Environmental justice: What we’re watching
as the year ends
Last year ended with
momentum.
Flint—though still
dealing with dirty water— had put environmental justice back on the map. It was
no longer a topic tucked into academic papers and progressive media. National
broadcasters and newspapers descended on mid-Michigan.
Then the standoff at
Standing Rock. Tribes rallied. Then came activists. A large swath of society
was simply done being told that dirty energy was the future.
Another interesting
thing happened: The disparate justice movements—social, economic, criminal, environmental— started working together.
Then President Trump
took office. Led by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the administration has
systematically undone environmental protections—and, in doing so, has rolled
back progress on stopping environmental injustices.
In a hard hitting op-ed this month, founding member of the EPA's Office of
Environmental Justice, Mustafa Santiago Ali wrote: "At a campaign stop in
2016, candidate Donald Trump asked African Americans, "What do you have to
lose?"
"After almost a
year with him in office, the answer is clear for people of color; we have
everything to lose," wrote Ali, now the senior vice president of Climate,
Environmental Justice, & Community Revitalization at Hip Hop Caucus.
Among the dozens of
scrapped regulations, Trump has overturned rules on harmful pesticides, methane
reporting, a freeze on coal leases and the calculation for the social cost of
carbon.
More rollbacks are in
progress, including: scrapping the Clean Power Plan, water protections, coal
ash discharge regulations and various vehicle emissions standards.
Though not yet rolled
back—the administration has signaled it will set its sights on mercury emission
limits at power plants, regulations at hazardous chemical facilities, and
limits on landfill emissions.
The administration has also taken far fewer actions—civil penalties and forced retrofitting to cut pollution—against polluters than previous administrations.
The administration has also taken far fewer actions—civil penalties and forced retrofitting to cut pollution—against polluters than previous administrations.
But, believe it or not,
there's a whole world out there beyond DC. Here are environmental justice issues
at home and abroad that we're tracking.
The war has caused
a massive spike in cholera and poverty. In addition millions remain without clean
water. The war itself is killing tens of thousands, but the widespread famine
and illness is a true humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing hell in
Venezuela
The country though rich
in oil has suffered a massive economic collapse spurring widespread poverty. Doctors in
the country report record numbers of children with severe malnutrition and say
hundreds are dying. The government refuses to accept aid and continues to
downplay the devastation.
Justice for Grassy
Narrows First Nation
Ontario's Grassy Narrows
First Nation, along with nearby Wabaseemoong First Nation, has been calling on
the government to help with widespread mercury poisoning in the communities
from a former paper mill. The pollution and injustice has been going on for
more than 40 years.
A study estimated 90
percent of the population for the two communities shows signs of poisoning and
late this year the federal government committed to a specialized treatment center.
Canadian mining
malpractice.
The allegations are
brutal — three separate civil cases say Canadian-based mining companies
committed nasty human rights abuses at mines in Africa and Guatemala.
This is old news to many
in Latin America—a 2016 study tied 28 Canada mining companies working in Latin America
between 2000 and 2015 to:
- About 44 deaths
- 403 injuries
- 709 cases of "criminalization"
"The world is
taking notice of Canadian companies – for the wrong reasons," according to
the report.
Monumental fights
In signing orders to
shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalanate national monuments, President
Trump pretty much guaranteed a legal fight.
Already Earthjustice
(representing eight environmental organizations) and five tribes—the Bears Ears
Coalition—have filed suits.
Environmental activists
are dying in record numbers around the world.
About 185 environmental defenders have been killed in 2017 protecting natural resources, according to
a joint project between the Guardian and Global Witness. In 2016 there were 200
such killings.
It's never been more
deadly in places like the Phillipines, South America, Central American and
India to be speaking up for the Earth.
Pro-coal, but what about
miners?
The Trump Administration
has pledged allegiance time and time again to bringing back coal and coal
mining jobs, but has said and done little to extend help to the miners who need health care after a life in the mines.
More than 40,000 retired miners in Coal Country—Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia—rely on a pension plan (United Health Workers of America Health and Retirement Fund) that could be at risk if Congress doesn't take action.
More than 40,000 retired miners in Coal Country—Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia—rely on a pension plan (United Health Workers of America Health and Retirement Fund) that could be at risk if Congress doesn't take action.
The pensions are in peril because coal companies have been going
under. Some Democrats want to build protections into an upcoming spending bill
to protect the miner's pensions.
Puerto Rican Re-build.
The island is still
mostly without power months after Hurricane Maria rolled through.
Much has been made
about putting resilience at the forefront of the electric grid rebuild. It's a rare chance to start over—and multiple
proposals have been put forward to completely overhaul the grid with renewables
and cutting out dirty fossil fuels. Could a devastating storm unlock energy and
economic justice on the island?
Expert weigh-in
David
Pellow, Director of the Global Environmental Justice Project at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, was kind enough to share some of his
highlights from 2017, and what he's tracking in 2018.
Here are his thoughts on
big 2017 developments:
The successful
mobilization against the Puente Power Plant in Oxnard, California, by grassroots groups like CAUSE.
"This would have been the fourth power plant in this majority working
class and immigrant and people of color town, and people fought back and
prevented more greenhouse gases and noxious particulate matter from being
spewed into the air and their lungs."
The wildfires of
Southern California in fall of 2017. "Like most 'natural disasters,' this one hit the poor
and immigrants and people of color heaviest, but what we saw here is the fires
threatening wealthier communities like Bel Air, Montecito, and Santa
Barbara--evidence that when we don't pay close attention to the most
marginalized communities through strong environmental justice and climate
justice policy making, eventually everyone is placed at risk and in harm's
way."
Trump pulling out of the
Paris Agreement. "This
is the best thing that could have happened to this agreement. Can you imagine
the leaders of the world's nations having to bend over backward to accommodate
a climate change denier's demands in shaping this agreement?
That would be ridiculous and a hellish scenario, so I thank Trump for pulling out and I thank the leaders of the "We're Still In!" group and the Under 2 MOU leaders who are committed to reducing greenhouse gases and limiting global temperature increases to <2 degrees celsius regardless of what Trump or the UN does."
That would be ridiculous and a hellish scenario, so I thank Trump for pulling out and I thank the leaders of the "We're Still In!" group and the Under 2 MOU leaders who are committed to reducing greenhouse gases and limiting global temperature increases to <2 degrees celsius regardless of what Trump or the UN does."
The US EPA quietly
including prisons on its screening tool so that we now can place
carceral facilities on EJ maps, "which is important because prisons and
prisoners are often in harm's way with respect to water contamination,
hazardous waste production and mismanagement, sewage spills, air pollution,
Superfund site proximity, and a range of other environmental and environmental
justice challenges."
What's on Pellow's radar
for 2018:
The Campaign to
Fight Toxic Prisons and their effort to map EJ concerns with prisons around the
U.S. and to prevent the construction of prisons that threaten human health and
ecosystems.
What did we miss?
I know we're missing
something here ... help us out! What are the environmental justice issues
you're tracking as we head into 2018? Send your thoughts to me at
bbienkowski@ehn.org.
And stay on top of all
the top news at our Justice page.