Perspectives on Climate and Environmental Justice on the U.S. Gulf Coast Proceedings of a Webinar–in Brief (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Perspectives on Climate and Environmental Justice on the U.S. Gulf Coast: Proceedings of a Webinar - in Brief
Perspectives on Climate and Environmental Justice on the U.S. Gulf Coast: Proceedings of a Webinar - in Brief
Pages 1-7
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Acute and repetitive shocks -- illustrated by the multiple Gulf regional hurricane landfalls during the 2020 hurricane season -- have a disproportionate impact on communities in this region that are already burdened by chronic stressors such as systemic and structural racism,1 poverty, environmental degradation, and health disparities. Climate change threatens to exacerbate the severity of these impacts as disadvantaged and underserved communities fall further behind in their ability to prepare for, respond to, mitigate, or recover from disasters.
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CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUITIES: RISK IS NOT EQUALLY SHARED, IMPACT IS DISPROPORTIONATE, AND RECOVERY IS INEQUITABLE Parker introduced the discussion by asking the panelists to describe daily stressors facing environmental justice communities and how disasters and climate change have a disproportionate impact on BIPOC communities. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, and Co-Chair, National Black Environmental Justice Network, said that based on her decades of experience working in places including Cancer Alley,6 communities have been devastated by the significant environmental challenges they are facing.
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UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING COMPOUNDING DISASTERS AND THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS OF STRESSORS ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES Parker stated that more than 1.5 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, many Gulf communities are still reeling from a historic 2020 hurricane season8 and Winter Storm Uri.9 These events, individually and collectively, have put into stark relief the disparities endured by BIPOC communities. Parker asked the panelists to share lessons and identify actions needed to prevent these communities from falling further behind in the face of compounding impacts of chronic stressors such as environmental hazards and poverty, prolonged events such as disease outbreaks, and extreme weather events.
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The Road Home Program, a federally funded grant program designed to help Louisiana residents rebuild or sell houses severely damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, did not benefit some of the most severely impacted BIPOC communities. The formula used to determine funding levels was not corrected for systemic racism, Wright added.
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Flowers also noted that too often contractors receive federal funds to install inadequate infrastructure in communities that ends up leaving 15 EPA defines an "overburdened community" as a "minority, low-income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic locations in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks." 16 For more information about the HBCU Climate Change Consortium, see https://www.dscej.org/our-work/hbcu-climate-change-consortium. 17 The WHEJAC recommends expanded federal investment in programs that support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
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Wright noted that her hope is that the WHEJAC would provide an opportunity for policy makers to learn more about how disenfranchised communities have been devalued and devastated by environmental pollution so they can move toward a more just and equitable recovery. She added, "When we take care of the least of us, we take care of all of us." In moving forward to address the risks and threats from climate change to BIPOC communities along the Gulf Coast, Bullard cited the need to examine the history of housing discrimination policies, including redlining, that have made it more difficult for People of Color to move inland and away from hazards.
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, Robert Wood Foundation; Laura Bowie, Gulf of Mexico Alliance; Charles C Branas, Columbia University; Flozell Daniels, Foundation for Louisiana; Lois DeBacker, The Kresge Foundation; Sandro Galea, Boston University; Davin Holen, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Thomas LaVeist, Tulane University; Marinelle Payton, Jackson State University; James Shultz, University of Miami; Jon Thaxton, Gulf Coast Community Foundation; and Ken Wisian, The University of Texas at Austin STAFF: Daniel Burger, Senior Program Manager; Charlene Milliken, Senior Program Manager; Francisca Flores, Program Officer; Robert Gasior, Program Officer; Juan Sandoval, Senior Program Assistant/Research Assistant; Noel Walters, Research Associate REVIEWERS: To ensure that it meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity, this Proceedings of a Webinar -- in Brief was reviewed by Mashal Awais, Bayou City Waterkeeper; Patrick Barnes, BFA Environmental; and Hannah Covert, University of Pittsburgh.
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