Categories
Homepage News Archive

Poison in the Air

The EPA allows polluters to turn neighborhoods into “sacrifice zones” where residents breathe carcinogens. ProPublica reveals where these places are in a first-of-its-kind map and data analysis.
From the urban sprawl of Houston to the riverways of Virginia, air pollution from industrial plants is elevating the cancer risk of an estimated quarter of a million Americans to a level the federal government considers unacceptable.

Read more…

Photo credit: Kathleen Flynn/ProPublica

Categories
Homepage News Archive Superfund News Water News

Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure bill

(CNN)A bipartisan group of senators unveiled the legislative text of the infrastructure bill on Sunday night after months of negotiations.

In total, the deal includes $550 billion in new federal investments in America’s infrastructure over five years.
However, it is far short of the $2.25 trillion proposal that President Joe Biden unveiled in March. That measure, known as the American Jobs Plan, included money for roads, bridges and public transportation, but it drew criticism from many Republicans for also making investments in areas not traditionally considered infrastructure, such as caregiving for aging Americans and workforce training.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Categories
Homepage News Archive Superfund News Water News

Neighbors worried that recreation is exposing kids to toxins on the Coeur d’Alene River form a nonprofit to address issues

Last Saturday, just as a historic heat wave hit the Northwest, thousands of people took to the north fork of the Coeur d’Alene River in Shoshone County, Idaho.

Groups on inner tubes and unicorn floaties and kayaks and rafts floated the crystal-clear waters after parking wherever they could find space along stretches of road lining either side of the river.
Some park their RVs for weekend getaways throughout the summer on private property rented along the river in this county of about 12,600 people. Others set up canopies and barbecues on any beach or rocky “sand bar” they can find. Locals say litter and trespassing can be common problems.
Meanwhile, kids splash each other as they run up and down the shores playing in the shallows — shallows that, in many places, are highly contaminated with toxic levels of lead, arsenic, mercury and more.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Samantha Wohlfeil/Inlander

Categories
Homepage News Archive

Biden signs bill repealing Trump-era EPA rule on methane emissions

(CNN)President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a bill repealing a Trump-era rule that rolled back regulations on methane emissions — a particularly potent greenhouse gas believed to contribute significantly to the climate crisis — from the oil and gas industries.

The President described the bill as an “important first step” to cut methane pollution and said it “reflects a return to common sense and commitment to the common good.”
“(President Barack Obama) in 2016 and I put in place a rule that required that companies capture methane leaks from the wells they were digging,” Biden said before signing the bill. “Well, guess what, they didn’t.”
Read More…
Photo Credit: Evan Vucci/AP
Categories
Homepage News Archive

How electric cars can advance environmental justice: By putting low-income and racially diverse drivers behind the wheel

The global auto industry has begun a historic shift from gasoline- and diesel-fueled cars to electric vehicles. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan seeks to speed up this transition by requesting billions of dollars to modernize the electric grid and build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.
Evidence shows that many Americans are eager to transition to EVs and participate in a clean energy economy. In a recent nationally representative consumer survey, 71% of drivers surveyed said they were interested in getting an electric car. But 48% said that lack of access to public charging infrastructure was holding them back, and 43% cited vehicle cost as a disincentive.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Eric Risberg/AP Photo
Categories
Backyard Talk

Environmental Justice is Racial Justice

By: Anabelle Farnham, Communications Intern
Just over one week ago, on May 25th, activists gathered to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, which was the spark for powerful anti-racist protests and calls to action across the country in 2020. The same day this year was marked by gatherings, marches, and celebrations of life to honor him and the fight for Racial Equality that his death has come to symbolize.
As an intern with the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ), Racial Justice and Equality are some things that I am challenged to think about every day, as it is inherently intertwined with the work we do for Environmental Justice and Equality. It is no secret that communities affected by pollution have greater health risks from their environment and are disproportionately constituted by lower-wealth and minority individuals. Studies estimate that on average, communities who live within 1 km (1 miles equals approximately 1.60934 km) of toxic waste facilities in the United States are majority people of color, with 20% being African-American. In contrast, communities living further than 5km away from toxic waste facilities are estimated to be only 8% African-American. In 2007, it was estimated that 1.8 million African-Americans lived in a neighborhood near one or more of the over 400 identified commercial hazardous waste facilities in the United States.
Not only are the current statistics of who is at risk from their environment skewed, but the history of Superfund clean-ups comes with its own biases, as well. As of 2021, the EPA has been working on Superfund clean-ups for over 40 years, and in the first decades of this work, particularly the 1980s, the sites with greater media coverage and urgency to clean up were often in communities with highly educated populations. This left many sites in majority African-American, low wealth, and urban neighborhoods ignored and without the attention or funding needed to clean up their toxic pollution environments. Since the first decades of Superfund, this disproportionate treatment has subsided, or ceased all together.  However, the issues for people of color and low wealth individuals living near toxic contamination remains potent and has not changed.
Racial Justice and Equality, in the context of Superfund, doesn’t stop when the sites have been cleaned up. It is still imperative that as these neighborhoods become livable they continue to be homes to those communities who have fought for their clean-ups in the first place. This means continuing to maintain affordable housing and taking additional measures that prevent gentrification, so that communities are not pushed from one environmentally damaged site to yet another environmentally damaged site. This is why the work that CHEJ is committed to remains important. Our work empowers local communities to have a voice at every step in the process, which is key in not only cleaning up Superfund sites, but other contaminated sites throughout the country.
As CHEJ celebrates 40 years of fighting for Environmental Justice and Equality, it is a poignant opportunity to reflect on what this justice encompasses. Not only is our focus on achieving a clean environment and eliminating threats to our health, it is also inextricably tied to Racial Justice and Equality for those disproportionately bearing the burden of pollution and toxic exposure in this country.  For more information on the intersections between how communities are affected by these injustices, and how to fight to win, please visit chej.org/organizing-and-leadership/.
Photo Credit: Gabriele Holtermann

Categories
Homepage News Archive

Biden’s $2 Trillion Proposal Could Boost Ohio Valley Infrastructure And Clean Up Energy Sector

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan contains tens of billions of dollars to address environmental and economic issues throughout the Ohio Valley region, according to details released Wednesday by the White House.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had promised a major infrastructure initiative, but one never got traction during his four years in office.
Speaking in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Biden called his plan the largest jobs investment since World War II.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Categories
Homepage News Archive

Toxic chemical ‘Hall of Shame’ calls out major retailers for failing to act

(CNN)A dozen major companies earned an F for failing to publicly address the growing problem of toxic chemicals that may be in the products they sell to consumers, according to the 2021 Who’s Minding the Store? A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals.

The report is a collaboration of nonprofit partner organizations, including the environmental advocacy groups Toxic-Free FutureWE ACT for Environmental Justice and Defend Our Health.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Adam Gault/Getty Images
Categories
Backyard Talk

Aquaculture Diversity On The Chesapeake Bay

By: Sharon Franklin, Chief of Operations
In a recent article in the Chesapeake Quarterly “Diversity Grows in Aquaculture”,
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/90f423a556ac4a0fa435e43531cb5f3e  Imani Black describes how and why she entered the Aquaculture business.  One reason was that she rarely saw anyone who looked like her in the Aquaculture business.  She was the only Black person and one of only a few women working on oyster farms in Maryland and Virginia.  She grew up on the Eastern Shore in a family with strong maritime roots, however, she began to feel alone in an industry that she had hoped would be a part of her future.  This led her to begin to ask her colleagues, when was the last time you saw a minority in a leadership role in Aquaculture?  She said “They were shocked that I was asking that andI don’t think people really thought about it until I asked, and after asking they couldn’t give her an answer.  So, six months later Ms. Black answered her own question and founded Minorities in Aquaculture (MIA), a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging more women and people of color to enter the field.  The goal and mission of MIA is to create a membership group that fosters networking, connects young graduates with mentors, and talks frankly about overcoming challenges in oyster farming and to encourage more women and people of color to enter a field that has not been diverse in the Chesapeake Bay area.
The group has more than 50 members, and has connected with other women of color at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Chesapeake Conservancy, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  This endeavor has allowed her to promote both her love of all sciences and her particular passion for Aquaculture, which she honed as a summer intern working on oyster farms as a biology major at Old Dominion University (ODU).
Ms. Black explains that building connections, expanding access was one of the goals for her nonprofit.  Her intent was to partner with larger organizations, such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the Choose Clean Water Coalition, and thus expand opportunities for minorities in this field.  Ms. Black went on to say that “starting a nonprofit advocacy organization was “not part of my five-year plan.” But,It’s really important for me that this is an extension of my own career aspirations, and I am bringing people along on my own journey “For me, what I love is being on the boat, being on the farm, being in the hatchery, and doing the hard work”.
Other individuals highlighted in this article include:
Scott Budden, of Korean descent one of the three owners of Orchard Point Oyster Company in Queen Anne’s County.  He believes he is the only leaseholder who is not white working in the state presently.
As a woman, Shannon Hood, an agent with Maryland Sea Grant Extension runs a demonstration oyster farm in Horn Point, Maryland. When Ms. Hood first decided she wanted to enter the Aquaculture profession, she’d call oyster farmers and ask if she could get experience on their farm; they’d often respond offering her work in their nurseries or supporting their marketing efforts. She went on to say “It was tough because I was automatically relegated to do the light duty work,” then she obtained an internship with the True Chesapeake Oyster Company in Southern Maryland and the Madhouse Oyster Company on the Eastern Shore.
Ms. Imani Black said “In my own experience of being a minority, I’ve been heavily discouraged many times,” but, “I felt like it was my responsibility to create a safe space, because it was something [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][that] I still needed.”  Now, she is hoping that like her, Shannon Hood, Scott Budden and others, they will help the Aquaculture industry grow bigger, and also make it more diverse.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Categories
Homepage News Archive Water News

A Recent Survey Casts New Light On America’s Racial Divide In Clean Tap Water Access

Analysis of the 44 million Americans being served by water systems with recent health-based Safe Drinking Water Act violations, reveals overwhelming evidence of a clear racial divide in the provision of clean tap water in the United States. Not surprisingly, a new survey published by SOURCE Global PBC reveals a significant racial disparity in Americans’ trust in the quality of their domestic water supply.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data from 2016-2019 reveals that public water systems that constantly violate the Safe Drinking Water Act are 40% more likely to serve people of color, and take longer to come back into compliance among communities of color.
Read More…
Photo Credit: Getty