According to new research from the University of California San Diegos School of Global Policy and Strategy (UCSD), Asian and Hispanic communities suffer significantly more from air pollution due to economic activity than predominantly white neighborhoods throughout California.
The Study The journal Nature Sustainability published a study that suggests California’s environmental regulations preferentially protect white, nonHispanic residents from air pollution.
The study focused on 2020, when shelter-in-place orders were issued by the state in response to COVID-19. The researchers compared air pollution patterns before and after the shutdown using data from both public and private air monitor networks and satellite measurements of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide. The researchers looked at many factors, including how many communities were sheltering-in place, and found that neighborhoods with high Hispanic and Asian populations saw a significant drop in air pollution during the period of the in-person economy being shut down. This means that the reverse is true when it’s business as usual.
They also found that Black communities didn’t see the same disproportionate improvement in air quality during the shutdown. Black California residents were exposed at higher levels to pollution than whites, even though only essential businesses were shut down. The same thing happened after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. This means that power plants, electricity generators, and other emission sources not restricted by the shelter-in place orders are regularly exposing these people to dirtier air.
The paper also shows that low-income communities are more likely to be exposed to pollution when the economy is fully operating. These neighborhoods also experienced cleaner air during the shutdown. However, the researchers didn’t account for income in their analysis to explain the higher air pollution exposures of Hispanic and Asian communities throughout the state.
According to the study, income only accounts for 15% of the disproportionately lower levels of air pollution experienced by Hispanic and Asian communities during the shutdown. Jennifer BurneyThe Marshall Saunders Endowed Chair for Global Climate Policy and Research at School of Global Policy and Strategy. This may surprise many, as people tend to confuse income and race. This is because systemic discrimination can be difficult to face and because it is easier to buy cleaner air by living in areas with higher housing prices.
Burney stated that the COVID shutdown provided us with a window into how pollution patterns look when most of our economy is shut down. It showed that although there is some overlap, income doesn’t explain the racial/ethnic bias in how our economy creates or distributes pollution.
This is a clear indicator that environmental policy has failed, according to Burney and the research group. California has strict environmental standards. All emissions are subjected to regulation.
Burney stated that one would think that a state with strong environmental policies where we track what is being released where, our regulatory system would do a good job protecting everyone equally. This is strong evidence of systemic bias. Pollution sources include everything that was closed, including transportation, businesses and restaurants. All of these factors add up in business-as usual conditions. This tipping point exposes racial or ethnic minorities and their families to more pollution.
Poor air quality has serious health consequences. Poor air quality is associated with higher rates of infant and adult mortality, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Although the study is limited only to California, the researchers believe the disparity between air quality among ethnicities could be applicable to other states. The paper also includes policy recommendations. The largest source of pollution affected by the slowdown in pandemics was transportation. Therefore, policies that affect transportation emissions could have important consequences for California’s underrepresented communities.
It is important to note that income alone cannot be used to determine if environmental strategies will achieve strong racial equity. This means that environmental regulations must be evaluated on a variety of metrics in order to achieve equity and meet environmental standards.
According to co-author, there is no clear, quantitative equity criteria that can be applied in regulatory analyses to protect against environmental racism. Katharine Ricke Assistant professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A factory is an industry’s decision. They must submit an environmental assessment report. However the report does not have to show how different demographic groups will be affected. The use of atmospheric models by industries to demonstrate that the proposed facility does not have a disproportionate impact on nearby minority neighborhoods could lead to a shift in environmental regulation.
The authors recommend that communities be included in the planning process if there are proposed changes to their environment that could affect air quality.
This is not new. However, procedural justice is also crucial, said Pascal Polonik (a Scripps Oceanography PhD student). To ensure everyone has access to democratic processes, it is important for communities to engage in meaningful ways.
Polonik stated that communities could benefit from improved access to information, such data from crowd-sourced sensors used in the study. These sensors are often located in areas that are least likely to be affected by unjustified pollution exposure.
Other paper authors include Richard Bluhm (assistant professor at Leibniz University Hannover and fellow at the Department of Political Science, UC San Diego); Kyle Hemes (postdoctoral researcher at Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment); Luke Sanford (assistant professor at Yale University’s School of the Environment); Susanne Benz (postdoctoral fellow, Dalhousie University); and Morgan C. Levy (assistant professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography).
