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Fundraising Workshop Training Materials

Check out our resource material on how to fundraise effectively for your organization. The following information was compiled and used at a fundraising workshop with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.
Fundraising Workshop Training Packet
Fundraising Workshop Audio Recording

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Backyard Talk

Why Are So Many Black & Brown Communities Being Displaced & Erased ???

Blog by Sharon Franklin
 
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 Credit: Kate DeCiccio y Rose Jaffe (artists), Department of Public Works Murals DC Project

On January 20, 2020, El’gin Avila, MPH, CPH, a PhD student studying Industrial Hygiene at the University of Minnesota and the founder of Equitable Health Solutions published an article in Environmental Health News   “Beyond coffee and condos: Black and brown families displaced and erased”  https://www.ehn.org/gentrification-in-us-cities-2644882255.html.
He reported that in cities across the United States, displacement of long-time residents and their culture, and their exclusion from community decision-making is creating a public health crisis. He gave an example of when he lived in the DC Metro area, he witnessed the gentrification, subtle ethnic cleansing, and displacement of neighborhoods of color from one of the historically blackest cities in America.  Avila, sited a neighborhood in DC that he frequented near the Navy Yard and remembered a mural of a Black family on a wall in a playground.  Credit: Kate DeCiccio y Rose Jaffe (artists), Department of Public Works Murals DC Project
This was a neighborhood landmark for him, and then in the summer of 2019, it was gone.  Now, in its place was a new development.
Like so many other communities (i.e. New York City, Detroit and San Francisco) that are also undergoing a similar transition as the Navy Yard, where Black and Brown families are being displaced and replaced by an influx of usually white, affluent, college-educated migrants under the guise of urban revitalization.  Those displaced communities are often thrown into a cycle of instability and forced to combat disruptions in health care access, loss of community support networks, and additional financial and mental distress.
 
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Waverly Place in Chinatown, San Francisco. (Credit: Russell Mondy/flickr)

 
However, there are communities who have survived this gentrification and displacement, such as Chinatown in San Francisco. Why..??  Because, of the Chinatown Rezoning Plan https://www.urbandisplacement.org/sites/default/files/images/urbandisplacementproject_policycasestudy_chinatown_april2016.pdf , which was implemented to protect the community from being re-designed by property developers.  The result has been a community that currently retains its culture and its people.
Unfortunately, the current federal administration plans are focused on property and economic development, not on the community and its residents.  As displayed by Trump’s Executive Order 13878, “Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing,” dated June 25, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-establishing-white-house-council-eliminating-regulatory-barriers-affordable-housing/  which will worsen this problem.  This plan seeks to reverse many of the policies which protected communities like Chinatown in San Francisco.
Avila concludes by stating that he and other environmental health leaders, have a critical role to play in righting this wrong, and need to advocate for rapid change as these issues persist and grow.  He also says, we have to be stewards of the public and demand greater accountability from those in office and in positions of power who can implement policies, laws, regulations and programs at the state and federal levels.  Additionally, what is needed is to provide grassroots services to organizations who have the ability to listen, educate and mobilize communities that are at risk of displacement. This will help them stay in and improve their communities from the ground up and collectively echo their demand for tangible action and change.

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The EPA is Conducting Criminal Investigations Against Forever Chemicals

In continuance with its action plan to regulate forever chemicals, including PFAS, the EPA has announced that it will be conduction criminal investigations against the cancer linked chemicals. The EPA has not elaborated on exactly who or what it will be investigating; however, some companies have released that they might be under investigation. Read More. 

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States are taking action against PFAS

Although the EPA has voiced that matters concerning PFAS, a “forever” chemical, will continue to be a priority in 2020, over half the states in the country have decided to encourage their own regulations. Some states have preexisting rules preventing them from enforcing stricter water regulations above those set by the EPA. Other states, including Michigan and New York have surged forward to set stricter regulations and encourage more contamination cleanup efforts. Read More. 
 
 

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Mercury Regulation Rollbacks and Industry Opposition

The Trump Administration has worked to rollback almost all industry regulations enacted during the Obama Administration to demonstrate how government should not have role in determining how and what a facility can emit. As the EPA organizes to debunk the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) that sets a limit the release of mercury, the industry sector has spoken up in opposition. Industry officials have stated that there is no need to rollback a regulation that industries have already worked to comply with and that could deregulation could lead to more harm than good. Read More.

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The Numbers are OUT: Top polluters paid NO TAXES in 2019!

By Gustavo Andrade, Organizing Director
The numbers are out on the Trump tax cuts, and some of them are staggering: Top polluting companies paid nothing (!) in taxes on billions of dollars of profits last year. According to a new report issued recently by the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP, itep.org) a total of 91 corporations paid ZERO taxes in 2019. 
Here are some notable examples, along with a rounded estimate of their profits in 2018:
Taxes
You can find the report here: Corporate Tax Avoidance in the First Year of the Trump Tax Law
If you find this new information shocking, well, so do we! At a time when resources to investigate and treat pollution-related illnesses throughout the country are so scarce, the very people responsible aren’t even paying in their fair share. 
These big polluters are just some of the 91 companies who didn’t pay taxes last year. Others mentioned in the report include giants like IBM, Facebook, Eli Lilly and others. Check it out for yourself at: https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-in-the-first-year-of-the-trump-tax-law/

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Butte, MT Babies Have Heavy Metals 1,000 times Higher Than SC Babies

Last year, a team of independent researchers collected samples of baby poop from 32 infants born in Butte and Columbia, South Carolina and tested them for heavy metals. The results of the peer-reviewed study dominated local headlines, grabbing the attention of the community and government agencies. Federal officials this week called for the study to be retracted from the academic journal.
“I don’t think that we should attack scientific data because we don’t like the data that came from that scientific study. And I feel like that’s what has happened here.” Read more.

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Report on the health and safety of children

The Union of Concerned Scientist has released a report and storybook on the impact of current regulation rollbacks on the health and safety of children. A decrease in science-based research within the legislative process has put children at greater risk from exposure to toxic chemicals, including PFAS, lead, pesticides, asbestos and more.
Endangering Children Report
Breathe in the Smog, Drink the Lead Storybook
Protecting Children’s Health and Safety Resource Guide

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Philadelphia placing a ban on hydrofluoric acid

Proposed legislation this week at the Philadelphia City Council intends to ban the use and production of hydrofluoric acid (HF). The city is in favor of the ban after the Philadelphia Energy Solutions facility explosion that resulted in a release of 5,000 pounds of the toxic chemical. At low levels of exposure, HF can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and respiratory system. Exposure to higher levels can lead to more severe health concerns to the heart and lungs. Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney is encouraging other states and the federal government to enforce similar restrictions on the chemical. Read More.
 

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EPA Releases 2018 Annual Toxics Release Inventory Report

The EPA has released the 2018 Annual Toxics Release Inventory Report. Published every year, the report shows TRI reported data from manufacturing, mining, electric utilities and commercial hazardous waste facilities and analyzes trends and interprets that data. The 2018 report revealed a lower than expected release of “TRI-covered chemicals” than expected compared to economic activity and an increase in recycled chemical waste. In addition, the EPA has publish a new tool to assist in understanding the metal mining sector. Read More.