The Clearing the Air Road Tour is part of a collaborative research project – involving the NAACP, the Environmental Justice & Climate Change Initiative, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Women of Color United, and other organizations – which is creating a detailed, comprehensive ranking of all coal power plants in the U.S., based on their effects on environmental justice. This report will be released in the coming weeks.
For this road tour, Jacqui Patterson of NAACP traveled to communities nearby the “Dirty Dozen” – the 12 U.S. coal plants with the worst impacts on environmental justice – and interviewed community members about the plants’ impacts on health and life in their communities.
This blogpost was written by Jacqui Patterson, and is cross-posted from the NAACP’s Climate Justice Initiative blog (where you can view posts from other Dirty Dozen communities as well).
Chicago has the dubious honor of being host to two of the highest emitting power plants in the nation, Fisk and Crawford Generating Stations. These plants are located on the lower west side of Chicago, in the predominantly Latino Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods; other nearby neighborhoods include a significant population of African Americans. Within a stone’s throw of each plant are homes, parks, schools, etc.
Ms. Kimberly Harrington lives in Chicago and is a registered nurse. She comments on the health effects and trends she sees and speculates on the link to the coal fired power plants.
Ms. Kimberly Wasserman was born and raised in Chicago and is also raising her three children there. Ms. Wassmerman works for the Little Village Environmental Organization and resides in Little Village. She took me on a tour of the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods surrounding the Fisk and Crawford Coal Fired Power Plants.
Kimberly shares another campaign related to climate and environmental justice. Our dependence on dirty sources of energy that are diminishing in supply/access is one of the contributors to rising costs for transportation and other expenses. Lack of regard for low income communities of color has meant that cuts to city budgets impact these communities most. Therefore the Little Village Neighborhood is facing cuts in its transportation lines, thereby isolating the community and disabling members from accessing goods and services.
