It's not as if locals in Norco, Louisiana, ever expected a white Christmas. But as the town held its annual Christmas parade on December 5, 2017, the spring-like weather seemed to be an eerie reminder of a changing climate to photographer Julie Dermansky. 

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Norco, which lies along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is known for industry. It's the home to a major Shell petroleum refinery. In fact, it's named for it. Norco is an abbreviation of New Orleans Refining Company. 

The holiday fanfare starkly contrasts with the inescapable, steaming refinery in the background. But the locals, donning colorful beads and Santa hats, don't seem to notice. 

"It doesn't dampen the parade at all," Dermansky, who went to photograph the strange parade, told weather.com in an interview. "Those who live and work in Norco are used to the industrial landscape and don’t see it as being special." 

(MORE: The Town That Just Doesn't Mind)

Dermansky first learned about the town's yearly tradition in 2014, and she photographed the parade for the first time that year. After displaying her photos, she received a comment from a parade organizer pointing her to photos of the parade with less industrial backgrounds. The commenter suggested spots from which the photographer could get prettier photos. However, Dermansky reports that it would not be easy to cut out the refinery all together. After all, Shell, which is the town's largest employer, sponsors the parade, and looms in the background from nearly all angles. 

Petroleum processing plants are a major source of pollution. Some of the chemicals released in processing are known or suspected cancer-causing agents, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. The U.S. relies heavily on petroleum, which is a major source of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, in addition to the pollution it creates. 

“It is December 5th but it feels like spring time," Sterling Caston, a local, who called the area "Cancer Alley," told Dermansky at the parade. "Climate change is real. It is very real...science don’t lie."

Other locals answered Dermansky's prodding about climate change in more evasive ways, denying climate science, attempting to be diplomatic, as so many are employed by the plant. But the relationship between the oil industry and locals has not always been rosy. In the 90s, after a local tragedy, a group of people from the community tried to get Shell to sponsor the town's relocation. The group did not win. 

"Industrial landscapes have always fascinated me," Dermansky shared. "There is something beautiful  and ominous about refineries at the same time. The smoke constantly bellowing out of their stacks, a constant reminder of climate change and man’s role in it."