WEDNESDAY, April 13th, 2022 (American Heart Association News). The idea of environmental justice was not given a name in the beginning. It didn’t get much support either.
Robert Bullard, a young sociologist, collected data for a 1979 lawsuit filed by his wife. The lawsuit was about a landfill being built for a middle-class Black neighborhood of Houston. His research revealed that while only 25% of Houston’s population is Black, all the city-owned landfills were in Black neighborhoods.
Environmental justice is now widely recognized as a critical public health issue. Bullard is known as the father of the movement. He is the founder of the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, Texas Southern University’s Houston.
He said that in the beginning, when he asked for help from environmental groups, they replied, “Ah, it’s interesting.” But isn’t that where the waste dumps and landfills are supposed to be? Civil rights leaders also told him that they don’t care about the environment.
He said that it would take 10 years of organizing and action by Bullard and others to make more people see how civil rights converge with environmentalism. “And this convergence is called environmental justice.”
In 1990’s “Dumping in Dixie”, which is one of 18 books that he has written about environmental justice, he defined it as “the principle of equal protection of our environment laws for all people and communities, regardless of their race, income, or where they live”.
Dr. Lisa Patel, deputy director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (which the American Heart Association joined in 2019), said that where someone lives “profoundly”, it affects their health.
A neighborhood’s health factors do not happen by chance. “They are the result of structurally racism policies, such as redlining that make certain areas more vulnerable” to pollution, said Patel. He is also a clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine in Palo Alto.
Examples abound:
- Redlined neighborhoods in the 1930s are still prone to high levels of air pollution. Redlined areas, which were often populated by Black, Hispanic, or Asian residents, were considered financially risky and deprived of investment. According to a 2021 study, redlining maps closely align with maps of worst air pollution. Fine particulate matter, such as dust, smoke, and soot, has been shown to be associated with higher rates of heart attack, stroke, and death from heart disease.
- According to Science Advances’ 2021 study, people of color, such as Black, Hispanic and Asian, are more likely to be exposed. Despite the fact that pollution levels have declined overall, these disparities persist.
- According to Climate in 2020, a redlined neighborhood is also less likely to have cooling greenspaces. It’s also more likely to have higher heat levels, an average of 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency heat can lead to heart attacks, strokes, or other forms cardiovascular disease. This is most likely to affect low-income individuals and Black people.
Bullard explained that this inequity is why life expectancy can vary greatly by as much as twenty years in ZIP codes located within a few miles of each other, according to research done at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Patel is astonished by the examples she sees in her own area of California. West Oakland, once a bustling Black business area, was cut off by the constructions of freeways. Trucks serving the port must also use Interstate 880. This highway runs through areas where many residents are low-income or Black or Hispanic. However, truck traffic is not allowed on nearby Interstate 580 which runs through wealthier areas.
Patel stated that West Oakland has a higher rate of asthma and cardiovascular disease than the Oakland hills.
Patel said that climate change will make it more difficult to achieve environmental justice. For example, it is already making wildfires more destructive and severe, exposing people for breathing in the toxic smoke. “But we have seen over the past few years that it is the Bay Area’s higher-income families that can afford an HVAC system in their homes, with filters fitted to remove most of the pollution. Lower-income families cannot afford an HVAC system.
Bullard still has optimism, but he also looks forward with realism.
“We’ve made a lot change, a lot progress. There’s still much to be done. He also said that while he has seen these issues move from rural backroads towards the White House and have seen some progress, it is not enough to make the necessary transformative changes, especially to protect communities against climate change.
He feels that younger people are more open to understanding how housing, transportation and education, as well as civil rights, criminal justice and health, all interact.
Bullard advises people who want help to start in their own communities. He said, “Start local.” “And when you start local, it’s possible to start building relationships.”
Patel encourages people who are concerned to talk openly about it. Surveys show that people underestimate the concerns of others about the environment. “Do something about it, and talk to others about what you are doing.”
She acknowledged that we’ve made “a lot” of mistakes as a society but that we can learn from them. There is an opportunity to create a sustainable future.
Patel stated, “It’s about clean air, clean waters, walkable, livable communities.” “I believe that this is worth imagining. I think it’s worth fighting for.”
American Heart Association NewsCovers brain and heart health. The American Heart Association does not endorse all views expressed in this article. Copyright is owned or maintained by the American Heart Association, Inc. and all rights are reserved. Send questions or comments to [email protected].
By Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News