Ten elementary schools in Denver, Colorado have encouraged an outdoor air quality monitoring pilot program to reduce the risk of pollution exposure to students. Real-time monitoring results, provided by the Love My Air program, will be displayed on large screens in the schools for students and teachers to see if air quality conditions are healthy for students. The goal of the program is to test for high levels of particulate matter that are known to increase conditions of asthma and heart disease. The pilot program is predicted to begin in December 2019. Read More.
Category: News Archive
In September, the EPA revoked two rules involved with the protection of clean water and air that could have serious effects on how states neighboring the Chesapeake Bay can regulate for pollution. The Trump administration has set out to rollback regulations that inhibit economic growth, as said to have been done by the 2015 Clean Water Rule that protected any “navigable” water system. The rollbacks wont affect states like Maryland that enforce greater pollution regulations than the federal government, however, the state will have a harder time limiting pollution from neighboring states that follow the federal rollback. Now the EPA is considering rolling back even further regulations connected with the Clean Water Act that allow states to block the construction interstate projects, such as pipelines, that threaten water quality. Read More.
The EPA has revealed new rules for drinking water quality testing and water line repair actions for the presence of lead. The updated regulations are the first significant changes since the establishment of the lead and copper standards in 1991. The new rules will require water testing in all homes with lead service lines and the production of a public inventory listing all lead water systems. Additional rules include federal action towards replacing sections of contaminated pipes. Some environmental advocates claim that although the updated regulations are a start, they do not hit at the root cause of the lead contamination: replacing the 6 million lead service lines spread across the country. Read More.
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Northern California Goes Dark
On Wednesday, October 9, PG&E shut off power for over 800,000 customers in Northern California. As California’s wildfire season rages on, the electrical company has decided to shut off all power to prevent the spark of another wildfire caused by equipment malfunctions. Opinions are varied by the company’s decision to blackout 34 counties. The power outages were preempted by last year’s Camp Fires that destroyed nearly 14,000 homes and took 85 lives. However, customers with medical conditions that require consistent sources to electricity are concerned about how long the power outages will last. Read More.
Next month, the former particulate matter advisory group will meet publicly to continue their work studying the effects of air pollution on human health, despite having been fired by the Trump administration a year ago. The group will convene at the same location it met last year to discuss the 21 million Americans that are subjected to adverse health effects from air pollution and pollution from fossil fuels. This is not the first time a group has reassembled to discuss environmental concerns despite dismissal from Trump’s EPA. Scientists and environmental experts are continuing to meet to fight for the health and safety of Americans suffering as a result of industrial pollution. Read More.
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Talking to Children About Climate Change
September marked a month of climate change discussions and activism from younger generations across the world. In the wake of the hundreds of student organized protests that took place at then end of the month, professional psychiatrists are encouraging parents to have honest conversations with their children about their fears connected with climate change. Health professionals are advising parents to discuss the problems associated with warming temperatures, the solutions groups are currently working on, and potential changes families can implement in their own homes to reduce their carbon footprint. Read More.
As Children’s Health Month continues, the Environmental Protection Agency has released a memorandum stating its improved action towards eliminating lead contamination in school and childcare water systems. In support of the Lead Action Plan, the EPA’s MOU lists ways partnering agencies, water utilities, and community health specialists can work together to train, identify, and remove lead from children’s drinking water. Read More.
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Record Breaking Heat for October
As we start to settle into the cooler Fall temperatures, the Washington Post reflects on the record breaking heat that took over the first week of October. Weather stations with data that date back 40 years show that nearly 30 states along the eastern side of the country experienced record high temperatures for October. Some stations established that the early October numbers were higher than temperatures some states had received all year. Read More.
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School buses are set for an upgrade
The EPA has announced a $10 million grant that will go towards replacing older models of school buses that emit more pollution compared to newer models. By replacing older model school buses, the EPA has informed that the change will result in a 90% pollution reduction from buses that are heavy emitters of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide, two pollutants that can increase conditions of respiratory disease and asthma for riders. As Children’s Health Month starts, the EPA is working to ensure that all aspects of the school environment maintain a healthy space for students to learn and develop, including the ride to and from school. Read More.
We are All on the Titanic
Editors note: Peter Montague wrote this years ago and thought it was more relevant today than ever.
Environmental injustice arises when people of color and/or people of below-average income are (a) unfairly burdened with bad environments, or (b) unfairly denied good environments, or (c) harmed because vulnerabilities leave them especially prone to injury from “normal” or “average” circumstances.
Having been active in the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement for the last decade (and supplying it with information for the past 30 years), I’ve come to believe that the EJ frame is now too narrow. New information about environmental threats has changed the picture very substantially. We are all on the Titanic and we can see the iceberg ahead. On this voyage there are no lifeboats. A plutocratic oligarchy has seized the bridge and taken command of the wheelhouse. Instead of steering a true course to safety and prosperity for all, they are busily stuffing their pockets while they debate what we can all see looming ahead — isn’t it really just a patch of fog? Is it worth the trouble and expense to try to turn the ship? Shouldn’t we count on the invisible hand to steer us true?
The EJ movement originally demanded to move from steerage up to first class. But 30 years later the situation has changed; we can now see that such a move isn’t going to provide a full measure of justice for anyone. As we draw closer to the iceberg, in the ensuing panic people of color and the poor will be ignored and forgotten — perhaps jettisoned overboard. But justice continues to be the central demand of any strategy that can turn the ship. The EJ perspective is now crucial not only to people of color and of low income — it has become crucial for us all. Our national pledge of allegiance, “…with liberty and justice for all,” now means we must all demand environmental justice for everyone, remove the oligarchs from the wheelhouse, and turn the ship before it is too late.
We must not dilute the demands of people of color or people with low income. But today we can aim to build a broad, inclusive movement for change by recognizing that their legitimate demand for justice pertains now to a majority constituency — all those who are marginalized, disrespected, ignored, abused, hurt, and harmed. In sum, a call for environmental justice can now speak to the vast majority of Americans, whose environmental, social and economic needs are no longer being met. –Peter Montague