New Environmental Justice Provisions Proposal For States’ Water Infrastructure Loan Programs. (2020, August 11). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://canarsiecourier.com/new-environmental-justice-provisions-proposal-for-states-water-infrastruct-p5916-255.htm

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced changes to the financial tools available to state municipalities by allowing more access to financial assistance for developing water infrastructure. The goal is to address inequalities faced by impoverished and minority communities and allow them to fix water infrastructure problems and allow communities to access clean water. The commitment to environmental justice to make sure low-income communities have access to adequate drinking water, sewage, water and wastewater treatment, and storage facilities allows New Yorkers to have clean, consumable water. It will require municipalities to research the environmental justice impact of water infrastructure facilities. 

I am pleased that New York, a particularly large and impactful state is working towards environmental justice through financial reform by allowing more low-income communities to access interest or nearly interest-free loans. It allows disadvantaged communities the opportunity to maintain and upgrade their water facilities so each New Yorker has clean water to use and drink. This decreases the risk of health problems as well as reduces the strain on current infrastructure so it can accomplish its job more effectively. Water is an essential right, paramount to the health and cleanliness of individuals so make sure it is being distributed equitably and without the burden of excessive interest rates, it will be able to better benefit those that do not have access to it. Additional regulations such as hiring third parties to review the terms, cost, and effectiveness of benefit for Environmental Justice Communities as well as municipalities being forced to conduct research into the environmental justice impact of initiatives related to the received funds should give governing bodies more data and understand of the inequalities in their districts so they can be better addressed. The regulations enacted limiting the amount of PFOS, among other chemicals, that can be present in the water the supply greatly benefit the health of New Yorkers, especially those low-income individuals living near industrial centers that contaminate water. New York has thankfully shown a willingness and eagerness to implement environmental justice measures into their policy.

McKenna, P. (2020, August 17). In a Move That Could be Catastrophic for the Climate, Trump’s EPA Rolls Back Methane Regulations. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13082020/trump-epa-methane-emission-rollbacks

The Trump Administration is set to roll back environmental legislation that is even supported by large oil and gas companies that regulate the use of methane. The regulations would allow companies not to monitor where methane leaks from infrastructure. It could lead to an additional 4.5 million metric tons of methane being released into the atmosphere unnecessarily. Methane is the largest driver of climate change after carbon dioxide and is about 86 times as effective as raising the global temperature. Atmospheric methane creates smog that harms the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It most affects Black, Latino, and Indigenous people.

I am incredibly dismayed by the news that the Trump administration plans to roll back these regulations, especially when it appears major oil and gas companies don’t even want them. This deregulation will greatly expedite climate change and vastly increase the amount of methane the US allows to be released and signals to the rest of the world they are off the hook for releasing methane into the atmosphere as well. Atmospheric methane is already increasing and we can’t afford to stay on our current track as it is such a large part of global warming. This deregulation is the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions of one-third of America’s coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, methane is expensive and by maintaining the current regulations it is in, the long term, financially beneficial for the corporations but also for the citizens of the world that will pay for it with their wallets and lives once the effects set in. Methane emissions have drastically increased in the past two decades, largely lead by American emissions. Deregulation allows the companies with the worst environmental records to succeed while punishing those that make an effort to regulate their environmental impact. We don’t have enough time to address climate change effectively as it is so it makes no sense to hasten the effects. The air pollution caused by methane leaks overwhelmingly affects poorer minority communities the most by putting them at greater risk of respiratory infection and disease. Methane leads to over 150,000 deaths a year and is severely damaging to crops and public health, the effects of which Indigenous, Black, and Latino people see more often.

Heinis, J. (2020, August 27). AG’s office, DEP, target two Jersey City businesses in ‘environmental justice’ lawsuits. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://hudsoncountyview.com/ags-office-dep-target-two-jersey-city-businesses-in-environmental-justice-lawsuits/

Attorney General of New Jersey, Gurbir Grewal has filed twelve lawsuits against various individuals and corporations due to inequitable distribution and treatment of resources that disproportionately and negatively impacted disadvantaged individuals. The lawsuits seek the sued parties to clean up damaged areas, paying fines, pay damages including for damages done to shared resources that are used by low-income communities. The lawsuit focuses on illegal and improper handling and use of pollutants that cause cancers, organ failure, and leave people vulnerable to COVID-19. The AG seeks to strengthen communities by ensuring the safety of individuals and the sustainability of communal resources.

The commitment to environmental justice by individual states is noteworthy as it depicts how if the federal government refuses or is otherwise unable to implement and enforce environmental safety measures, states can and are picking up the slack. It shows the clear use of environmental science to study the effect of the pollutants on defenseless communities and environmental justice in the actions taken by the state’s chief law enforcement officer. While I am dismayed by the large number of individuals who pollute the environment and break the law and harm disadvantaged communities I am pleased to see they are being forced to answer for their actions and repay the damages they caused. It is good to know the state has done its research on environmental science and understand the effects of groundwater and soil contamination from unregulated pollutant use and actively work to curb it. New Jersey’s recognition of the disproportionate effect on the disadvantaged is crucial in their work to prevent harm and reach sustainable solutions that ensure these communities are not forced further into poverty by being forced to deal with the economic and social consequences of not being able to defend themselves against environmental challenges, because they did not have the resources to prevent the challenges. The focus on the health effects is important to ensuring impoverished individuals are not forced to pay medical bills for harm inflicted upon them by environmental justice inequality and are afforded the same quality and length of life as those with more means.

Friedman, L. (2020, August 12). With the Biden-Harris Ticket, Environmental Justice Is a Focus. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/climate/kamala-harris-environmental-justice.html

Joe Biden has selected Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential running mate and their ticket has bold plans to address climate change and environmental justice. Biden has called for investing $2 trillion into renewable energy development in the next four years but independently, Harris has called for $10 trillion over the next ten years and a complete ban on fracking and a carbon tax. Biden’s platform has pledged 40% of clean energy spending would go to disadvantaged communities. Biden and Harris have said they would focus on making sure pollution burdened communities benefit from a transition to clean energy.

I am pleased with the significant focus from the Democratic ticket, currently favored to win the Presidential election and likely winning control of the senate as it represents the potential for great change in America’s climate policy which recently has been to ignore environmental science and exhaust resources and damage the environment. It is notable that the Democratic plan to address climate change with environmental science specifically mentions environmental justice in the title which suggests a great commitment to it. I’ve been encouraged by the recent moves to embolden the climate policy proposed by the Democratic party ticket, specifically decreasing the timeframe by six years while increasing the funds to $2 trillion. The rhetoric used by Harris is also promising as she goes further than Biden on issues such as fracking which she would like to ban completely whereas Biden only supports a ban on leasing more federal land for fracking. Seeing as how Harris represents the future of the Democratic Party I believe that this is a hopeful sign. Harris’ record is also encouraging as she has worked with a variety of environmental justice groups in the past and worked to ensure low-income communities have access to clean drinking water, while also being one of the first sponsors of the Green New Deal to address climate change and inequality.

Beitsch, R. (2020, August 06). Harris, Ocasio-Cortez push climate equity bill with Green New Deal roots. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/510920-harris-aoc-push-climate-equity-bill-with-green-new-deal-roots

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced an environmental justice bill into congress in an attempt to lessen the impact of climate change on minority and poor communities. The bill seeks to assign an equity score to each act of Congress, as well as actions taken by the White House and executive branch agencies based on their impact on “front-line” communities. It is a part of the Green New Deal, the large reformation plan designed to increase jobs, equity, and renewable energy usage. Specifically, it focuses on the third pillar, making sure no community is left behind. 

The actions taken by two of the most prominent members of Congress, including one who is the Vice Presidential Nominee for the Democratic Party literally addressing environmental justice, an aspect of environmental science excites me as it shows a more forceful commitment to environmental justice than we would’ve previously seen from a major political party. The commitment to the Green New Deal more broadly as indicated by the introduction of one of its core tenets is particularly important as it shows how politicians are working to make America achieve a sustainable future. It demonstrates how work is being done to mitigate the effects of climate change and more specifically discrepancies in the effect of ecological destruction disproportionately on disadvantaged populations that are unable to defend themselves from a multitude of environmental challenges. The bill’s function of assigning equity scores to legislation and executive action is representative of how environmental science is being used to study the effects of climate change and incredibly beneficial to the government as they will be able to make informed decisions on how their taking action will affect their constituents and the underprivileged so they may work to ensuring a more prosperous future for all citizens equally.