WE ACT FOR Adrienne Hollis,

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
@EJToxicdoc
Director of Federal Policy
@WEACT4EJ
 PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Define Changes in Community

Environmental Environmental Concerns Success Stories
Justice Protections
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE LEADERSHIP 2008
FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE
THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE What is Environmental
Justice?
WARREN COUNTY, NC IS THE BIRTHPLACE 1982
OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
ABORTED CANAL PROJECT, LOVE CANAL, 1978
NY, BECOMES FIRST SUPERFUND SITE
 STUDY FINDS RACE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN LOCATION OF 1987

TOXIC SITES
 PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON SIGNS
EXECUTIVE ORDER 12898 TO PROTECT 1994

VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES
PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
ADOPTED AT FIRST PEOPLE OF COLOR 1991

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

JEMEZ PRINCIPLES FOR
DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZING (1996)
Be inclusive
Emphasis on bottom-up organizing
Let people speak for themselves
Work together in solidarity and mutuality
Build just relationships among ourselves
Commitment to self-transformation
WHAT DO WE DO NOW? Community concerns in this
administration
 IS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH A PRIORITY?
President Obamas Administration President Trumps Administration

Aims to unwind the

Clean Power Federal coal Lifted the
core of President
moratorium on
Plan leasing Obamas 2013
federal coal leasing
Climate Action Plan

Restrictions on Paris Agreement Rescinded

Withdrew from
hydraulic on Climate restrictions on
Paris Agreement
fracturing Change hydraulic fracking

2015 Waters of Waters of the

the United States United States Rule
Rule passed Rollback Order
http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/images/climate_change_health_impacts600w.jpg
PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS TO THE EPA
UNFAIRLY IMPACTS VULNERABLE 2017

COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE U.S.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS FACE
CHALLENGES TELLING THEIR STORIES
Historical disparity in funding
EJ leaders do not always have a seat at decision-making table
Lack in-house communications teams to reach out and respond to press
Organizations are often located in communities outside of national presss focus
Some racial justice issues have urgent media story (police violence), but EJ issues
are just as deadly
What is defined as EJ may be narrowly defined (lead, coal plants, etc.)
If your expertise isnt communications, solutions to problems can be wonky and
hard to explain
GIVEN THAT, HOW CAN JOURNALISTS BETTER TELL EJ STORIES?

Be persistent in contacting leaders or advocates, they want their stories

told.
Look for local stories that can shed light on what is happening nationally.
Outreach and have conversations with EJ leaders to get connected to
potential interviewees with un-told stories, who might not have a digital
presence.
Seek out unconventional stories that shed light on environmental
injustice (i.e. air pollution is a commonly told EJ story, but what else can
be included as an EJ issue?).
THE HARLEM HEAT PROJECT Telling a NEW EJ Story
CASE STUDY: THE HARLEM HEAT PROJECT
 Kingdom Living Temple
New Alpha CDC
Florence, South Carolina

MOJO
M OB ILI ZE , O RG AN IZE , FO R JU S T O P P O RTUN ITI ES

http://bit.ly/2sLLanq
http://bit.ly/2sEb5gk
 Success Stories of
AND STILLWE RISE!!! Environmental Justice and
Activism
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
LEADERSHIP FORUM
WEBINAR SERIES
CULTIVATES COMMUNITY
LITTLE VILLAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
ORGANIZATION (LVEJO),
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
KENTUCKIANS FOR THE
COMMONWEALTH (KFTC)
Empower Kentucky Plan
Environmental Justice Analysis
 ITSHOULD
IS MANIFESTLY UNJUST THAT A PRIVILEGED FEW
CONTINUE TO ACCUMULATE EXCESS GOODS,
SQUANDERING AVAILABLE RESOURCES, WHILE MASSES
OF PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN CONDITIONS OF MISERY AT
THE VERY LOWEST LEVEL OF SUBSISTENCE.
-Pope John Paul, ii, 1990 World Day of Peace Message No. 8
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 AVAILABLE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESOURCES
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