WEBVTT - 082623 What is Environmental Racism? A Discussion with Dr. Tekola (Part 1)

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<v Speaker 1>If you feel like it's hotter than it has ever been,

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<v Speaker 1>you are not alone. Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like to welcome you to another episode of Civic Sipher.

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<v Speaker 1>I am your host, Ramsey's job. Big shout out to

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<v Speaker 1>my man c Ward, who is still out of the

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<v Speaker 1>country doing exactly what he does best, changing the world.

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<v Speaker 1>He will be back with us next week, so stay tuned.

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<v Speaker 1>But we do have a special guest in the building.

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<v Speaker 1>She goes by the name of doctor Takola. She is

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<v Speaker 1>a sustainability scientist and she is Westside right on time,

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<v Speaker 1>because today we are going to be talking about two

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<v Speaker 1>very important things. The first is environmental racism and the

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<v Speaker 1>second is climate change and sustainability.

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<v Speaker 2>So welcome to the show. Thank you, of course.

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<v Speaker 1>And I gotta be honest, this isn't your first time

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<v Speaker 1>on the show. You've been on the show a few times,

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<v Speaker 1>but this is your first time functioning in this specific capacity,

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<v Speaker 1>basically helping out humanity en mass keep from running into

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<v Speaker 1>this brick wall that everyone wants arms us about. Right, yeah, okay, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So we're going to have a lot to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>with Like I said, environmental racism. That's something that we

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<v Speaker 1>broached on the show from time to time. However, today

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<v Speaker 1>we're hoping to do a little bit more of a

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<v Speaker 1>deep dive really explain what it is and how it

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<v Speaker 1>affects marginalized people, in particular Black people around this country,

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<v Speaker 1>and the healthcare outcomes and so forth and so on

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<v Speaker 1>that people may not be made aware of in your

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<v Speaker 1>regular travels, and of course, naturally the climate change and sustainability.

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<v Speaker 1>We're also going to be spending some time talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the first sit in protest of a whites only library

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<v Speaker 1>that's for our way Black History fact. That's something that

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<v Speaker 1>we wanted to talk about for some time as well,

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<v Speaker 1>because we're kind of coming we're rounding a corner as

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<v Speaker 1>a show, and we're releasing a book and so making

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<v Speaker 1>sure that our people have access to the books. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been something very important and so finally we get to

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<v Speaker 1>share that with you. But first and foremost, we are

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<v Speaker 1>going to talk about the excellence in particular Shikari Richardson.

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<v Speaker 1>Like Drake said, he's like Shikari smoke Mhan and off

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<v Speaker 1>the track. Well, she has been true to that bar

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna read from people. She is now the world's

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<v Speaker 1>fastest woman. The American spent her twenty three flu past

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<v Speaker 1>her competition this weekend and ran the final one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>meter race in ten point sixty five seconds to win

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<v Speaker 1>gold at the World Athletics Championships on Monday night in Budapest, Hungary.

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<v Speaker 1>Her time was a record for the women's one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>meter at the World Championships.

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<v Speaker 2>Quote.

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<v Speaker 1>I would say never give up, richards had said afterwards.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the Associated Press. She goes on to say,

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<v Speaker 1>never allow media, never allow outsiders, never allow anything but

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<v Speaker 1>yourself and your faith determine who you are.

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<v Speaker 2>I would say, always fight, no matter what fight.

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<v Speaker 1>Richardson's gold medal win caps off a two year comeback

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<v Speaker 1>after she was left off the Team USA roster for

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<v Speaker 1>the Tokyo Olympics in banned for a month using marijuana

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<v Speaker 1>or using marijuana, a controversial suspension that was debated across

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<v Speaker 1>the sports world and even saw President Joe Biden questioning

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<v Speaker 1>the US Anti Doping Agencies rule on the drug. Hence

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<v Speaker 1>Drake's bar smoke him on and off the track. I

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<v Speaker 1>thought that was so clever, because you know, he's on

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<v Speaker 1>a tracking, she's on a tracking. He smokes other mcs

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<v Speaker 1>and she smokes other athletes, you get it anyway. On

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<v Speaker 1>Monday Night, the Dallas, Texas native outran five time world

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<v Speaker 1>champion Shelley Ann Frasier Price and former Olympic gold medalist

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<v Speaker 1>Sharika Jackson to win the gold. Quote she is the

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<v Speaker 1>best in the world, NBC sports announcer Lee Diffey proclaimed

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<v Speaker 1>after Richardson crossed the finish line, covering her mouth in

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<v Speaker 1>shock as she looked up to.

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<v Speaker 2>The scoreboard to see the race results.

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<v Speaker 1>And if that's not of any excellence, if that's not

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<v Speaker 1>a comeback story, I don't know what is.

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<v Speaker 2>So once again, shout out to Shikari Richardson.

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<v Speaker 1>You have made us all proud and even when you

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<v Speaker 1>were going through your drama, we still held you down

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<v Speaker 1>on this show and we're going to continue to support

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<v Speaker 1>you now. Doctor to Coola, I love saying that when

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<v Speaker 1>I when I first met you, you weren't doctor Tacola yet,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that's a tremendous accomplishment. And again, you've been

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<v Speaker 1>on the show to talk to us about social justice activism,

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<v Speaker 1>these sorts of things, but we're now introducing a side

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<v Speaker 1>of you to the world that is very special, and

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<v Speaker 1>this is something that has always been near and dear

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<v Speaker 1>to your heart as long as I've known you. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about your educational background and why you chose

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<v Speaker 1>to study to become a sustainability scientist. Now that's such,

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<v Speaker 1>that's so impressive. So give us that background.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so you know, I've always had a passion for, uh,

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<v Speaker 3>the environment, passion for wildlife and getting into the field

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<v Speaker 3>as an undergraduate as environmental scientist. Initially I was actually

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<v Speaker 3>in wildlife biology, and I kept finding that this kind

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<v Speaker 3>of roadblock, like climate change is gonna call animals. So

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<v Speaker 3>it doesn't matter how many trees that plant, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 3>matter how much like restoration that we do. It's like

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<v Speaker 3>if climate change is still here, like that's the problem.

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<v Speaker 3>And as I learned more and as I grew in

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<v Speaker 3>my analysis, I realized one my father is actually a

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<v Speaker 3>refugee from Ethiopia, and he the way he said he

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<v Speaker 3>left when there was like, uh, they took out the king,

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<v Speaker 3>like kind of stuff hit the fan, and and he's

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<v Speaker 3>like I fled for more. But when I started learning more,

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<v Speaker 3>what really caused the political instability, At the root of

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<v Speaker 3>it was the drought, a drought caused by climate change.

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<v Speaker 3>And so even himself. He is an I consider a

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<v Speaker 3>climate refugee. And so I started realizing that this is

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<v Speaker 3>so much more than like we always talk about climate

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<v Speaker 3>change that was gonna affect the polar bears, but it's

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<v Speaker 3>it's affecting people. It's affecting the most vulnerable people, it's

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<v Speaker 3>and it's gonna be It's the defining issue of our time,

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<v Speaker 3>and especially as we think about going forward, we are

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<v Speaker 3>gonna hit twenty thirty is one of those milestones that

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<v Speaker 3>if we don't make certain behaviors before then, if we

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<v Speaker 3>don't change our fuel systems before then, we'll h It

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<v Speaker 3>really changes our future and the livability of our future.

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<v Speaker 3>And so in as an undergraduate, as an environmental scientist,

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<v Speaker 3>I found myself doing all this research and doing this

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<v Speaker 3>studies around like Okay, when is the last you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the last starfish going to die? When is the last

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<v Speaker 3>rhino going to die? And I was like, this is depressing.

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<v Speaker 3>I want to do something, you know, I've always been

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<v Speaker 3>an activists and so looking at like what can we

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<v Speaker 3>do about it? And I was told actually when I

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<v Speaker 3>was interning for NOAH, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and

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<v Speaker 3>was able to see the zoo plank thing starting to

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<v Speaker 3>dissolve and they make up the bottom of the food chain,

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<v Speaker 3>and I'm like, we're the federal government. We have to

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<v Speaker 3>do something. And they're like, it's not our job as scientists.

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<v Speaker 3>We're going to write another report. And I was like, oh,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm in the wrong field. Then, so I got into politics.

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<v Speaker 3>I started doing activism around the climate, and really what

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<v Speaker 3>switched me to sustainability is that sustainability as a science

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<v Speaker 3>is really more a solution oriented. It's like, what do

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<v Speaker 3>we do about it? We're not just going to report

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<v Speaker 3>how bad the problem is. We're going to do something

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<v Speaker 3>about it. And that's always been my mission to take

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<v Speaker 3>the science to the sidewalks. For too long, communities of

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<v Speaker 3>color have felt like, oh, this is a white people think.

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<v Speaker 3>But not only are we dying at the highest rates,

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<v Speaker 3>but also like we deserve to be at the table

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<v Speaker 3>because when our communities come forward, we come with innovative solutions.

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<v Speaker 3>And so that's why I wanted that's why I went

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<v Speaker 3>to sustainability science because I want to be a part

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<v Speaker 3>of the change and I want to be solution oriented

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<v Speaker 3>to the climate crisis.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, now, for a lot of folks, you know, before

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<v Speaker 1>we get to like the most vulnerable people, because obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, environmental racism as a term exists for a reason.

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<v Speaker 1>But before we get there, In recent even weeks, but

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<v Speaker 1>certainly recent months and years, we've seen a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>very intense things happen around the planet. I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to speak to our listeners a bit about any connection

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<v Speaker 1>that there may be between some of the more recent

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<v Speaker 1>goings on and this this climate change issue, and and

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<v Speaker 1>and well, and then I have to follow up question

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<v Speaker 1>after we've done so.

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<v Speaker 3>July was the hottest month on Earth's record. We've never

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<v Speaker 3>experienced that before, and that's directly caused by humans. It's

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<v Speaker 3>directly caused climate change is because of the fossil fuels

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<v Speaker 3>that we put in the atmosphere that's causing this now

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<v Speaker 3>the Maui's fire, it's again was not only caused by

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<v Speaker 3>climate change, but also colonialism because once the colonizers took

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<v Speaker 3>over Hawaii, colonizers being the United States, they changed the

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<v Speaker 3>management and so indigenous, the indigenous people of Hawaii had

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<v Speaker 3>a different management technique that was protecting the island. Once

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<v Speaker 3>they started creating monocrops, they started removing the water from

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<v Speaker 3>the areas that made it more vulnerable. Then you add

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<v Speaker 3>climate change that's why Maui burned out. Then you look

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<v Speaker 3>at a lot of the things like the Hurricane Hillary

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<v Speaker 3>that just hit, that was the first hurricane that hit

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<v Speaker 3>in over eighty years in California, that again was caused

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<v Speaker 3>by climate change. So the wildfires that are affecting really

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<v Speaker 3>the whole world, but more specifically, we know in Canada

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<v Speaker 3>they had caused.

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<v Speaker 4>Smoke.

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<v Speaker 3>In New York, we're seeing it in Seattle as well.

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<v Speaker 3>We're seeing it in California. These wildfires, again caused by

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<v Speaker 3>climate change, made worse by western or colonial management techniques.

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<v Speaker 1>So now I want to shift our focus to Eventually

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about the environmental racism, right, but

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<v Speaker 1>before we get there, let's talk about how this affects

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<v Speaker 1>poor people, maybe unhoused people. You know, you and I

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<v Speaker 1>both live in a place that's very hot, and so

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<v Speaker 1>I was reading something recently that I was really kind

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<v Speaker 1>of reading a piece that gave me some insight into

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<v Speaker 1>what day to day life is like for folks who

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<v Speaker 1>are unhoused. And because most people just kind of live

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<v Speaker 1>their lives and don't really take a moment to I

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<v Speaker 1>guess pull back the curtain and examine the humanity that

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<v Speaker 1>there's a human being there that is only fiscally poor

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<v Speaker 1>and as a result to that suffering at the worst

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<v Speaker 1>end of you know, everything that's happening with respect to

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<v Speaker 1>the climate. I want to get your thoughts on kind

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<v Speaker 1>of what that must be like or give some insight

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<v Speaker 1>to our listeners on how they're affected.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So the unsheltered communities, communities who do not have housing,

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<v Speaker 3>who are living outside, are the most vulnerable to climate

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<v Speaker 3>change because climate change is causing increased natural disasters. If

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<v Speaker 3>you don't have shelter, that means that you're facing that

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<v Speaker 3>with no protection. And Phoenix or the last in July,

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<v Speaker 3>they just released the they call it the transient death list.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't like to use that term, but the unsheltered

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<v Speaker 3>death list they just released. Over three hundred and twelve

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<v Speaker 3>people died in Maricopa, over two hundred in Phoenix. And

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<v Speaker 3>the thing that is difficult in determining these deaths, they

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<v Speaker 3>won't immediately call them heat deaths. They you know, have

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<v Speaker 3>to do all sorts of optopsies and investigations. But it

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<v Speaker 3>does feel like a smoke screen to really, because over

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<v Speaker 3>two hundred people dying in in one city in one month.

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<v Speaker 4>Is a crisis.

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<v Speaker 3>But they're saying, oh, well, they had drugs in their system,

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<v Speaker 3>so it could have been the drugs. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>we know, like if you're living outside, you're gonna have

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<v Speaker 3>to take coping method methods. You know, maybe it's drugs,

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<v Speaker 3>maybe it's alcohol, but that doesn't that's not why they died,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, and it could have been a contributing factor.

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<v Speaker 3>But we know that this is definitely was caused by.

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<v Speaker 4>The extreme heat.

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<v Speaker 3>And so when whether it's you know, extreme heat, whether

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<v Speaker 3>it's the hurricanes, whether it's flooding, all of the people

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<v Speaker 3>who don't have shelter, they're gonna die first. And the

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<v Speaker 3>worst part is that our society has deemed them unworthy

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<v Speaker 3>because of you know, the capitalist society we live in.

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<v Speaker 3>They're like, well, if you don't, if you don't succeed

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<v Speaker 3>in capitalism, blame yourself, pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

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<v Speaker 3>It allows us not to have humanity for them, because

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<v Speaker 3>two hundred people dying in a month, that should be

0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:09.760
<v Speaker 3>a crisis. There should be you know, federal funds, there

0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.120
<v Speaker 3>should be an emergency, we should do something. But because

0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.440
<v Speaker 3>of this narrative, they're able to say they're not worthy.

0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:18.800
<v Speaker 3>And then when we look at who makes up the

0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:23.680
<v Speaker 3>unsheltered populations, by and large across the United States, black

0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.960
<v Speaker 3>and Indigenous people are the people dying for are at

0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:31.120
<v Speaker 3>the highest rates of being unsheltered. And so this is

0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:36.440
<v Speaker 3>again homelessness, this is this is communities of color issue.

0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:43.320
<v Speaker 1>Sure, now let's take this a step further. Okay, I

0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.120
<v Speaker 1>want to do a bit of reading. I'm going to

0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:50.360
<v Speaker 1>read from n our DC dot org and we're going

0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.400
<v Speaker 1>to talk a bit about environmental racism. These things are connected,

0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.640
<v Speaker 1>but it's going to sound like a shift in topic.

0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:03.240
<v Speaker 1>But following the lead in Flint, Michigan's water, the toxic

0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:08.160
<v Speaker 1>petrochemical plants in Louisiana's cancer Alley, the raw sewage backing

0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.720
<v Speaker 1>up into homes in Centreville, Illinois, and the oil and

0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:16.000
<v Speaker 1>gas projects that overburden some US tribal reservations. Looking at you,

0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:20.200
<v Speaker 1>Dakota Access pipeline, all have at least one thing in common.

0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:25.880
<v Speaker 1>There are all examples of environmental racism. The phrase environmental

0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.400
<v Speaker 1>racism was coined by civil rights leader doctor Benjamin F.

0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:36.760
<v Speaker 1>Chabis Junior. He defined it as the intentional sitting sorry,

0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.920
<v Speaker 1>the intentional sighting of pollution and waste facilities in communities

0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:45.239
<v Speaker 1>primarily populated by African Americans, Latinos, indigenous people, Asian Americans,

0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:49.200
<v Speaker 1>and Pacific Islanders, migrant farm workers, and low income workers.

0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.800
<v Speaker 1>Study after study has since shown that those communities are

0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:57.560
<v Speaker 1>disproportionately exposed to fumes, toxic dust, ash, soot, and other

0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.320
<v Speaker 1>pollutants such as hazardous facilities locate in their midst As

0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.520
<v Speaker 1>a result, they based increased risks of health problems like

0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:14.040
<v Speaker 1>cancer and respiratory issues. Now, when you combine these the

0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:21.280
<v Speaker 1>dirty business practices that lead to disparate healthcare outcomes for

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.240
<v Speaker 1>black and brown people in black and brown communities with

0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:30.960
<v Speaker 1>the dirty business practices that contribute to climate change, you

0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.280
<v Speaker 1>realize that black and brown people are at the receiving

0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:39.360
<v Speaker 1>end of the worst of both issues. I want to

0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:43.080
<v Speaker 1>talk to you a bit about maybe some of the

0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:49.520
<v Speaker 1>things in your estimation that might lead to environmental racism.

0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:51.240
<v Speaker 1>People feeling like they can get away with this.

0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:52.880
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So it.

0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:54.360
<v Speaker 4>Has to do with a few things.

0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:58.160
<v Speaker 3>One the social determinants of health, which is a sociological

0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.240
<v Speaker 3>term which is a lot of big words for where.

0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.120
<v Speaker 4>Tell me where you live, and I'll tell you how

0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:07.920
<v Speaker 4>you know how you're living like uh, and so based

0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:11.080
<v Speaker 4>on your neighborhood that it can determine like what grocery

0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.840
<v Speaker 4>stores do you have access to, what's zoned into your

0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:17.760
<v Speaker 4>neighborhoods because a lot of black and brown neighborhoods, oftentimes

0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.440
<v Speaker 4>there's zoned industrial. Makes the housing cheaper, so more affordable,

0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.520
<v Speaker 4>but it also means that dirty industries can pollute there.

0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:28.440
<v Speaker 4>And then you have the issues of redlining and so

0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:34.880
<v Speaker 4>decades of disinvestment again cause the communities to be more vulnerable.

0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:39.640
<v Speaker 4>So with all this combined, it makes our communities less healthy,

0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.360
<v Speaker 4>so more vulnerable to these impacts. And it also means

0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:48.280
<v Speaker 4>that we're gonna have more pollutants into our neighborhoods. And

0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.200
<v Speaker 4>so when you look at in a lot of cities,

0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:55.520
<v Speaker 4>be it Seattle and Phoenix, I could speak to specifically,

0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.400
<v Speaker 4>the difference between living in the South End and the

0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:01.480
<v Speaker 4>North End can have up to a decade of difference

0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:05.119
<v Speaker 4>in lifespan just the same city, but we're living in

0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.040
<v Speaker 4>two different realities based on our zip code, and so

0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:11.600
<v Speaker 4>it makes a huge difference. And they're able to do uh,

0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:13.919
<v Speaker 4>they like to call it, you know this colorblind racism

0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:17.000
<v Speaker 4>where they're like, oh, we're not targeting them. We just

0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.280
<v Speaker 4>happened to put this industrial.

0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.720
<v Speaker 3>Plant in their neighborhood, you know, and so they're able

0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.360
<v Speaker 3>to you know, they talk about racism without racis, but

0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.720
<v Speaker 3>they're still contributing to killing black and brown lives. When

0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.879
<v Speaker 3>in Phoenix, for example, people on the south end, they

0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:33.040
<v Speaker 3>have higher rates of asthma.

0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:33.880
<v Speaker 4>That means when.

0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.560
<v Speaker 3>COVID hit, they're more likely to die, and so it

0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.040
<v Speaker 3>has all of these additional impacts. And again, why do

0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:41.760
<v Speaker 3>they have the highest rates of asthma? They have the

0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.320
<v Speaker 3>highest rates of pollutants because it was zoned industrial.

0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.240
<v Speaker 1>No, there's something that Q and I talk about on

0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:52.960
<v Speaker 1>the show quite a bit. We have been rightfully critical

0:17:53.160 --> 0:18:00.200
<v Speaker 1>of capitalism in general, and there's been some push back

0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:02.280
<v Speaker 1>here and there because there are people who are fans

0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:06.400
<v Speaker 1>of capitalism. It does have its benefits. I will see

0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:13.720
<v Speaker 1>that when it's unfettered, it becomes problematic for everyone. But

0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.880
<v Speaker 1>on this show at least, we don't reallyase. We try

0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.320
<v Speaker 1>to have a human first approach to things, and we

0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:26.760
<v Speaker 1>realize that capitalism causes really bad people to become very

0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:31.280
<v Speaker 1>powerful and they are often given to their worst instincts

0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:36.840
<v Speaker 1>greed and apathy, right, And so you start to see

0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:41.520
<v Speaker 1>that it's, you know, when you're mentioning that, you know,

0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:45.720
<v Speaker 1>people can can call it like colorblind racism. It's they're

0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:48.200
<v Speaker 1>not intentionally targeting a neighborhood. They're just going where they're

0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.159
<v Speaker 1>going to get the least funk, where they're going to

0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.040
<v Speaker 1>get the least pushback, where the people have the least

0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:55.960
<v Speaker 1>amount of political power and the least capacity, the lowest

0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.440
<v Speaker 1>capacity to actually stop something like that from happening. In

0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.600
<v Speaker 1>other words, the corporations go after the most vulnerable because

0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.760
<v Speaker 1>it's cheaper to go after them. It protects their bottom

0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:09.200
<v Speaker 1>line more than going after an affluent neighborhood to put

0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:14.919
<v Speaker 1>some industrial waste plant there. And again the fact that

0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:20.400
<v Speaker 1>oftentimes these communities are disenfranchised. It ensures that people will

0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.600
<v Speaker 1>continue to make money hand over fist and then go

0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.600
<v Speaker 1>live in a community where it's free from pollutants and

0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.840
<v Speaker 1>free from really the harshest effects of climate change, and

0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:32.320
<v Speaker 1>on and on, and then we're stuck at the bottom again.

0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.359
<v Speaker 1>And so now you're starting to see why this was

0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:38.240
<v Speaker 1>kind of an important topic that I wanted to discuss.

0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:39.840
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to read a little bit more and then

0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.639
<v Speaker 1>I want to get some more of your thoughts. So

0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:48.359
<v Speaker 1>why does environmental racism exist? All right, It's a form

0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.760
<v Speaker 1>of systemic racism, and it exists largely because policies and

0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:55.040
<v Speaker 1>practices that if historically and to this day, favored the health,

0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.679
<v Speaker 1>wellbeing and consumer choices of white communities over those of

0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:02.679
<v Speaker 1>non white, low income communities. Case in point, General Iron

0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:06.840
<v Speaker 1>is a metal shredding business that operated in Chicago's predominantly white,

0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:11.399
<v Speaker 1>wealthy Lincoln Park neighborhood in twenty eighteen. Emails showed that

0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:16.200
<v Speaker 1>city officials from then Mayor ram Imanuel his administration pushed

0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:19.240
<v Speaker 1>the business to move out of this neighborhood, and after

0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:23.119
<v Speaker 1>community members complained and to make way for a multi

0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:27.359
<v Speaker 1>billion dollar private real estate development, the city then struck

0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:31.960
<v Speaker 1>a deal to relocate the polluting operation to Chicago's predominantly Latino,

0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:36.679
<v Speaker 1>low income and working class South Southeast Side neighborhood. So

0:20:37.560 --> 0:20:41.840
<v Speaker 1>you start to realize that there's big business, there's crony capitalism,

0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:48.720
<v Speaker 1>there's people that do these kind of backdoor deals, and

0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.800
<v Speaker 1>not only like where you and I might think, well,

0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:55.240
<v Speaker 1>why don't they just clean up their business practices? There's

0:20:55.600 --> 0:21:00.760
<v Speaker 1>no governmental incentive to do it and really no consequences

0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:01.320
<v Speaker 1>if they don't.

0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:01.600
<v Speaker 2>Right.

0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:06.520
<v Speaker 1>I recall the former president won't say his name, but

0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:12.119
<v Speaker 1>him kind of dismantling certain parts of the EPA to

0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:15.560
<v Speaker 1>make it easier for companies to pollute in the interests of,

0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:17.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, business.

0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:20.000
<v Speaker 2>And when everyone.

0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:21.200
<v Speaker 1>Looks at that and it's like, okay, well that's good

0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:23.400
<v Speaker 1>for business, you don't look at the effects of how

0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:26.880
<v Speaker 1>does this affect the communities surround it. But those communities, again,

0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:30.399
<v Speaker 1>the voices don't often make it that far. And so

0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.199
<v Speaker 1>I'm glad that there's people like you and that you

0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:35.120
<v Speaker 1>would come up on the show and help people learn

0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:35.760
<v Speaker 1>a little bit more.

0:21:36.000 --> 0:21:38.760
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'm glad you about that, because the whole idea

0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:42.880
<v Speaker 3>of jobs versus the environment is such a false dichotomy

0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.240
<v Speaker 3>that was created by big businesses. But there's no jobs

0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:49.640
<v Speaker 3>on a dead planet. And we're already seeing that the

0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.680
<v Speaker 3>farmers the impacts of this extreme heat wave. So many

0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:55.520
<v Speaker 3>some of the work that I do, some of the

0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:58.400
<v Speaker 3>mutual aid work that we do, we bring up produce

0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.920
<v Speaker 3>from directly from arms up to the Navajo Nation.

0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:07.680
<v Speaker 4>And what we found was the farms are.

0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:10.840
<v Speaker 3>Saying, we don't have the crops, they all died, and

0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.960
<v Speaker 3>so you know, like this is that's a huge job impact,

0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:18.480
<v Speaker 3>where when you're looking at the cost of rebuilding entire

0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.640
<v Speaker 3>cities like Maui, that's a huge and economic impact. And

0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:25.920
<v Speaker 3>so the longer that we put off addressing climate, that

0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:29.200
<v Speaker 3>more expensive it's going to become. But it's also important

0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:33.359
<v Speaker 3>to talk about you know, while it's important to recycle,

0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:35.520
<v Speaker 3>it's you know, like ride your bike when you can

0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:36.600
<v Speaker 3>use public transit.

0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.560
<v Speaker 4>The reality is two thirds of emissions are caused by

0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:41.879
<v Speaker 4>ninety corporations.

0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:44.480
<v Speaker 3>So at the end of the day, we have to

0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:46.240
<v Speaker 3>hold these corporations responsible.

0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:49.280
<v Speaker 4>They're destroying our future, they're destroying everything.

0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:54.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So with that in mind, I know that there's

0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:55.880
<v Speaker 1>a whole lot more for us to talk about here.

0:22:55.960 --> 0:22:58.720
<v Speaker 1>So I would appreciate if you stick around because I

0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:00.760
<v Speaker 1>definitely want to cover the rest of us with Yeah,