“A Red Dirt Town,” the second-place winner of the Yale Environment 360 Video Contest, examines the legacy of pollution in Anniston, Alabama, the former home of a Monsanto chemical factory. The video, produced by Spenser Gabin, tells the story of how PCBs from the Monsanto plant contaminated the town’s waterways and continues to taint the fish that are popular with local anglers.
Gabin’s camera follows Frank Chitwood, the Coosa Riverkeeper, who is petitioning Alabama authorities to post warnings about the risks of eating fish from area reservoirs and rivers, and David Baker, a community activist who was instrumental in pushing for a Monsanto cleanup.
“God made land, he made water,” says Baker, “and he left us in charge. He ain’t coming back and making it no more. If we mess this up, it’s over with.”
About the contest: “A Red Dirt Town” is the second-place winner of the 2014 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest. Entries were received from four continents, with a prize of $2,000 going to the first-place winner.