Becker, Rachel. CalMatters. (2022, January 31). Has California’s landmark law cleaned communities’ dirty air?

 Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/01/california-air-quality-environmental-justice-law/

This article mainly talks about the increased risks of air pollution and respiratory illnesses among communities of color, specifically in San Joaquin Valley. Essentially, the article is a detailed review on whether California’s environmental justice law has created a positive impact on the communities who have suffered most from heavily polluted air, and thus increased asthma rates and other respiratory illnesses. The simple conclusion is that it hasn’t done as much as it was projected to do, and the most polluted Californian air is still not safe to breathe. Thus, residents living in these areas, mostly Black and Latine people, are still suffering disproportionate effects of dirty air. 

While informative, this article was quite a long read, and wasn’t as concise as I hoped it would be. Nonetheless, the information provided was beneficial to know and understand. Again, like many of the other articles, I appreciated the inclusion of quotes from actual people, from those who were experiencing air pollution first hand, leaders who pledged to help the issue, and environmental justice activists who criticized the effectiveness of the law.

Halper, Evan. Phillips, Anna M. Los Angeles Times. (2021, November 18). California has a new battle plan against environmental injustice. The nation is watching.

 Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-11-18/california-confronts-environmental-injustice-washington-looks-its-way-for-inspiration 

This article focuses on California’s recent response to oil plants that are predominantly located near low income Latine communities. It highlights how many residents of San Joaquin Valley suffer a lot more than other areas in health related issues such as respiratory illness. Residents in San Joaquin Valley are largely Hispanic blue-collar workers, and largely don’t speak out against having an oil drilling plant right in their backyard. The article discusses how California political leaders, one being Attorney Rob Bonta, have spoken out in order to ban new cement factories from being built in the area as well, to try and help these communities. Similarly, the article highlights that California is one of the prime examples of environmental injustice, specifically with air pollution and respiratory illness from oil drilling, so the next steps that California takes in this issue is heavily monitored and watched by the nation. 

I found this article to also be extremely informative, and I appreciated how the author named specific people throughout as evidence to support the main argument. Reading this article made me realize how much California is guilty of environmental injustice, and just because it’s considered a “blue state” doesn’t mean that its laws and policies aren’t rooted in racism. Similarly, it did make me question the intentions of many government leaders who pledge to help create more equitable laws. There are so many instances where leaders promise to improve situations, especially those surrounding racism, and pledge to be better, but their actions prove otherwise. Even though change is slow, it seems as though we need to come up with a new system, one that doesn’t rely on the powerful and better off few, that could be more effective.

Mock, Brentin. Bliss, Laura. Bloomberg City Lab. (2021, September 21). Why the Most Populous U.S. County Just Ended Oil and Gas Drilling.

 Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-21/l-a-county-drilling-ban-is-an-environmental-justice-feat

This article focuses on oil drilling areas in the L.A. county, and how a recent bill banned the use of this practice, which was largely occurring near predominantly Black and Latine communities. The article is very informative, and discusses the many consequences that oil and gas drilling has on people, specifically increased cases of headaches, nosebleeds, and risk of cancer. Because of these health risks, the government has created loopholes such as redlining to group communities of color, namely Black and Latine communities, in areas near drilling to lessen the health consequences on white people. The article expresses how this is a prime example of environmental injustice, and the passing of this bill is a step towards environmental equity. Similarly, the authors mention how several other states and companies should follow California’s lead in passing bills that ban drilling in places where there are disproportionate consequences based on race. However, the article highlights that this is only a start, and lots more needs to be done in order to achieve true equity. 

I thought that this article was highly informative. I appreciated how it was very straight to the point and clear to understand, as well as being concise. I found it interesting that the author first presented the main idea of the ban on oil and gas drilling, and then followed with background on the situation in relation to environmental injustice. I especially liked how the author pointed out that for this specific instance of environmental injustice— but likely common for other instances as well— race was a larger determiner in segregation, rather than social class or income. I thought that this was an important distinction to make, especially since many people are likely uncomfortable with talking about race in general, and want to erase it from the equation, when in fact there are more policies and laws that are blatantly racist than people think.

The California Wellness Foundation. (2021, September 20). CEJA Is Championing Environmental Justice Through Community-Led Policy Solutions.

 Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.calwellness.org/stories/ceja-community-led-policy-solutions/

This article serves as an introduction to the organization CEJA (California Environmental Justice Alliance), and explains their efforts to replace “sacrifice zones,” zones where air pollution is significantly worse, with “green zones.” The article explains how communities of color are often pushed into these “sacrifice zones,” which is why there is a higher number of environmental health risks in communities of color. The article highlights how organizations such as CEJA are helping to turn these zones into greener zones in order to reduce disproportionate health risks. 

Though short, this article was straight to the point and decently informative. I appreciated how it had clear structure and gave a strong message on the reasons behind the organization CEJA. Similarly, the article included quotes from the director of CEJA, Gladys Limon, who expanded on CEJA’s message and plans towards equity. Overall, this article gave a proper amount of statistics, evidence, and explanation about environmental injustices in California, however, I would have liked to see more specifics such as where exactly in California these areas were concentrated.

Adams, Emily C. Lyon, Christopher. Hughes, Sara. Frontiers in Climate. (2021, September 6). 3 Challenges, 3 Errors, and 3 Solutions to Integrate Frontline Communities in Climate Change Policy and Research: Lessons From California.

 Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2021.717554/full

This article discusses the challenges and solutions regarding the underrepresentation and unawareness of environmental injustice, as well as the unequal access to common resources. The article is organized into three sections, discussing challenges, errors, and solutions to these issues in California. The article criticizes certain California policies that contribute to environmental injustice, one being providing English-only plans in communities of non-English speakers. However, the article also presents several solutions, some being partnerships between climate scientists and underrepresented communities to ensure more communication, physical barrier construction focused on supporting communities of color, and proposals for new projects that would benefit the environment for communities who need it. The article’s main theme suggests that California’s policies and communication systems about the environment towards marginalized and underrepresented communities are flawed, thus hurting those communities and causing confusion and underpreparedness for environmental issues.  

I was pleasantly surprised that this article provided specific steps for solutions towards environmental equity. Normally, articles simply discuss the many environmental injustices that occur in our communities, and fail to provide specific enough solutions that we can implement to help those communities. I also thought it was very helpful that the article was organized in such a way where there was a clear distinction between the challenges, errors, and solutions. This made the article easy to navigate and understand, and it was also not as overwhelming to read. Furthermore, the article included many citations to back up the evidence provided, thus can be considered credible. Overall, I am in favor of this article as it was helpful, concise, organized, and easy to comprehend.

The Boston Globe. (2021, August 8). Environmental justice advocates seek to block development proposed for Hyde Park, call on city to act. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/08/metro/environmental-justice-advocates-seek-block-development-proposed-hyde-park-call-city-act/

This article is heavily focused on a very specific environmental injustice issue in Hyde Park, and the disagreements that arose in trying to preserve the trees in this park. The author explains the situation of Hyde Park and those who lived near it, as well as the decisions that were going to be made on removing trees to create more housing. Some disagreed with this because they wanted to preserve the trees and environment of the park, but others argued that the trees those wanted to preserve were not worth the new housing that would be built. 

This article was only focused on one specific case of environmental injustice, and about the disagreements that arose within. I liked that the author talked about how there can be disagreements and multiple perspectives that arise when trying to resolve an environmental injustice, because not everything is something that everyone can agree on. However, I did agree that new housing, possibly for homeless people or for those who couldn’t afford other housing, would be a greater benefit than preserving trees in the park that may have been invasive or not a benefit to the environment.

Bullard, Robert. (2021, June 29). I Wrote About This Environmental Injustice Decades Ago. It Hasn’t Changed. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/opinion/biden-environmental-justice-pipelines.html

This article began with the example of environmental injustice that the author had written about years before, on a predominantly Black and brown community in the US whose health was being affected by toxic wastes dumped in their neighborhood. The author expressed how this situation had not changed since the last time he wrote about it, if not it was worse than before, and voiced skepticisms on whether the Biden administration would actively help the issue of environmental injustice. 

I appreciated that this article was more opinion focused, and I think the author talked an appropriate amount on an example of environmental injustice, the government’s response, and what he believed should happen. What I liked most about this particular article was that the author went into more depth about the example of toxic waste in Black and brown communities, and also voiced opinions on how difficult it would be to get new policies through the senate.

Garza, Frida. (2021, February 11). America’s dirty divide: how environmental racism leaves the vulnerable behind. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/11/environmental-racism-americas-dirty-divide

This article’s main focus is breaking down the basics of environmental justice in an easy to understand way, mainly highlighting environmental racism and what the government was going to do to become closer to achieving environmental justice. This article is the introduction to a series of reports on environmental racism in America, thus did not go into great depth on a specific case, and just provided a general summary and a few examples necessary to understand environmental justice.

Although this article was merely an introduction to a series of articles on environmental racism, I would have appreciated the article more if it had gone a little more into depth about one specific example of environmental racism and how the government caused or responded to it, as more of a way to give an example to the reader about what environmental racism looks like in reality. However, it is true that the Guardian’s audience is probably already familiar with this topic, thus further evidence would not be necessary.

The Washington Post. (2021, January 27). Biden to place environmental justice at center of sweeping climate plan. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/26/biden-environmental-justice-climate/

This article focuses on the new Biden administration’s stance on environmental justice policies, specifically of energy source plants and the transition from coal mining to more renewable energy sources. As the title of the article suggests, the author quoted Biden, who said that the climate crisis could not be addressed without talking about all of the social issues that came with it. However, the article also expressed concerns on Biden’s plan of cutting fossil fuels, as it may result in disproportionate harm to poorer communities of color, specifically Native communities. 

While this article’s central focus was also on political stances, it incorporated more stories and evidence on social issues stemming from environmental racism. I appreciated that this article included both political and social views on environmental justice, and also how the article expressed both concerns and benefits on transitioning towards the all renewable energy plan that the Biden administration proposed. While still holding a focus on political perspectives and proposals, this article managed to dive deeper on the social side of environmental justice as well.

Inside Climate News. (2021, January 15). Will 2021 Be the Year for Environmental Justice Legislation? States Are Already Leading the Way. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15012021/environmental-justice-in-2021-legislation/ 

This article discusses recent instances of environmental justice policies, specifically over the past few years. The article, published shortly before Biden’s inauguration, focuses heavily on a political stance rather than an environmental or social perspective, and expresses the various goals of the Biden administration regarding new environmental policies. The author mentions the differences between the policies of the Biden, Trump, and Obama administrations. Additionally, the author even hints at being more left-leaning, and expresses pressures from activists on trying to get Biden to follow through with his proposed policies. 

This article was quite heavily politically focused, which I suppose makes sense given that politicians have lots of power regarding what happens to the environment. However, I would have appreciated the article more if it went into more depth about the social aspects of environmental justice as well, not just the political aspects. Although addressing the political stances and perspectives regarding environmental justice is beneficial, readers of the article should also be aware that environmental racism should not only be viewed through a political lens, but be viewed through an environmental and social justice lens as well.