What is Environmental Racism and Why you Should Care
Yes, everything is about race.
We need to talk about environmental racism and how people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change-related disasters, are not included in climate solutions, and are exposed to the highest levels of pollutants.
What is environmental racism?
The National Resources Defense Council says it well:
“The phrase environmental racism was coined by civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. He defined it as the intentional siting of polluting and waste facilities in communities primarily populated by African Americans, Latines, Indigenous People, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, migrant farmworkers, and low-income workers.
Study after study has since shown that those communities are disproportionately exposed to fumes, toxic dust, ash, soot, and other pollutants from such hazardous facilities located in their midst. As a result, they face increased risks of health problems like cancer and respiratory issues.”
These communities have long been sites of pollution dumping by companies. But it wasn’t until 1982 when a North Carolina community was the target for pollution dumping that this issue finally got national attention. Unfortunately, the site was used anyway, leeching toxins into the water supply of this black community. But, the ball was at least rolling, and now this important cause could garner some much-needed attention.
The spotlight was on. So, in 1983, there was a request for the General Accounting Office to conduct a study, in which they found that 75% of highly toxic waste sites across 8 states were placed in low-income communities of color. A report followed entitled Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, coauthored by Chavis and Charles Lee. This second report found that this pattern was, unfortunately much more widespread across the entire US.
Why does this happen?
No one wants pollution in their backyard, so why does this affect people of color and low-income communities more often? Well, if you are of a certain “social status,” you are more likely to be taken seriously and listened to, and also have the time, money, and ability to fight for these things in your neighborhood. Primarily white communities, especially those of middle-to-high-income areas, have been more successful at preventing pollution in their neighborhoods. One, they have the resources to accomplish this, and two, poor communities of color are not taken seriously, nor do they have the same privileges to fight this.
This is all compounded due to legacies of segregation and redlining. These things discouraged investment in these areas, which eroded asset values, which set the scene for these dumping grounds. Polluting industries seek out dumping grounds based on the value of the land, and in return, these regions were re-zoned for industrial use, making it perfectly “legal” for companies to dump here.
According to the NRDC, “A recent study by the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University illustrates some of the current effects. It found African American and Latine communities that had been redlined under the discriminatory Home Owners’ Loan Corporation program have twice as many oil and gas wells today than mostly white neighborhoods.”
This happens worldwide, too
The US and other “wealthy” nations have been shipping their waste abroad for decades. From car batteries to e-waste to textiles leftover from our overflowing thrift stores, and more. The US and other countries love to say “out of sight, out of mind” and have someone else take care of it. These things primarily end up in the global south, in low-income communities of color. They often do not have the technology or even the proper PPE to take care of this waste. It leeches into soil, water, and creates air and physical pollution. All so we can feel better about ourselves by recycling.
Not only that, but let’s look at where most of the mining occurs when it comes to making EVs: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. You can learn more in-depth here, but for now, know that when you buy a new EV, it’s not all that eco. It’s pollutive to create, and people are enslaved as young as 10 years old to mine heavy metals to make EV batteries. So, we are harming people to create the EVs and to recycle EVs while we reap the benefits of clean air. Doesn’t sound very fair or just to me.
I’m not saying we need to bring pollution back to our neighborhoods. What I’m saying is that we ALL deserve clean air, clean water, clean soil, non-polluted food, and living a life without the fear of health issues due to these pollutants.
Who’s impacted the most by climate change?
Yup, we’re going deeper still!
As I hinted at with the DRC, our risks for climate change are lower in the US than in the global south. We export these risks for someone else to deal with. Not only that, but also within the US! Look to the January 2025 fire in Southern California. In communities with wealthy, mostly white people, the response was quick, and all of the attention was on them. Not only that, but they had the means to recover: insurance, disposable income to pack up and move, extra funds to buy a new house, etc. But even just a few streets away in poor communities of color, responses were not as quick, less attention was on these communities, and they simply don’t have as many means to recover.
According to Hannah Ritchie in Not the End of the World, the US is only 4% of the world’s population, but accounts for 14% of the total pollution. That’s not too bad, right? Well, we yet again offshore our pollution by making other countries manufacture our goods and recycle our waste.
The countries around the world at the most risk of climate change have one thing in common: extreme poverty. And why is this? War. Specifically, war over resources and land. The richest countries in the world want to get richer, so what better way than to exploit and kill people to get those resources to get richer? It’s sick.
These countries are facing famine, record droughts, record flooding, and more, which is displacing people on top of the displacement from forced removal due to these wars. And, because they are so impoverished and their resources are being stolen from them, they don’t have to means to combat these climate change-related events.
What can we do?
First, we need to care. But why? This doesn’t affect you or me? Try on some empathy for size! How sad it is that I get to live a life of less pollution while someone else suffers at that expense. But also, climate change affects us all. Yes, you may be better suited to face the brunt of it if you have money and a means to flee safely during times of disaster, but it is still affecting you.
Second, we cannot make decisions for other communities. This is precisely how we got into this mess in the first place. The NRDC mentions an example from 2018. A white neighborhood wanted a pollutive factory to move out and they were successful. The factory was moved to a Latine community without being consulted on the matter. This is wrong. Why do some people get to be part of the conversation and others don’t, but it affects us all the same? Honestly, it affects people worse when they are not included in the conversation, and that is intentional. So, center everyone in these conversations. If you’re not in charge, say at a town hall, for example, voice this concern. Ask why people from that certain demographic are not there and not speaking for themselves. Ask why we are making decisions on someone else’s behalf. Everyone needs their voices heard.
Thankfully, we have seen positive strides in these areas, such as COP27 and the UN, but leaders in privileged countries need to do MORE.
So, keep speaking out. International attention makes change. I know that you’re not a world leader, and neither am I, but we can still make changes. Speak out on social media, share content that talks about this, and voice your concerns locally. You may not be able to influence the US government, but you may be able to influence your mayor.
We cannot fight for climate justice while ignoring these other fights, especially when they are interconnected. We cannot push for EV mandates while EV creation is literally killing people to get that car to your dealership. We cannot push for tech recycling when it is polluting the water, air, and soil of someone in another country. It’s hard, but these fights need to be fought together.
Again, I’m not asking to bring pollution back to our neighborhoods, but I’m asking that no one deal with pollution. It’s a big ask, but we can get there. When we tackle the pollution issue, the climate issue follows. It’s all connected.
Interested in this and similar topics? Check out these books:
The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas
Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara
Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie
Leave your book recs below and let us know how you fight environmental racism.
Thanks so much for reading along. I appreciate your time. As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
