This morning, we take a look at the successful, multi-year campaign to prevent a massive incinerator from being built in the South Baltimore neighborhood of Curtis Bay, and the young woman who was one of the leaders of that fight.
Destiny Watford was 16 years old when she started organizing against the incinerator that would have been built in her neighborhood and near her school. Last month, Destiny, now 20 years old and a student at Towson University, was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her tireless campaign against the incinerator.
The Goldman is a privately-funded global prize awarded each year to one person on each continent--Destiny was the winner for North America. The prize comes with more than international prestige. It also comes with a cash award of $175,000 to support her ongoing work.
Destiny won the prize for her work with Free Your Voice, a grassroots, student organization formed to oppose construction of the incinerator in Curtis Bay, which, had it been built, reportedly would have been the largest incinerator in the nation.
Joining Destiny and Tom in the studio is Fern Shen, the founder, publisher and editor of the Baltimore Brew. She’s been writing about the incinerator project for the past six years.
