Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

https://www.yoair.com/blog/environmental-racism-and-its-impact-on-communities/

The complicated history of environmental racism: UNM Newsroom

Pena-Parr, Victoria. “The Complicated History of Environmental Racism.” UNM Newsroom, 4 Aug. 2020, http://news.unm.edu/news/the-complicated-history-of-environmental-racism.

In this article, it talks about environmental racism referring to how minority group neighborhoods(primarily the people of color and members of low-socioeconomic backgrounds) are burdened with disproportionate numbers of hazards including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other environmental pollutions and foul odors that lower quality of life. All of these may lead to diseases and cancer, this also causes climate to worsen and minority communities be majorly affected. The first series of trying to stop this took place in 1987, when President George W. Bush found the Environmental Justice within the EPA. President Bill Clinton furthered the protections by signing a executive order that the agencies needed to address environmental justice in minority populations and low-income populations in all of the policies. However, they were never established because Congress never passed it. Then later down the road, Barack Obama took a crack at it, trying to help, but failed attempt again. Yes, people do not have to live in these neighborhoods where waste and dumps are but they have to choose to have a home that they can afford and provide for or live in higher living but health not be taken care of long-term. We can make a difference by raising money to donate to organizations that try to clean up the community where these hazardous waste lands are. We can encourage those living in these conditions to speak out and give them a seat at the table when decisions are made for community. 

https://youtu.be/tIp251KCz6k

Here, I have posted a YouTube video from the Salesforce team doing a commercial during Super Bowl 2022, using actor Matthew McConaughey to do a pitch about how we all can make a difference making our land equal and clean if we all work together happily, creating our new frontier. 

Salesforce and Team USA, directors. "The New Frontier" Salesforce Super Bowl Ad | Join #TeamEarth w/ Matthew McConaughey & Salesforce. YouTube, YouTube, 3 Feb. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIp251KCz6k. Accessed 20 Feb. 2022.

Climate Justice Alliance 

This organization formed in 2013. They united communities and organizations to help take action against the extractive economy that is harming people and ecosystems. They also confront governments and industry to act on climate change. They want to move toward sustainable, resilient, regenerative economies that benefit all communities.. Here are some ways you can support the CJA:

1. Contribute financial or in-kind resources

2. Host a party or dinner to support CJA

3. Contribute your time

4. Help in meaningful work with CJA

Click the link to get involved today!

BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS ARE CLOSER TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

https://www.sustained.kitchen/latest/2020/6/6/fast-facts-on-environmental-racism

• A 1983 study by the U.S. Congress's General Accounting Office found that in eight southeastern states, 75% of the hazardous waste landfill sites were in low-income communities of color. Many people in these communities could not afford or would not feel welcome in less polluted neighborhoods.

• The United Church of Christ led a few well-respected studies documenting environmental racism in the late 1980s. One study found that race was the most critical factor in determining where toxic waste facilities were sited in the United States.

• A 2008 study found that Black households that earn between $50,000 and $60,000 per year tend to live in neighborhoods that are more polluted than white households that earn below $10,000 per year. This shows that even earning more money often can’t help Black populations escape pollution.

• A 2014 study found that Black people are 75% more likely to live near fenceline zones (places super close to chemical facilities) than the average population. Living near chemical facilities can expose people to chemicals that are linked to cancer, birth defects, chronic illnesses and more.

• A study based on census data from 2000 found that 68% percent of Black people lived within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, while only 56% of white people lived within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant. Coal-fired power plants produce air, land and water pollution (including radioactive materials…big yikes) and are linked to higher rates of cancer.

• According to the NAACP's 2012 "Coal-Blooded" study, 53% of people who live within three miles of the most heavily-polluting coal-fired power plants are Black. This shows that not only do Black people live closer to coal-fired power plants, they also tend to live closer to the most dangerous coal-fired power plants.

• The 2019 study Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that racial and ethnic minorities in Houston, Chicago, and Baltimore are disproportionately affected by flooding. Flooding is expected to worsen as climate change continues, so strong floods will only continue to pummel these populations.

• A 2016 study based in Southern Texas found that wastewater disposal wells are 2.04 times as common in areas where more than 80% of the population are people of color compared to majority White areas. Wastewater disposal wells are where companies and governments dump wastewater to avoid contaminating freshwater. Although the EPA claims that these wells are safe, some locations report hazardous materials leaking and bubbling out of wells.

BLACK PEOPLE EXPERIENCE MORE POLLUTION

• In March 2019, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that White people experience an average of 17 percent less pollution than the production of their goods and services emit. In contrast, Black people experience 56 percent more pollution than their consumption generates.

• A 2018 EPA study found that Black people are exposed to 1.54 times more fine particulate matter than white people. Those below the poverty line were only exposed to 1.35 times more fine particulate than those above the poverty line, making race the most accurate predictor of fine particulate matter exposure. Fine particulate matter is linked to serious lung and heart problems, like asthma, bronchitis, strokes and heart attacks.

• A 2017 study found that Black people are three times more likely to die due to particulate matter exposure than the overall population. Particulate matter can lead to premature death due to the lung and heart conditions I mentioned above.

• A Chicago-based study by researchers at Harvard University found that Black Americans are more likely than White Americans to have elevated blood lead levels. Lead can contaminate people through pipes (see the environmental disaster in Flint, Michigan), paint, occupational hazards and more.

   

BLACK PEOPLE EXPERIENCE LESS OUTDOOR LEISURE

• Compiling data from the National Park Service (NPS) Visitor Services Project (VSP) shows that Black people visit national parks less frequently than White people. Black people often don’t feel welcome in outdoor recreation because our country has a super long and brutal history of segregation in outdoor recreation spaces. Even though policies have (obviously) changed to allow Black people access to outdoor spaces, media representation of Black people outdoors is limited.

• According to a 2014 study, minority neighborhoods have far less access to green spaces than communities that are primarily White. Some might argue that Black people could simply move or add more greenery to their neighborhoods. However, some Black people cannot afford to live in greener neighborhoods. And if Black communities add more green space, housing prices often increase, which leads to gentrification. 

   

BLACK PEOPLE EXPERIENCE FOOD INEQUALITY

• Two studies from 2009 and 2012 found that minority neighborhoods are more likely to have access to unhealthy food options and less likely to have access to healthy food options. More fast food and less produce can lead to obesity, which is linked to risks like heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, diabetes and more.

• A case study in Detroit found that people in the poorest Black communities live an average of 1.1 miles farther from a supermarket than those living in the poorest White neighborhoods. Having less access to supermarkets can make it harder to find nutrient-dense foods.