Environmental groups are pushing for changes to North Carolina’s industry permitting process, which they say fails to consider the cumulative impacts of environmental pollution.
People exposed to multiple chemicals and environmental stressors tend to have higher rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other health problems.
Sherri White-Williamson, director of environmental justice policy for the North Carolina Conservation Network, said that currently the state Department of Environmental Protection does not consider cumulative impacts when approving or denial of permits for facilities often located in vulnerable communities.
“Within five miles of one particular community in Sampson County, there are now two facilities that have been licensed to convert hog waste into biogas,” White-Williamson observed. “There are concentrated power operations active, very close to an interstate highway.”
Earlier this year, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a Executive Decree Create an environmental justice officer position in each state agency responsible for collecting pollution feedback from residents living in underserved communities. The order also directed state agencies to use federal and state funds to clean up affected communities.
Daisha Williams, environmental justice manager for CleanAire NC, said while fostering conversations with affected residents is important, state officials should strive to implement policies to incorporate and measure the cumulative impacts when deciding where to install new sources of pollution.
“Communities are still hurting, and we need tools and solutions,” Williams explained. “Not just something that’s kind of there to tick a box in the clearance or remediation process.”
The accumulation of stressors related to air pollution and climate change can also affect mental health. Research from the New England Journal of Medicine shows that natural disasters and climate-related displacement can increase the risk mental health disorders, anxiety and depression.
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This week is a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors – with over fifty free events, across the state of Californiaas part of Latin Conservation Week.
People can go paddle boarding, hiking, nature walks, watch movie screenings and more.
Juan Rosas is a conservation program associated with the Hispanic Access Foundation — which organizes the event with the help of dozens of community, nonprofit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies.
He said the program dispels the misconception that Latinos don’t care about the outdoors.
“Much of the Latino community lives in areas devoid of nature,” Rosas said. “So being able to take them hiking and fishing, camping — hosting virtual events, webinars, educational resources that they can experience first-hand — is what Latino Conservation Week is all about.”
An event on Saturday, July 23 will promote the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge project.
Rep. Ken Calvert – R-Corona – and Rep. Mark Takano – D-Riverside – recently reintroduced a bill in Congress to officially create the new urban refuge. They say the idea is to improve access to nature for millions of people living in Southern California.
Discover all the events online at ‘LatinoConservationWeek.com.’
The slogan for this year’s event is “Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra”, which means “Enjoying and conserving our land”. According to Rosas, this annual event has really taken off, increasing significantly over the years.
“It started in 2014 with nine events,” Rosas said. “And this year, in the ninth year, it looks like we’re approaching 200 events happening, all over the United States. So, we’re so excited.”
Many events address environmental justice themes, as many Latinos in California work in manufacturing and agriculture – industries that often pollute the air and water in nearby communities.
Disclosure: Hispanic Access Foundation contributes to our fund for reporting on policy and budget priorities, climate change/air quality, education, environment, health issues, human rights /racial justice, living wages/working families. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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With a historic budget for parks and recreation, New York City is developing strategic plans to increase tree canopy with environmental justice in mind.
$624 million budget for New York’s parks includes funding for capital projects such as the planting of 20,000 new trees. City Council recently held a monitoring hearing on increasing tree cover, which gave residents the opportunity to provide input on access to shade in their community.
Council member representing Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, Shekar Krishnan – who chairs the parks and recreation committee – said the hearing can inform solutions to address disparities in tree presence in different neighborhoods.
“In particular, low-income communities of color have much less tree cover than other neighborhoods,” Krishnan said, “and this directly translates to warmer temperatures known as the ‘island effect’. urban heat”. lack of tree canopy cover is not shared equally.”
The budget also includes funds for stump removal, which can make way for new trees. A report from The Nature Conservancy found that in 2017, the city’s overall tree canopy was around 22%.
Victoria Sanders — research analyst at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance — said New York City is moving forward with plans to improve tree canopy equity across the city, communities that have long been disinvested due to racially discriminatory policies such as redlining must be prioritized.
“There’s all this bureaucracy that impacts how the funds can be used,” Sanders said. “A lot of the trees that are planted are replacing trees that are already there. So I think there needs to be maybe a bit of a step back so that more of the money can be put into making sure that ‘there is a fair distribution of trees.’
Emily Nobel Maxwell – director of the New York Cities program for The Nature Conservancy – said she was excited about budget investments in urban forests, but said there was still work to be done.
“We know that to better mitigate the impacts of extreme heat, we need more canopy,” Maxwell said. “That would mean protecting and maintaining the canopy that we have. And that requires funding for maintenance, laws to protect our canopy, that requires enforcement.”
The Forest For All NYC coalition has called for a citywide goal of 30% forest coverage by 2035.
Disclosure: The Nature Conservancy in New York – Long Island contributes to our fund for reporting on climate change/air quality, environment, public lands/wilderness, water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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The Infrastructure Act provides $1.2 trillion for improvement projects in the water, energy, building and transportation sectors. A new report examines how officials can use funds to address environmental justice.
Written by the National Wildlife Federation, the report provides a framework for frontline and fenceline communities facing environmental justice issues such as frequent flooding to fund solutions with infrastructure dollars.
Tatiana Eaves, environmental policy and climate justice specialist for the federation, said the Infrastructure Act is an opportunity for policymakers.
“We must always let community leaders speak for themselves,” Eaves said, “and trust them as the experts on their own lived experience and for us to listen because many communities already know what the solutions are. .They just need the resources to bring them into reality.”
In November, New Yorkers will vote for a ballot measure for approval of the $4.2 billion Environmental Bonds Act for Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs.
The bond would leverage federal infrastructure funds to support land conservation, environmental justice and improved water quality.
Shawyn Patterson-Howard is mayor of Mount Vernon, New York. For nearly two decades, residents of Mount Vernon have lived with raw sewage backing up into their homes, flooding streets and polluting local waterways due to old and corroded clay sewer lines.
Patterson-Howard said infrastructure dollars could help the majority-black city replace pipes.
“Without proper maintenance and investment over the past few decades, the sewer system and stormwater system began to break down,” Patterson-Howard said. “So we need to find a way to regionally improve our stormwater system, which is certainly impacted by climate change.”
Patterson-Howard estimates the replacement will cost between $250 million and $300 million.
In April, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $150 million for this project.. The report suggests that federal infrastructure funds could also support grants to help low-income homeowners repair failing septic systems.
Disclosure: The National Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on climate change/air quality, endangered species and wildlife, energy policy, environment, public lands/ wilderness, salmon retrieval, water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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