(Environmental) justice is served
Exploring what you may or may not know about climate and environmental justice
Welcome to The Breaking Point, a weekly newsletter that explores the historical legacies of injustice based on the news cycle to understand what in the world is going on.
editor’s note: hello beautiful people, i am taking a break to take care of myself physically, emotionally, and mentally. i highly encourage you to do so, too. this year has been rough for most, or rather all of us. i can’t stay away from writing, so i’ll probably be back sooner than you expect. in the meantime, you can most likely find me babbling and sharing stories on Twitter.
ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Source: Wikimedia Commons
Weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, President Trump shared the debate stage one last time with his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. After the fiasco that was the first presidential debate, the debate commission finally decided to include a mute button. Despite the plethora of lies uttered by the president, in retrospect, the debate was actually more polite and decent than the last.
But among all the issues tackled on the debate stage on Thursday, the thing that stood out the most was the question of environmental justice. To those of you who aren’t familiar about the work that I do outside of this newsletter, I write about climate science and environmental justice. So when NBC White House correspondent, and the moderator of Thursday night’s debate, Kristen Welker asked Trump this question ...
Some people of color are much more likely to live near oil refineries and chemical plants in Texas. There are families who worry the plants near them are making them sick. Your administration has rolled back regulations on these kinds of facilities. Why should these families give you another four years in office?
… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t scream of excitement. This question is monumental, and not to mention, there is something so empowering about a female journalist of color asking the question. Environmental justice, to those of you who aren’t familiar, is a term used to describe low-income communities of color that are overburdened and more vulnerable to climate disasters including storms, sea level rise, wildfires, *and* pollution caused by oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, pipelines, and fracking operations.
As usual, Trump — who has indeed been overhauling crucial environmental regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that frontline communities use as the first line of defense against polluting infrastructure projects — gave the American people a non-answer, in which he said communities are actually “making a lot of money,” before transitioning to how he saved the oil and gas industry. Yes, Trump saved the very thing ruining our planet.
In response, Biden slammed Trump on the subject matter, highlighting that his opponent doesn’t understand the concept of “fenceline communities,” a term used to describe communities — typically low-income communities of color — that live next to polluting fossil fuel infrastructure.
Read Are Pennsylvanians as obsessed with fracking as Trump and Biden think? by Eve Andrews, Grist
Figure of the week: 10
The number of times Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man, was allegedly shot during his fatal arrest in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon. Protests erupted late Monday and early Tuesday in response to the fatal shooting, prompting authorities to make several arrests. (Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer)
The bottom line that most people don’t seem to grasp is that the issue is part of the larger system of injustice embedded in our social and political fabric. These systemic injustices burden marginalized communities throughout their lifetime. Living next to a fossil fuel facility can lead to severe health and environmental repercussions. There’s a reason why Louisiana’s 85-mile industrial corridor got the infamous nickname “cancer alley,” or why Doremus Avenue in Newark, New Jersey is called “chemical corridor,” or why Interstate 710 in Long Beach, California is dubbed the “diesel death zone.” A slew of scientific studies, including research from the Environmental Protection Agency, prove the environmental and health implications of being in close proximity to a power plant, oil refinery or a waste incinerator.
It’s no coincidence that low-income communities of color disproportionately suffer from COVID-19 and other environmental health inequities, particularly from living near fossil fuel infrastructure. Why is it that formerly redlined neighborhoods suffer the most from extreme heat? Why is it that native Pacific Islanders bear the brunt of environmental destruction and contamination brought by the US military? Why is it that Indigenous environmental and land defenders are dying at a higher rate than ever?
The worst part is that, for decades, the fossil fuel industry knew about the consequences of their actions polluting the planet. But like Trump, fossil fuel executives care more about money and profit margins. Trump argues that banning fracking and decimating the oil and gas industry would ruin the economy, but as Biden said, a just transition overtime such as prioritizing former fossil fuel industry workers for clean energy jobs is key. As industries change and the climate crisis accelerates, it’s only a matter of time that the oil and gas industry would meet its demise, just like coal did. Renewable energy will save the planet and the economy, if we transition carefully and equitably.
But Trump and his supporters just don’t seem to get it. Even his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who was just confirmed on Monday to replace the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg, refuses to hammer down on her views regarding climate science. “I have read things on climate change,” she said during her confirmation hearing. “I would not say I have firm views on it.” Barrett later adds, in response to a question from Sen. Kamala Harris, “climate change is a very contentious matter of public debate. Honey, climate change is a scientific fact.
One last thing to wrap up my ramble is that environmental justice is racial justice. As another Black man, Walter Wallace Jr., struggled to breathe as he was fatally shot in Philadelphia early this week, remember the words “I can’t breathe” as a familiar cry from pollution-burdened Black and brown communities living next to fossil fuel facilities. This environmental injustice is part of the “everyday violence” that people of color face in this country.
ps* I have more to say, and if you’re interested, just DM me on Twitter.
Podcast on my radar 🔊
Temperature Check from Grist, a new weekly podcast about climate, race, and culture.
Story breakers 📖
“Born for This”: Meet the Solar Industry’s First Black Woman CEO by Yessenia Funes, Vogue
How the waters off Catalina became a DDT dumping ground by Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times
Out of Work in America by The New York Times staff
India’s engineers have thrived in Silicon Valley. So has its caste system by Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post
To Reclaim Ancestral Land, All Native Hawaiians Need Is a $300,000 Mortgage and to Wait in Line for Decades by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica
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