7th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference Program: Penny’s notes, compiled. Nov. 17, 2019. These are just my notes and thoughts. This is by no means authoritative or exhaustive. And I totally apologize if I accidentally misrepresent or omitted anyone. I didn’t attend the last day (overwhelmed).

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 6:15 – 7:30 pm , Moderator: Dr. Beverly Wright DSCEJ, Inc COMMUNITY FORUM: THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE, REPARATIONS AND THE GREEN NEW DEAL AS A CLIMATE SOLUTION

Panelists Adjoa A. Aiyetoro, Civil Rights Attorney and Reparations Activist. Described herself as a “Reparationist.” Reparations are not for compensation of work: it’s for crimes against humanity. Current disparities are the legacy of slavery. Discussed an article: “Should the Green New Deal include reparations?” There is an unbroken chain of white supremacy and white privilege which devalues black people. White supremacy is not (necessarily) personal; it’s the system. Japanese people studying reparations gave her boxes of documents. 5 injury areas (I didn’t get all 5): includes health. Reparations are owed BY the corporations which benefited from slavery. Similar to the opioid manufacturers and tobacco companies. Banks made $ from environmental injustice. Universities (selling slaves). USDA racist policies towards black farmers. Insurance companies made $$ by insuring slaves for owners. Corporations: disrespects all people of color (not same as blacks). HR40,(reparations bill in House) has a good chance of passing –now introduced into senate by Corey Booker.

Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Policy Lead for Green new Deal. Policy director of New Consensus –RHODES scholar. Yale magna cum laude. She was surprised that other Rhodes scholars didn’t have to struggle as hard as she did. (=white privilege). She started in Detroit, where only one quarter original population remains due to white flight. = no tax base. The city sold its assets = Disaster capitalism. Michigan has 5 of the 20 poorest big cities in the country. She was policy analyst for Detroit Dep. Health. Campaign to get rid of incinerator in the middle of the city. Medium income is 22K. National black average median income is 43K. Lots of asthma. Water shutoffs, but poor drainage = increased GI infections. City was forced into bad contracts. SW Detroit has Oil refinery. Yet, new bridge planned. She says, if we made it, we can unmake. Racism is by design, we can undesign it. Also ? works with PAC Justice Democrats. Green New Deal has ?4 parts: 1. Climate, 2. Income inequality 3. Equity. 4. No sacrifice for progress. “The circle of solutions widens, but the writing becomes illegible.” Her goal: political viability with new policy. “Get the chains off your brain.” Unlink consumerism from prosperity. Buyouts are often not fair. Monique: buyouts work better if the whole community involved. We will need a climate resettlement federal authority. Breaking up public housing breaks up communities. Comment/question: sometimes the government solution is worse than the problem. World Bank, World Trade Organization still on unlimited growth model, even though most economists accept climate change.

Thursday, November 14, 2019 Keynote: Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice SETTING THE STAGE: BUILDING A GRASSROOTS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EQUITABLE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES. She was a starter of EJ movement. Gave her background (I missed some of this) Grambling. MA and Phd from SUNY Buffalo. 18 years she worked on getting data about Cancer Alley. Then she founded DSCEJ ~20 years ago. DSCEJ is one of the oldest orgs fighting. Now climate change has focused attention on it. Got grants. Now expanding to other states. ?she invented “Commun-iversity model” combining community activists with University researchers. (Read her web site, numerous prestigious awards, published numerous books.) Still 85 million tons of emissions/year from Cancer Alley. Greater than all of Texas’ emissions.

REMOTE PLENARY: CLIMATE CHANGE, WHERE ARE WE NOW? THE STATE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE Dr. Astrid Caldas, Union of Concerned Scientists.  Science into Action. ~ 500,000 members. Important documents: 1. IPCC. Now: Warning, corals, floods, fires. By 2030-2050 Predicted 1.5 degree warming. Even now there is a chance of stopping it. Every half degree affects millions. (her blog from UCS.) 2. 4th national Climate Assessment. Climate is changing faster than expected. We need 40-60% decline by 2030. Net zero by 2050. Ways to remove carbon needed. (?) We need systemic and personal changes. Equity: Heat is increased more in the South = more Black and Latinx people affected disproportionately. 3.There is a congressional Fact sheet for every congressional district. (? not sure if there is a different one.)

PANEL: ENGAGING COMMUNITIES ON EQUITABLE CARBON PRICING SOLUTIONS CLIMATE EQUITY PROJECT NEW ORLEANS CLIMATE ACTION EQUITY REPORT. Monique Harden, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Inc. 2015: Paris conference. Mitch Landrieu went. 10 HBCU students went. Since Trump pulled out, mayors need to step up. Need to commit to 50% reduction by 2030. Climate Action Plan (? Mitch’s?) areas: 1. Energy (Nola is 3.6 tons GHG emissions: energy is ½ of that.) 2 waste/decomposition 3. Transportation. 4. Culture to support workforce and small businesses. DSCEJ research: there are two New Orleans: one clean, one not. Cantrell and GNOF, Climate Equity Plan. Used council districts and neighborhood associations. Advisory Group $4K grand to each worker. 5 month process. Findings include: New Orleans has the 2nd highest energy burden in the country. Nationally, people spend average 5% income on energy. Nola: 18%. Only Memphis higher with 25%. Report is called: “Taking steps together.”

Cecilia Martinez, Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED) (Minneapolis) The atmosphere can only take so much carbon, called the carbon store. Historically, humans have used up 2.7 trillion tons of the carbon store. A large part of that was used up in 2009-2107. A small part remains. We got here not by accident. Govt and corporate decisions. These are the same decisions that led to inequity. Examples: Red-lining. White flight led to long commutes (= increased GHG emissions). Trees clear cut (before Europeans came, a squirrel could cross the country without touching the ground.) justclimate.org (?) they are working for an equitable and just national climate platform. They are a lobby. 2 weeks ago EJ and environmental groups met w congressional committees. To change how they do business.

Ernestine (Tina) Johnson, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Inc. (She works in Norway) BUILDING COMMUNITY PLATFORMS TO ADVANCE EQUITABLE CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS ?She sponsors monthly talks ?based on the Paris agreement. ? She works on DSCEJ on carbon pricing. Equity is not baked into carbon pricing. Carbon pricing did not pass the first time. There is no national policy on EJ. Oakland has some legislation.

Carmen Reed, Texas Southern University Department of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy ACCESS TO SAFETY: THE SOCIOECONOMICS AND CATASTROPHIC WEATHER EVENTS Evacuation Hypothesis: if income <$22k, vulnerable during evacuation. There are 248 million cars in the US, (=0.77 cars/person), yet many poor people don’t have cars. US poverty threshold = $17K/person. Houston: 10-17% people in poverty in 39 census tracts. Double the national Rate. They cannot evacuate. When trying to evacuate, information is confusing: the city gives “route” to get to “centers”. The routes are highways, so useless without a car. Folks can’t get to centers. Houston has 4 Evacuation zones. Dr. Reed’s plan: called “Amber Alert.” People on assisted housing or SNAP get transportation assistance.

Julian Gordon, (this talk had a lot of meteorology that I did not understand.) North Carolina A & T State University (Aggie school). ANALYSIS OF HURRICANE IRMA (2017) BEFORE 1900 AND AFTER 2100. He is researching tropical cyclones. Warm water in tropics. Heat rises. Coriolis makes it turn to the right (in the northern hemisphere. ? less in southern hemisphere because wind shear? At mid-latitudes, it’s called Nor-easter but it’s still cyclical because of the temperature differential. Hurricane Sandy called “post-tropical.” Cost $68.7 billion. 285 died. Cat. 3. Factors that made Sandy worse than previous storms: 1. Warming = more water in air = more precipitation. 2. Anti-cyclone? 3. Baroclinic (Wikipedia= density depends on both temperature and pressure.) Modeling: why did Sandy go North? If conditions would have been like in 1900s, it would have been more southerly. NCAR: predicting more storms, wetter, slower. With evaporation, soil will be dryer.

Laura Grier, Master’s. University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability. NOTE: UM has School of Environment and Sustainability. (SEAS) Seems to be one of the best schools for EJ in the nation(although several other important ones represented at this conference)(this one is NOT an HBCU). Other authors = Delia Mayor (she was at the conference) Paul Mohai (he spoke later, he is one of the icons) ASSESSING THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN MICHIGAN . Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. Her project: “What is the state of EJ in Michigan?” She gave an EJ Timeline: NC 1982, 1987. 2015. EJ screen. Tool. Interviews. Products of the study: 1. Word cloud. Conclusion: “People” not in word cloud, people excluded from process. (?) 2. Summarized EJ wins. 3. Community vulnerabilities. Hopelessness. 4. Tools. Found PTSD. Multiple risks. “intersectional” She read some moving quotes. Term: “Social Creativity.” = people using creativity to solve EJ problems. Brett Zeuner, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability ASSESSING THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN MICHIGAN WITH A STATE-SPECIFIC SCREENING TOOL. EPA has been working on this for 30 years, still no national policy. 2013 “framework.” He used an “EJ Score.” Here’s a ref (Senior author is Sacoby Jacobs, who was also at the conference) to a publication showing how the score was developed and how to calculate. Cross section of socio-economic, vulnerabilities, chemical risks. Score is ENVIRONMENTAL XPOSURE + ENV. EFFECT * DEMOGRAPHIC INFO (% minority, education, housing.) = EJ SCORE. (California tool). Social vulnerability index (SVI). CDC interactive map, give scores by parish or census tract. (I’m in census tract 127). They made published map of all EJ scores (by census tract) in Michigan. 0 = best; 100 worst. Median was 28. Correlates with other EJ indicators, like proximity to industry. Race was a strong indicator. Future: use tool to monitor progress. Include community input. Use to make recommendations to law-makers. Question: how does it compare to life expectancy? Not done. .(Penny: can we do this in LA? Or has it been done?) write them.

Side conversation: Padgett: if GHG such a small % of atmosphere, why so bad? (Rhetorical denier question.) (Me: N2 is highest % gas.) Answer: it just is. CO2 and other gasses have the property of being the greenhouse gas emitters.

ALICE: Asset-limited-income-constrained-employed: people are 1-2 paychecks from disaster. 42% of Texans are ALICE.

DAMU SMITH [(1951-2013) had no health insurance, died young of colon cancer] POWER OF ONE AWARD LUNCHEON .PRESENTING THE 2019 RECIPIENT .Dr. Kenneth Olden, PhD, ScD, LHD? Dr. Olden, son of share-cropper. PHD in cell biology 1978, NIH tenure, Howard, NIEHS –Director. Then NCI.+ more. (Research originally on fibronectins, then socio- economic impact on cancer). Vision of Community Based Partner Research. Car paint corroded and plants not growing around chemical factories. He met Beverly Wright and toured Cancer Alley. Got RFPs for environmental justice research.

Lennox Yearwood. Minister. Hiphop Caucus. ‘RESIST” hat. 14 years of getting artists engaged in Climate. ?He says Beyonce’s song “SandCastles” is about Climate change. 50 years ago Death march 1968.?? Renewal, Public Citizen. ?Eartha Kitt made Lady Bird Johnson cry. Nixon was not no green president (started EPA). Early environmentalists did not relate to people, they related to planet. Did not want to engage with other movements. Even to DAPL. They still want to just engage with polar bears. Still siloed. “Ain’t your mama’s heat wave.” At Norfolk, Virginia. Climate Story Telling. Norfolk is ground zero for climate change. 100 years from now: 2119, we won’t be here. Will humans be here? Everything is fleeting. Every minute you got, use it to fight. We’ll go to higher ground or drown. Be brave enough to fight. [email protected] Shows he recommends ? Power (starz), Have And Have Not (Oprah)., Greenleaf (Netflix).

Dr. Nicky Sheats Thomas Edison University. Director of several EJ institutes. Link to his publications “MANDATORY EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS FOR EJ COMMUNITIES THROUGH CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION POLICY” Introduced by Dr. Marva King, In the US, we have 2 movements: Environmental vs. EJ. Policies to fight Climate Change may not be good for POC. (me—side conversation with Ms. Johnson—many regulations have the opposite of the intended consequences.) In general, Climate Change Mitigation = global reducing emissions. But EJ = reduce reduction in emissions in EJ communities. We need to do both. No policy so far reduces both. Second choice: reduce CO2 and co-pollutants may follow. Co-pollutant = PM 2.5. estimated 200,000 black deaths due to PM2.5 (? How long?) There is a standard for PM 2.5 emissions, which is not met. And even if it was met, it’s not low enough. Cumulative impact correlates with black community. Showed a bunch of graphs showing many correlations between impacts and poverty, race, etc. Newark is 80% POC. Carbon trading = pure market mechanism. “Wedging” doesn’t guarantee emission reductions. (Penny here, I found one web site (from 2006), where wedging is sponsored by an oil company, BP, and Ford, includes nuclear and no pathway away from fossil fuel.) The problem is that the market determines amount of emissions. Solutions: 1. Reduce emissions from power plants (?and factories) 2. Need reduction > clean air act. 3). Multiple solutions. Cumulative policies to address cumulative impacts. Corey booker NJEJ Alliance. EJ bill in NJ? Have cumulative impacts? EJ communities do not support nuclear. EJ does not support CCS, nor offsets.

Dr. Bullard.i Introduced by Dr. Glenn Johnson (Bullard was his former mentor), Texas Southern University. Published 18 books. “I’m not a black or white or any kind of sociologist. I’m a Kick-ass sociologist.” “The long answer is…No.” Here is a paper by him. His department was founded by WE Dubois. Went to 2 HBCU: A&M/Atlanta University. Some of his books: “Unequal protection.” “?Environmental Racism Kills” “Invisible Houston.” Direct connection between: toxic waste, black, income inequality, health disparities, no Medicaid expansion, the South, uninsured, First EJ case: Black, middle class urban neighborhood: City owned landfill. The neighborhood had 75% of the cities’ landfills, but 25% of the population. Houston. “Dumping in Dixie.” Black areas more toxic than poor white. “The wrong complexion for protection.” Blacks have higher levels of death from asthma. Climate change will increase the income gap. “Just sustainabilities.” Same in the global South. EJ conference in Rio. Growing movement in China. Another book: Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices From the Grassroots

Roomana Hukil, McMaster University “ENVIRONMENTAL NGOS IN INDIA” Transnational NGO within Indian NGOs. India has 18% of world’s population. By 2020 will the world’s most populous country. Rapid Industrialization. EJ Atlas. Shows ~3000 EJ cases worldwide. India has the 2nd most (after Columbia) EJ conflicts: 271 in India. Transnational environmental Advocacy Networks (TANs). They influence other states. They have been effective in India: 1) Narmada River Dam 1985. 2) Niyamigiri (2008) success. 3) Mahan—anti-coaling (2009) success. 4) Teesta River Dam (1985). Challenges: 1. State Repression: Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act, from Indira Ghandi. NGOs are accused of being western. Modi shut down 20,000 of 33,000 NGOs. Surveillance, Incarceration. 2. Western influence: interests do not always align. Eg, Narmada: locals wanted no dam. Westerners said small dam OK. Bhopal. Gaps in literature: Colonization. Post- colonization Theory: Speaker went to India. Interviewed 50-60 people. Findings: TAN weakens Indian indigenous movements. India should not depend on TAN. She will develop theoretical framework for partnerships.

Takhari Thompson, Pennsylvania State University QUANTIFYING PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURES FOR THE COUNTRY OF SENEGAL Studied PM (particulate matter in Senegal.)14 million population. High infant mortality. Few hospitals, few doctors. High PMs. PM2.5 worse than PM 10. It’s from dust storms. Asthma. WHO says mortality increases with PM2.5 concentration. Need more monitors. Some storms are really bad.

Sade Shofidiya, (very charismatic) Savannah State University FOSTER “BEELIEF” EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM. She’s a beekeeper. This is her nonprofit. Climate change causes a mismatch in dates so bees don’t arrive at the correct time for flower pollination. Bees declining. Cause unknown; climate, pesticides, other?. Her Goals: help the Bees, STEM, HBCU, help foster children also. Resources: 10 Bee groups that help Bees. Wants Bee colonies on all HBCUs. Has trainings.

Santiago Roman, Oberlin College ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE & LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IN , ALABAMA. Here’s an article about it. Africatown founding in late 19th century. Clotilda, the last (just located?) 1860. 1808 selling enslaved persons was made illegal, yet 1860 enslaved persons were still being sold. is descended from them. Cudjo Lewis was the last survivor, he died in 1935. (Actually, Wikipedia documents a longer lived female survivor.) Interviewed by , in book called Barracoon. At emancipation, 35 people saved money and bought land from their former owner. Founded AfricanTown, now Africatown, near Mobile. Population was ~12,000. Now 2000. Industrial pollution: Paper mill, which has since shut down, but not cleaned up. Other industry. High rates of cancer. Mobile rezoned it from residential to industrial. On historic register, but historic houses are targeted for demolition The town will lose historic status if not enough historical buildings. Car paint corroded, vegetable gardens wouldn’t grow. Mobile Tensas Delta Federal is protected. Hog Bayou –very biodiverse: not protected. He is doing oral history. They have a unique history and language. Museum being worked on. Also making an on-line archive. White Backlash. Discovery of ship by a white man was based on black oral history. Example of Black resilience in the face of white supremacy.

Ember McCoy. From Rachel Carson, White environmental movements were based on NIMBY. “Siting” theories. Was the racial disparity before or after siting of plant? Dr. Mohai started this research. He found the disparate siting. They found that the companies intentional choose black sites. NAACP studied Coal plants: Coal Blooded. ii (Louisiana is NOT the worst.) Coal plants built before 1967 are grandfathered—they are exempted from environmental laws. Plants built prior to 1945 are even dirtier. She studied 2011. She found that racial/economic/education disparities all existed before companies located the plants.

Lucie Khachan Choufani, Jackson State University COAL-FIRED PLANT IN MOSS POINT, MISSISSIPPI (presented by someone else). Kruvant 1975-historic paper. Wealth allows wealthy to live away from pollution. Near Pascagoula river. 18% below poverty line. Coal plants largest source of US hazardous air. (?? Relative to petrochemical plants?) Worst in the south. Kant said leaders should not lie. Her research showed that most residents have poor information.

ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITIES OF ACTIVE GULLAH GEECHEE CULTURAL RESOURCES IN GEORGIA Jennifer Colley (JONES) , Savannah State University. There are 3 other fights. She focused on Pinpoint heritage museum at Gullah Geechee. Descendants of enslaved persons from plantations on lower Atlantic coast. Because they were isolated, a heritage evolved.—language, food, crafts, music. Barrier islands, cultural corridor from NC to Florida. Churches, schools, community centers. Threatened by sea level rise.—5 historic sites will be inundated by 2070. Pinpoint museum. Flooding normal at high tide. NOAA data. Also threatened by storms. Chatham county Georgia. Is there an emergency plan?

AN EVENING WITH THE POETS Sunni Patterson, Spoken Word Artist, Poet, Activist Sha’Condria “iCon” Sibley, Spoken Word Artist, Poet, Author, Teacher, Activist Dr. John Warford, Spoken Word Artist, Professor of Geography, Florida A&M University Bamboula 2000, Drum Collective

Friday, November 15, 2019 Dr. Dorceta Taylor, University of Michigan. FUNDING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES. She researched disparities in funding. Found disparities at all levels. 1. Researchers studying EJ: blacks got less $ and smaller grants. 2. Researchers studying climate: blacks got 10X less grants and 100X less $. 3. If they were studying POC, mostly worse, but some blacks got larger grants. Her solutions: 1. Ask for more $, 2. Ask for longer grants, 3. Write multiple grants, 4. Keep on writing. 5. Request infrastructure. 6. Have deliverable, like showing effects on social media, # downloads, surveys 7. Groom your officers, know how much $ they have 8. Have a back-up plan, 9. Listen and wait when speaking with them. Monique: look at racial composition of board of funding agency. Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility Paperback – June 20, 2014 by Dorceta Taylor (Author)

Dr. Paul Mohai, University of Michigan. Another icon of EJ. DATA-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. First study was through Church of Christ, 1987: “Toxic Waste and Race.” (“The report was significant because it found race to be the most potent variable in predicting where commercial hazardous waste facilities were located in the U.S., more powerful than household income, the value of homes and the estimated amount of hazardous waste generated by industry.” From a report about the report.) Not written by scientists, but used sophisticated statistical analysis. (There had been 14 previous studies, but not as rigorous. In 1992, Bush/Reilly EPA called for Environmental Equity, although report did not mention race. Clinton called on all federal Agencies to consider EJ. Executive order 12898. Not law. Since then, 10,000 scientific articles with EJ in the title. EJ debates: is it race or class? He says often the same, but around Toxic waste sites, it’s clearly Race. 2. Scientists debating whether disparity exists. Yes. 3. Which came first: race or place? Race. His student showed (this conference). But they need more data. In 2007, 20 year follow-up. Has good demands. People of color make up the majority of people living within 3 km of hazardous waste.

***Dr. Wright said that the reason claims are made that the science doesn’t hold up are purely political.

Dr. Gregory Jenkins, Pennsylvania State University. EXPLORING LINKAGES BETWEEN AIR QUALITY AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH IN . Conclusion: Air is bad in Senegal, not enough air monitors. Sources of PM: 1. Cars, 2. Burning fields, 3. Burning trash 4. Dust. (Most of the PM is from dust.) Millions of tons of dust per year. Dust storms come up fast: Day turns to night. Up to 40% of infant deaths due to dust. Storms are seasonal. African population is the fastest growing worldwide. Dust affects kids more. Females more than males. Respiratory infections. Asthma. Modeling. GIS. He’s working on a phone app with warning.? Is climate change making Saharan dust storms worse?

Dr. Sacoby Wilson, University of Maryland. USE OF EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ECODISTRICTS TO BUILD CLIMATE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES. Climate change problems: 1. Heat—in an urban area, some blocks are hotter than others.(?Urban heat islands) 2. Water (flooding) impervious surfaces. CodeRed is a national emergency alerting system. Health effects: BRACE: build a climate resilient community. THRIVE. If no equity, you’re just recreating the event of inequality. Climate Gap. “Opportunity zones” they are triple dipping: big companies get tax break they don’t need, EJ violations, gentrification. If there’s no community development, you’re being eCONNED. He’s developing EBDs Economic Benefits Districts. Aka Eco-districts. Reduce pollutants, cars, gas to zero. Maryland has 4 EBDs. Economic pathogens: loan companies, fast food, etc. Economic Salutogens: parks, etc. Real sustainability, health. Vs. Economic pathogens: Superficial = gentrification. Good group. ReGenesis (South Carolina). Green Zones. Green impact. TIF Tax initiative funding. ???? crime, pollution, poverty, all correlated. Health enterprise zone—Maryland passed. Also, a health equity office.

Megan Rising, Union of Concerned Scientists EQUITABLY ACCELERATING THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION . (?2013) Georgia Power shut down coal plants. Nationwide, 110 GW of coal has been retired. = 1/3 total coal. Example Fisk and Crawford Plant in Chicago. Problem now is what to do with that land. Heavy industry wants to move in –near schools. From 2008-2018, coal dropped from 48% to 27% of national energy. Why decline in coal? 1. Economic. 2. Increased natural gas from fracking, cheap 3. Wind is 70% cheaper than it was. 4. Solar is also 70% cheaper. 12.7 million homes have solar. This is expected to double. 5. Energy efficiency: industrial farms, vehicles. Has saved construction of 300 large plants. Projections: by 2050: 14% coal, 48% natural gas. 24% renewables. (Penny here: I can’t believe this! This is way too slow. Is this enough to get to 50% reduction by 2030?) Some state actions: CA, NY, WA. US Climate Alliance. Alliance of states: 24 states have joined. National Climate Agenda Mayors (New Orleans is on this list). Battery storage: Equitable deployment of clean energy. Principles developed (26 corporations signed): 1. Replace peaking plants, 2) rapid recovery from outage 3) renewables. Next week UCS will release a brief on equity and battery storage.

Joe Womack, Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe and Sustainable (=CHESS), Mobile, AL. AFRICATOWN: THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE STRUGGLE CONTINUES. He (born 1950) is a descendant of the original settlers of Africatown. Started the CHESS group. 1808 slave ships illegal, but practice continued. Africatown incorporated in 1870. Bought land. They gave land to start a school. “Training” schools = Black schools. Certified in 1910. Burned in 1915. Rosenwald funded rebuilding –built 5000 schools, only 1 remains. Africatown is not historically protected. (now, ?2012 protected) 1940 Industry moved in. Paper mills = dioxin, raw sewage. 1960 Mobile wanted to increase tax. More industry. Citizens organized to remove industry. EPA. (under Clinton) removed Papermill. Toxins buried. Oberlin studying. Soil samples. Confronted city. Clothes/cars corroded. NAACP visited, then they returned w/ money. Now taking samples.

Arthur Johnson, Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), New Orleans, LA . Developing Climate solutions through Community Science. Lower 9 is surrounded on 3 sides with water (Industrial canal, Main Outfall canal, Mississippi. River). Track EJ factors. Collaborate w/Dillard students to monitor neighborhood air. “Public Lab” Nonprofit. Habitat restoration. New Harmony Internship. They also work with Dr. Bernard Singleton, from Dillard.

Katherine Egland, Education, Economics, Environmental Climate, and Health Organization (EEECHO), Gulfport, MS . NAACP. HARNESSING OUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTHS TO RESTORE AND PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES When she was young, she decided that Dr.King and V. Dahmer’s deaths would not be in vain. All people need to feel safe. Nothing about us without us. For segregation and lack of EJ: Orleans parish worst, #2 Harrison county (Gulfport, MS), #3 = Jackson County, MS. in 2003, Sun Herald reported Gulfport Mayor called residents “dumb bastards.” Flood desecrated graves. Turkey Creek, MS. Since Katrina, white beach owners want to be relocated to Black Historic Land. In Georgia, wood pellet plant. Living wages shouldn’t kill or make you ill. She started a fall lecture series. Aging infrastructure, constant boil advisories. Asset mapping. Mississippi permits anything because they need $. Dr. Bullard: view everything through an equity lens. In 2000, Atlanta was able to get Equity in Policy. Research/Policy community HBCU-climate consortium.

Dr. Calvin Avant, Unity in the Family Ministries, Pensacola, FL WEDGEWOOD, OLIVE HEIGHTS & ROLLING HILLS: MAKING THE CASE FOR RELOCATION & REMEDIATION. Wedgewood, Olive heights, Rolling hills. 3 middle class black neighborhoods. The city rezoned. Unlined landfills—stored demolition debris: had drywall and sheetrock which emits hydrogen sulfide, Burrow pits, Right next to community center, school. Permit revoked 5 yrs ago, still emitting. Rock crushing plan (=silica dust= carcinogen) then they “water-down” the dust and it gets into water supply: Marcus Bayou. Cancer, COPD, asthma. Gulf Water Justice project. No water drainage. Water sits for weeks then goes into Marcus Bayou. (Monique) DSCEJ came in and worked w/community. Health survey. Relocation and remediation workshop. Got Equitable $. Use tool EJ screen. Asset mapping. Get latitude and longitude of bad spots. Students creating matrix (?). Also the got $13 million for road. Turned around Marcus Bayou, flowed into affluent neighborhoods.

Halimah Wynn, Florida A & M University AGROFORESTRY: A VIABLE OPTION TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE . Agroforestry is deliberate introduction of trees. Many benefits: nutrients/soil/water/climate/wind. 3 types of agroforestry: 1. Alley cropping (=rows, easier) 2. Forest farming (= put crops under trees) 3. Silvopasture (=mix trees with animals [livestock]). A study in China showed that agroforestry caused increased Carbon in soil. And decreased CO2 in air. There are ~30,000 agroforestry farms in the US. She says it correlates w/Black farmers.

Ouname Mhotsha, Alcorn State University She’s a graduate of the EJ Academy. AFROECOLOGY: A TOOL FOR CURBING FOOD INSECURITY IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. Food and security is the biggest EJ issue. Mississippi the worst. Food deserts. In rural areas > 10 miles to a food store. Urban > 1 mile. Also absence of fresh food. Expensive. Misconception that to farm you need > 1acres. Afro-ecology –art for social change. “We are co-creators.” She started several programs: Mushroom workshop (uses wood waste), community gardens, EJ. Food insecurity decreases health, school performance, community structure. Afro-ecology—small gardens. Black Dirt Farm Collective. Footprint farms. Agro-tourism.

Tatyanna Greenfield Student at Virginia State University The role of race/wealth in firefighting. There was a fire in Woolsey, CA. 2018. (same day as Camp Fire in Paradise.) Started at Santa Susana field laboratory. There was delayed deployment because there was another fire Hill fire (0 dead, 4500 0acres). Woolsey: took 13 days to control. 88 firefighters. 3 dead 2/3 were black. 97,000 acres. Decision to protect rich white areas and not to protect black lives. (Penny here, Wikipedia gives a different story, with many affluent people losing a lot in the Woolsey fire.)

Calvin Mackey: “CAN” theory: Do all you can, be all you can, sit on the can.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, National Wildlife Federation. MOVING VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING - THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE TO MAKE CHANGE. Slavery was an extractive industry. Why is Climate Change an EJ issue? 1. Disproportionately affects POC, 2) CO2 and toxic pollutants come from the same sources. 100,000 dying from toxic pollution is more than from gun violence. Big Greens have $billions. How much goes to POC? Own the media: Roland Martin, Byron Allen, Ivanhoe Community Center, Kansas City Harold Mitchell, former SC congress person, EJ. National EJConference 2020.

Jacqueline Patterson, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. ADVANCING REVOLUTIONARY CLIMATE JUSTICE SOLUTIONS: SYSTEMIC ROOT CAUSES REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE Coal-Blooded report. Navaho nation—has 4 coal plants within 30 miles, yet tribal members lack refrigerators/power. (Picture with power plant in background, and ice coolers on porch.) Report: “Lights out in the cold,” When power gets shut off, people use candles, space heaters causes fires, deaths. The price of poverty is death. “Kochtopus.” NAACP report: Fossil Fueled Foolery. ALTERNATIVES:  Highland Park DTE (power company) took away their street lights in 2011. Citizens crowd-sourced solar power: Let there be light. Called: Soulardarity. They also work with: Homeboy Industries, Black workers for justice EJ working group.

Sharon Beard, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences NIEHS WORKER TRAINING PROGRAM - DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING. NIEHS provides $, training programs for worker safety, especially during natural disasters. Important for POC, for careers and as people being cared for.

Sierra Perry, Bethune-Cookman University MEDIA AND THE SEA: REPORTING THE RISING SEA LEVELS IN FLORIDA. Talked about “Climate Gentrification.” Little Haiti (Miami suburb) now desired because it’s a little bit inland, higher, drier. Signs: “Little Haiti is not for sale.” She made an app to notify people about flooding and dry ground. Digital divide still exists. Maybe not getting info to the people who need it.

Dr. David Padgett, Tennessee State University. Also Urban green Lab. Also, Green door initiative. GLOBAL LEARNING AND OBSERVATIONS TO BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT (GLOBE) GLOBE-AL URBAN CLIMATE VULNERABILITY. HBCU produce the highest number of teachers (? % of what), but only 10% of teachers are black (?nationwide).yet 50% of children are POC. Teachers often have to teach topics they are unfamiliar with, like science. GLOBE (not sure if that’s the same program) is a program to teach science better. Use it to close the STEM achievement gap. Use app. Urban heat islands, cause micro-climate changes. More heat = more ozone. Reduces ozone in the troposphere = more ozone in cities = pediatric asthma= less education (children miss school). Heat is the #1 killer from natural causes. 2X more common in blacks.

i From wikipedia: “Linda McKeever Bullard, the wife of Robert D. Bullard, residents of Houston's Northwood Manor opposed the decision of the city and Browning Ferris Industries to construct a solid waste facility near their mostly African-American neighborhood.” ii In 2006, Mississippi's coal-fired power plants produced 22.2 million tons of CO2, 75,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 34,000 tons of nitrogen oxide; U.S.’s CO2 emissions in 2006 were 5.75 billion tons (or 20% of the world total). In 2006, coal-fired power plants in the United States alone produced 1.94 billion tons of CO2 — 32 percent of the U.S.’s total CO2 emissions, and almost 7 percent of the world’s total CO2 emissions.