New study proves the damaging health impact of environmental racism on black people in the US
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In June, former Daily Kos writer and current staff writer at The Atlantic, Vann Newkirk II, argued that environmental racism is the new Jim Crow. Because some folks will do anything in order not to see racism and how it impacts people of color in almost eveNew study proves the damaging health impact of environmental racism on black people in the US
In June, former Daily Kos writer and current staff writer at The Atlantic, Vann Newkirk II, argued that environmental racism is the new Jim Crow. Because some folks will do anything in order not to see racism and how it impacts people of color in almost every way, predictably, certain fragile souls raised a fuss. But Newkirk’s point was factual and well-taken. More than half of the people who live close to hazardous waste are people of color. And a new study out says that black people are 75 percent more likely to live near industrial facilities which are toxic. According to Fumes Across the Fence-Line, a report from the NAACP and the Clean Air Task Force—an advocacy group dedicated to reducing air pollution—black people are 75 percent more likely to live in so-called “fence-line” communities that are next to industrial facilities. These facilities release a toxic stew of pollutants—including formaldehyde, which has been linked to cancer, and benzene, which has been linked to brain damage, birth defects, and cancer. [...] Most fence-line community residents are low-income and predominantly of color. The study reports that more than 1 million black people live within just half a mile of an oil or gas facility and face serious health risks such as cancer, asthma, and other respiratory diseases as well. It isn’t science to figure out how this happened. Companies that produce oil and gas are in it to make money and they aren’t concerned about nor accountable to poor communities and communities of color. In our capitalist society, profit is preferable to people. Therefore, entire communities can be poisoned and no one outside of those communities bats an eye. Sadly, this won’t change with Scott Pruitt as the current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Not only is Pruitt anti-environment, the Trump administration has proposed a 31 percent cut to the EPA’s budget, which includes closing its Office of Environmental Justice. Read more