Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, September 3). Power Plants and Neighboring Communities. EPA. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/power-plants-and-neighboring-communities
The US Environmental Protection Agency) has given information on communities living near fossil fuel-fired power plants to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact these communities face from power plant emissions. The information is presented in maps and graphs and includes information on six key demographics, including low-income population, people of color, and population over age 64. The data is based on communities within a three-mile radius of power plants and includes the percentage of each demographic in each community. The map and graph showed the amount of power plants located in or near communities that meet or exceed the 80th percentile nationally for each key demographic.
The EPA article gives many points of the impacts of our plant but also gives us a demographic explanation on the effect of power plants in low income areas and how race and age etc could affect what you’re exposed to. This relates to APES due to the environmental impacts and how humans are impacted. I was very surprised by the amount of chemicals that people are exposed to. And some of these chemical can lead to cancer which was even more shocking
I am honestly surprised as well that race and gender play a role in how people are affected by power plants and fossil fuel burning. I knew that fossil fuel burning was very bad and can definitely lead to harmful diseases like cancer but it makes me sad and scares me that low-income areas, race, and gender play a role in how much people get affected by power plants. In all, I thought this was very interesting to read and I definitely want to learn more about this in the future.
It is surprising yet both saddening that impact that demographics have on toxic chemicals exposure. Goes to show how much institutionalized racism can impact communities. Is there a solution to possibly mitigate this issue?
I was not shocked to see how race and income play into how much someone is affected by pollution, but I was surprised that people over 64 were more affected. One would think that the elderly which are more vulnerable to many ailments would be more of a priority to protect.