I am not in favor of SpaceX, the rocket launch project planned in Vermilion Parish, and here are some of my concerns.

NDAs: Why all the secrets if it’s such a good thing? The people of this state deserve to know what is created and produced on our land and in our waters. We weren’t asked!

I don’t believe SpaceX is “transformative” for our state. I believe it will pollute the air, water and food that we grow on our coastline, which will cause ill health as well as uprooting our culture in these remote areas.

I fear for the future of my children and their offspring, that they will not know the beauty of this place.

I am a resident of Lafayette, but my kids and family members have fished the shorelines of Louisiana and, in particular, Pecan Island and Rockefeller Refuge. Those will never be the same after the SpaceX project, and neither will be the culture we take pride in.

One has to ask: What is this about? Money? Back room deals? I only see disaster for the place we call home.

I’m no wordsmith, but regrettably I feel sure that we, the people of Louisiana, need to wake up and vote for politicians who care and listen and are not opportunists.

I know there are thousands on social media declaring this a state of emergency, and I concur.

I paint the beauty of my home place: the marshes, the sky, the fish, the flowers, the birds… the natural world where we coexist!

KATHLEEN DUMESNIL

Lafayette