UNION, N.J.Nicky Sheats (Esq.), Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Kean University, testified today before the Congressional Natural Resources Committee about legislation that would protect urban and underserved communities from pollution.
Sheats, a member the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council was one of three experts to testify about the Environmental Justice for All Act. They helped create it. Before approving pollution permits, the government would have to consider the cumulative effect of a project on local communities.
It is crucial to address cumulative impacts as numerous reports have shown that there are more polluting plants in indigenous communities, communities or color, and in low-income communities than in other communities. Sheats testified.
He said that these communities are more at risk for higher rates of disease, less access health care, and other forms of racial discrimination.
You get a combustible combination that results in more death and sickness. This is almost certainly one of the reasons why there are persistent health disparities in the country that are rooted primarily in income and race, Sheats stated.
Lamont O.Repollet, Ed.D., President of Kean, said that he was proud to see Sheats represent the University before Congress.
Repollet stated that Dr. Sheats has been a national leader in environmental justice. Kean is proud to be the state’s first urban research university. We use our research and policy work in order to address important issues such as urban justice and health disparities.
Joseph Youngblood II Ph.D., Kean senior Vice President for External Affairs, stated that Sheats’ testimony to Congress was insightful and instructive.
Youngblood stated that he is a prominent voice in shaping environmental policies and practice in the interest of communities of color in New Jersey, and around the globe, and has worked tirelessly for environmental justice to remain front and center on both the national and international stage.
The Environmental Justice for All Act, which was introduced in 2020 with more 70 cosponsors is hailed as being the most comprehensive environmental law bill in congressional history.
Sheats stated that sweeping legislation is needed as individual legal standards do not take into account harms already sustained by communities or regions when considering new project proposals. It is perhaps the most important environmental justice issue in America today, he said.
Sheats works through the Watson Institute at both the state and national level to support the environmental justice community in addressing climate change, particulate matter, and cumulative impacts. He also develops legal strategies. He has received numerous awards for his work in environmental justice, including being a founding member and chair of organizations such as the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (EJLF) and the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum (EJLF).
Dr. Sheats’s expertise and ability to influence the national conversation on environmental justice is unparalleled. He proved this today with his testimony, said Barbara George Johnson vice president of external affairs, urban policy and research at Kean. I am grateful to him for his dedication and efforts in protecting communities of color against future pollution and other polluters.
Laura Cortez, the co-executive Director of East Yard Communities for EnvironmentalJustice, Los Angeles; Amy Laura Cahn,acting Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic, Vermont Law School; Mayor Harry K. Brower, Jr., North Slope Borough, Alaska.
PHOTO/CAPTION:
Nicky Sheats (Esq.), Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Kean University, testified before the Congressional Natural Resources Committee today about legislation that would protect urban and underserved areas from pollution. (Photo Credit: Kean University).
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