Backyard Monthly - June 2023 - The Center for Health, Environment & Justice

June 2023

CHEJ's "All In" - Spotlight of the Month

This month, we want to highlight one of the cornerstones of our organization’s approach: our Training Calls. These calls not only equip grassroots organizers with vital knowledge and skills but also serve as invaluable platforms for connecting organizers across different regions.

By fostering a sense of collective power and learning from diverse experiences, we are able to create a stronger and more unified environmental justice movement nationwide. More specifically, this past month we hosted a call on East Palestine elevating the voices of residents working on the ground to rectify the wrongs committed by Norfolk Southern and the EPA against their rural community.

Join us as we continue to use our platform to explore the incredible journeys of community leaders and witness how their individual struggles fit together to form a tapestry of resilience and determination. All of our recorded calls can be accessed on our Training Call webpage.

For more information about our services and accomplishments, please read through this latest edition of Backyard Monthly.

Toxic Tuesday

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PCBEs)

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) are chemicals that are flame retardants – meaning they are added to different materials to make them less susceptible to fires. PBDEs are found in various everyday materials, such as furniture.… [Read more]

Transgenerational Toxicity

While getting cancer, liver disease or central nervous system damage is often associated with exposure to toxic chemicals, one of the most sensitive targets of toxic chemicals is the reproductive system. This has long been recognized for over… [Read more]

Training Calls

Voices from East Palestine – Lessons Learned

Last February, a 150-car freight train with 20 or so tanker cars carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, OH. Local resident Jami Wallace, who experienced the accident and the intentional burn, and Amanda Kiger, from River Valley Organizing, shared their experiences after thi.… [Watch now]

Backyard Talk Blogs

Betraying The Public’s Trust – EPA’s Terrible Response To East Palestine, OH

By Stephen Lester. Since immediately following the train derailment and intentional burn of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, OH, the USEPA has betrayed the public’s trust in government. The agency has put out a steady stream of statements… [Read more]

Cancer Alley Pre-Teens Demand To Not Be Made Into Another Sacrifice Zone?

By Sharon Franklin. In a recent op-ed, by Kamea Sibley Ozane and Roishetta Sibley Ozane in Teen Vogue, a Louisiana mother and daughter are followed on how they got involved in climate activism. Kamea is a 10-year-old who lives in Sulphur… [Read more]

Tell The EPA To Act On Pesticides Now

By Leila Waid. Pesticides are defined as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The US uses many different… [Read more]

5 Easy Ways To Support The Environmental Justice Causes You Care About At No Cost

By Gregory Kolen. Climate change and environmental degradation pose a serious threat to our communities and the world as we know it. Environmental justice has become a cause for many people who want to preserve nature and keep our planet… [Read more]

Do you find this information useful? Please consider pitching in and making a contribution to CHEJ. We appreciate your support!

42 years ago Lois Marie Gibbs knocked on her neighbors’ door to discuss what was happening to their Love Canal community. She galvanized her neighbors, they spoke up, held protests, assembled and demanded the federal government respond to the needs of the people and not to the greed of corporations. Now, 42 years later we are still fighting that same fight all over the country. You can just ask the people of East Palestine. Who are today’s victims of one of the worst toxic catastrophes in the country.

CHEJ continues to be committed to spending our time fighting the rollback and safeguards of the previous administrations and support proactive efforts for environmental justice. However, in these challenging times, we continue to need your help to move as quickly as possible to seize the moment and win as many cleanups of contaminated sites, before EPA prioritizes other issues.

Of course, the communities that we assist are saying “we can’t move fast enough” and that is why we need your assistance to take advantage of this window of opportunity. Due to the pandemic, support has changed in the last 3 years, but the needs remain great and it makes your contribution of $250, $150, $50 or whatever you can afford go a long way in providing the resources to push EPA to act at sites where people are being poisoned every single day.

Consider making a contribution today!

Now is the time to turn up the pressure to demand and win some real concrete health protections and cleanups for Unequal Response, Unequal Protection communities, like those in East Palestine and Bridgeport, Ohio.