It’s Getting Hot In Here

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.

Continue reading ‘Clearing the Air Road Tour: Crawford and Fisk Power Plants, Chicago, Illinois’

<cross-posted on Southern Energy Network’s blog>

They said it was safe. BP’s environmental impact statement from February 2009 stated that it was,  “unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities”, and that “due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected [1].” Now, millions of gallons of oil have dumped into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20^th and more continues to poor into the waters every day. Today President Obama is visiting Louisiana to assess the threat posed by this growing oil spill [2].

An oil containment boom is swamped by waves along the Louisiana coast at South Pass of the Mississippi River Thursday, April 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) via Boston.com

The Earth is now bleeding. Unfortunately a run to the pharmacy wont supply the Band Aids needed for this injury. Five thousand feet under the sea a pipe is spilling unknown volumes of oil straight into the Gulf. Attempts to recap it have been unsuccessful. Stopping the spill now looks like it could take weeks if not months, as a giant dome is developed to capture the oil and a “relief” well is drilled [3].

Oil, bottom right, is seen approaching the Louisiana Coast, top left, in this aerial photo taken 8 miles from shore, Wednesday, April 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Via Boston.com

Continue reading ‘Oil continues to dump into the Gulf’

Today environmental activists brought the environmental justice/climate justice bloc to one of the largest marches in Toronto: No One Is Illegal Toronto’s annual May Day march for status for all.

Environmental Justice bloc was lead by a banner that said, "Good enough to work, good enough to stay," highlighting the deporations that migrant workers in the agricultural and tar sands industry face every day here in Canada. Photo credit: Glenn MacIntosh

To put it simply: if you do not have safe drinking water, if any water at all; the soil where you used to grow your food is dry and void of nutrients due to recent droughts; your air quality is so poor and polluted that the vast majority of people have asthma; and the land on which you live is being sold to a mining company or a Coca-cola plant; why wouldn’t you want to move? Now I wonder if I lived on a small island nation sate and knew that I would soon be a climate refugee and be forced to move since my entire country, culture, community, and family would soon be under water—would I be able to be gain refugee status in a country like Canada which has contributed so much to the problem? Hmm…maybe not Canada, since it recently reduced its refugee quotas by about 40-60%.

Why are countries that are displacing people due to environmental degradation and climate change not providing proper compensation, or better yet—stopping their destructive practices?

Photo credit: Glenn MacIntosh

Now I will stop speaking hypothetically, and I will focus in on Canada as a powerful G8 country which can either use its power to be a leader, or to feed into systems that create global inequities and environmental destruction.

Continue reading ‘Environmental Justice Activists Call For Status For All And Say That No One Is Illegal!’

On Wednesday night, I got to hear firsthand how electoral organizing is actually a great excuse to showcase our victories, build youth power, and have FUN. After a month full of one-on-one dialogue, planning, and statewide conversations, leaders from around the country, from Arkansas to Florida to Missouri to Massachusetts, joined one another on the phone and over the interwebs (via our online chat room), to share how we can ROCK THE VOTE this fall!

First, we got a rousing warm-up from Ben Wessel, who’s been working hard on the Race to Replace in Vermont (more on that later )- we celebrated the Cape Wind victory, called on our Southern politicians for leadership, and cheered on the potential for the clean energy to be the new economic driver in the Midwest!

Next, we heard from a handful of leaders who laid out how they’re going to MAKE CHANGE and ENGAGE OUR GENERATION this fall and have a really good time while they’re at it!

• Ben shared his plan for the Race to Replace- which is about saying goodbye to dirty nuclear and hello to 100% clean electricity, 100+ bikers, lobbying in Montpelier, potlucks in Burlington with UVM students, concerts, partnerships with utilities, and politicians getting behind our vision! Check out his video here.
• Erika Zarowin in Ohio also told us about Making Green a Primary Color, which will build off the groundwork laid during Ohio Power Shift, bringing youth climate demands to the forefront of the Ohio Congressional Primary.
• There are so many other good stories and ideas to take from nearly twenty states working to make this fall about SAYING YES TO WIND and clean energy, NO TO COAL and dirty fuel, and PUTTING THE POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE YOUTH! You can check out these plans and more on our Build Our Electoral Campaign Page.

After hearing all the excitement and visions of state and local leaders around the country, we took it to the next level to discuss with one another: common themes and messaging to share, resources and tools that we could collaborate on developing, and  how we can continue to support one another between campuses, communities, and across state lines! Lots of sweet ideas that came out of that, and I’m excited to see them taken to the next level! Continue reading ‘Why This Fall is Going to Be Full of Victories and Fun!’