In this post, we read, listen, act, and reflect on June's topic: environmental racism. This article has been adapted from our sustainability newsletter, so please sign up for it to stay in the loop.
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
What’s covered:
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Kinda.
Environmental racism is the (highly substantiated) idea that environmental risks are allocated disproportionately along the lines of race, often without the input of the affected communities of color.
I struggled with this concept at first. I didn't really get how something as neutral and inanimate as the environment could have a racism component. Here are some examples and facts that helped me:
If you're going to pick one, I recommend the last one.
I'm going to give you a choice today based on what you need: #1) lighthearted commentary about a specific issue or #2) a broad visualization of environmental justice. I'm giving you bonus resources for both!
Each option will take you only ~5 min, so make sure you click one!
The video's only about 4 minutes long, so I won't share too much.
What you do have to know is so many major crises, like this pipeline protest, Flint water poisoning, and even something as natural as Hurricane Katrina have deep roots in environmental justice.
Trevor Noah gives his funny take on it, and if that's what you need right now, watch the video!
* Woke laughter *
When you're feeling up to it, you can watch Trouble the Water for free. It's a documentary of failures of the government to respond properly to the Hurricane Katrina — failures influenced by environmental racism. Thanks for the rec, Olivia! I'm looking forward to watching it.
I love this video by Grist. It's only 3 minutes long, the visualizations are great, and it distills a complicated concept into understandable terms. Here's the description, straight from Grist:
The harm that comes with rising seas and contaminated water systems isn’t evenly distributed. To the contrary: Those who are already disadvantaged by race, wealth, and income are usually the most affected by environmental disasters. Without recognizing that inequality, we’re not always solving the problems with our water, air, and soil in ways that serve the people who need it most — which is why environmental justice is a critical part of planning a green future that’s good for everyone.
Watch it here!
You'll see in the video there's a reference to race-based zoning and housing. In the US, this is commonly known as redlining. According to writer Michael Harriot, "almost every calculable form of economic inequality that still exists can be tied to redlining." You've got to check out his Twitter thread on redlining. It changed the way I see American society.
Today's ACT module is going to focus almost exclusively on questions you've sent in about how to create environmental justice within your communities, and create systemic change.
We're going to cover 3 things:
Each comes with an easy peasy action, so reply to this email and tell me what you're going to do with this knowledge!
Here's the thing about humans:
The good news: everything I said above can be solved in baby steps, starting with what I'm about to tell you below. Here's what you can do.
1) Move money to a different bank
Sophia Wagner, one of our readers, is the founder of Mighty, a bank comparison site to help you find banks that are good for people & the planet according to public data, not ads. She reached out to me saying, "Many of the biggest contributors to fossil fuels and exploitation are the most popular banks in the country. Opening savings/checking accounts with sustainable banks or Black-owned banks can be a really effective way to take action and contribute to systemic change."
I've spent more time on the Mighty website than I'd like to admit. Here are some amazing things about it:
I wish this was a sponsored ad, but no — I'm just obsessed with how easy Sophia's making it to shift power from corporations to communities. If you're not ready to switch banks today, just start with something as simple as opening an account!
2) Understand and VOTE on local policy
One of our readers asked "how to participate in environmental reform in your city."
It really comes down to understanding what the heck is going on in your city in the first place. I live in San Francisco, and I finally started understanding how important local politics were when I dialed into weekly Chamber of Commerce meetings. I got to weigh in on things like marijuana legislation and safe injection sites.
Here's a general approach:
If you're looking for a tool that shows you what bills might be coming up for a vote, check out ProPublica's database of environmental protection bills and this search tool by GovTrack. I'd bookmark them so you can come back to them in November.
3) Donate! (Make it recurring!)
Finally, a few of you asked about where to donate. I'm plugging The Human Utility. Your donation will literally be helping people get access to water in cities like Detroit and Baltimore. It's a real shame that people in the US are going without WATER, but you can chip in as little as $5 a month to help them with their water bill. This is what direct impact looks like.
When corporations pollute, they often dump their waste in impoverished communities. To this day, big oil companies pollute poor communities in Louisiana - they've literally created a place called Cancer Alley.
Of course, these communities are not only impoverished - they're racially segregated. We learned in our LISTEN module about redlining and housing discrimination, and how that plays a huge part in environmental racism.
In our ACT module, we talked about 3 ways to combat environmental racism with your wallet and your vote. Today, in our REFLECT piece, we'll bring it full circle to Cancer Alley to remind all of us how important it is to keep taking action.
I want you to reflect on this article NBC put out: "In 'Cancer Alley,' a renewed focus on systemic racism is too late." That's it!
You can go ahead and close this email if you're reading the NBC article... or scroll to the bottom for some bonus links. Bye!
If you're not ready to read the right now, here's the lowdown.
If we're interested in combating climate change - which, if you've subscribed to this newsletter, you are - we can make the most change by tackling the most affected areas. In the US, that's often communities of color. Remember, in our ACT module, we talked about three simple things we can do:
Finally, you can read this reflection by a Black queer environmentalist.
