An upcoming virtual discussion on plastic pollution will include two environmental activists who were recently arrested at a protest in Livingston.

The panel is organized by the Livingston League of Women Voters and co-sponsored by the Teaneck League of Women Voters. It will be open to the public, and will take place via Zoom at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.

Access the online forum here, or via the league’s website here.

Here’s who will be leading the discussion, according to a news release from organizers:

“Panelists include Phoebe Stapleton, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Environmental and Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University. Also speaking is Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation fisherwoman and executive director of the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper on the Texas Gulf Coast. She’s a Goldman Environmental Prize Winner who won a landmark case against Formosa Plastics, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, for the illegal dumping of toxic plastic waste on Texas’ Gulf Coast. The $50 million settlement is the largest award in a citizen suit against an industrial polluter in the history of the US Clean Water Act. The third panelist will be Paula Rogovin, a resident of Teaneck, an active member of the Teaneck League of Women Voters and the co-chair of Food and Water Watch, North Jersey Volunteer Team. She taught elementary school in New York City for 44 years, where she and her students initiated a successful effort to pass a law that bans toxic pesticides in New York City parks and playgrounds. Paula has been deeply involved in efforts to stop gas power plants and other fossil fuel projects in New Jersey.”

Event organizers noted that Wilson and Rogovin were recently arrested and charged with trespassing during a protest at the U.S. headquarters of Formosa Plastics in Livingston.

• See Related: Protest Against Formosa Plastics In Livingston Ends With Arrests
• See Related: More Arrests After Protesters Return To Formosa HQ In Livingston
• See Related: Activists Can Use Rare Legal Defense In NJ Trespassing Case, Judge Rules

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