Environmental justice, what is it? On Tuesday, November 28 the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) sponsored an Environmental Justice Forum to educate people about environmental justice, why it is needed and how they can become involved.
Most people are not aware of the reasons for the fight for environmental justice. One question which environmental justice deals with is, "Why do things go where they do?" By 'things' I mean incinerators, toxic waste disposal sites, sewage over flow pipes, etc. If anyone stopped and took a careful look they would see that many of these 'things' inevitably end up in low income and minority communities.
Ludovic Blain, New York State Environmental Justice Organizer for NYPIRG, said that this is due to government and corporate prioritization. State and local governments as well as corporate organizations target communities that they think no one cares about or communities that they think it would be easy to over power.
One example of such prioritization is found in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. For 15 years the community around the navy yard has successfully blocked the building of a privately owned incinerator. The reason why this particular community was chosen, Blain said, was because it was predominately a Black, Latino, and Hasidic (Jewish) community. The company, and the politicians who supported it, did not think that the people would be able to put aside their differences long enough to offer any resistance to the incinerator.
Another example of such prioritization falls much closer to home, interstate highway 81. When plans were first being made as to where interstate 81 would go, the proposed site went right through the 15th ward, a thriving Black community. Despite the many protests of the residents of the community I-81 was built, right through their backyards. Today the remainder of that community suffers health problems due to the air pollution created by traffic on I-81 as well as the re-direction of traffic through the community during events at the Carrier Dome.
Educating people about the risks facing their communities is one of the goals of the Dunbar Centre in Syracuse. Louches Powell, executive director of the Dunbar Centre and graduate of ESF, spoke about the Centre's many efforts to educate members of the various communities of Syracuse about toxic exposure. One such effort is a program which educates residents along Onondaga Creek about pollution from sewage overflow. Another education program involves educating fishermen about the hazards of eating fish from New York State waters. The Centre is also working on a pollution prevention program for urban areas.
Apathy is the greatest enemy of environmental justice. When people take on the attitude of "not in my back yard", everyone suffers the consequences. If you would like more information or would like to get involved in the fight for environmental justice contact Eunice Casey of NYPIRG at 476-8381 or Louches Powell of the Dunbar Centre at 476-4269.