1. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  2. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  3. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  6. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  7. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  8. RACISM IN THE WATER
  9. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  10. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  11. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  12. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  13. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  14. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  15. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  16. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  17. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  18. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  19. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  20. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  21. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  22. Ian Harris
  23. Melissa Ostroff
  24. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  25. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  26. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  27. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  28. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  29. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  30. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  31. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  32. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  33. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  34. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  35. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  36. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  37. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  38. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  39. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  40. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  41. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  42. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  43. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  44. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  45. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  46. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  47. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  48. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  49. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  50. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  51. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  52. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  53. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  54. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  55. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  56. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  57. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  58. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  59. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  60. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  61. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  62. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  63. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  64. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  65. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  66. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  67. THE NATURE GAP
  68. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  69. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  70. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  71. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  72. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  73. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  74. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  75. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  76. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  77. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  78. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  79. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  80. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  81. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  82. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  83. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  85. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  86. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  87. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  88. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  89. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  90. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  91. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  92. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  93. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  94. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  95. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  96. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  97. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  99. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  100. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  101. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  102. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  103. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  104. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  105. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  106. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  107. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  108. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  109. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  110. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  111. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  112. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  113. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  114. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  116. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  117. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  118. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  119. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  120. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  121. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  122. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  123. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  124. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  125. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  126. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  127. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  128. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  129. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  130. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  131. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  132. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  133. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  134. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  135. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  136. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  137. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  138. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  139. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  140. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  141. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  142. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  143. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  144. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  145. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  146. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  147. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  148. Are You Going to Drink That?
  149. The Origins of ecoWURD
  150. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  151. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  152. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  153. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
  1. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  2. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  3. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  6. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  7. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  8. RACISM IN THE WATER
  9. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  10. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  11. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  12. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  13. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  14. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  15. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  16. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  17. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  18. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  19. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  20. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  21. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  22. Ian Harris
  23. Melissa Ostroff
  24. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  25. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  26. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  27. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  28. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  29. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  30. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  31. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  32. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  33. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  34. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  35. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  36. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  37. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  38. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  39. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  40. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  41. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  42. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  43. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  44. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  45. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  46. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  47. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  48. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  49. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  50. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  51. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  52. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  53. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  54. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  55. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  56. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  57. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  58. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  59. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  60. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  61. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  62. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  63. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  64. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  65. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  66. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  67. THE NATURE GAP
  68. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  69. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  70. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  71. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  72. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  73. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  74. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  75. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  76. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  77. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  78. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  79. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  80. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  81. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  82. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  83. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  85. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  86. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  87. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  88. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  89. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  90. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  91. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  92. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  93. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  94. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  95. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  96. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  97. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  99. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  100. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  101. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  102. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  103. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  104. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  105. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  106. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  107. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  108. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  109. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  110. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  111. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  112. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  113. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  114. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  116. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  117. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  118. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  119. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  120. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  121. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  122. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  123. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  124. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  125. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  126. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  127. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  128. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  129. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  130. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  131. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  132. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  133. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  134. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  135. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  136. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  137. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  138. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  139. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  140. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  141. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  142. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  143. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  144. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  145. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  146. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  147. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  148. Are You Going to Drink That?
  149. The Origins of ecoWURD
  150. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  151. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  152. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  153. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess

By Phil Levin & Ian P. Davies | Guest Research | originally from The Conversation

Over the last decade, the U.S. has seen an average of 70,512 wildland fires every year, annually burning about 6.8 million acres. With climate change, scientists expect fires to become more frequent and more severe.

However, some people are more affected by these events than others. Our work, published on Nov. 2, shows that racial and ethnic minorities are significantly more vulnerable to the effects of these natural disasters. The results provide a new perspective on where resources to mitigate wildfire threats are best allocated.

We were inspired to study this question by Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophe that ripped through New Orleans in 2005. Black neighborhoods were located in the low-lying, less protected areas of the city, and many lacked the resources to evacuate safely. After the storm cleared, black-owned homes were three times more likely than their white counterparts to be in the flooded parts of the city, and to this day the city’s black population has not rebounded to pre-Katrina population levels.

Other research on floods and hurricanes has shown similarly disproportionate effects on minorities. We wondered if a similar phenomenon existed for wildfires.

This map shows wildfire potential, as determined by the U.S. Forest Service, by census tract. White lines on the map correspond to U.S. census tracts. The potential for an area to burn is calculated by considering factors such as burnable fuels on the landscape, vegetation, weather and historical fire activity. Ian Davies,CC BY

Using data from the U.S. Census, we created an index that characterizes a community’s ability to adapt to wildfires. For example, signs that a community is less able to adapt to a wildfire include a prevalence of older or younger individuals; high rates of poverty; and a high proportion of people who are not fluent English speakers. We then calculated this metric for more than 70,000 census tracts across the U.S. and combined the results with the area’s potential for wildfires, as modeled by the U.S. Forest Service.

Our analysis revealed that wildfire vulnerability is spread unequally across race and ethnicity. Although affluent white Americans are more likely to live in fire-prone areas, non-white communities in fire-prone areas appear less able to adapt to a wildfire event. Communities that are majority black, Hispanic or Native American are over 50 percent more vulnerable to wildfire compared to other communities. Native Americans in particular are six times more likely than other groups to live in the most vulnerable communities.

This map shows wildfire vulnerability by census tract. Wildfire vulnerability takes into account both landscape wildfire risk and socioeconomic factors in determining how likely an area is to adapt and recover from a wildfire. Ian Davies,CC BY

Overall, some 29 million Americans live with significant potential for wildfires. Land managers often prioritize areas with extreme wildfire potential for active management, regardless of the capacity of individuals to absorb and recover from a disaster. By including a community’s capacity to respond to wildfire, we highlight those places that may be less resilient to a wildfire’s catastrophic impacts.

How can land managers and policymakers use this information to more effectively combat the impacts of wildfire? Current efforts by agencies and NGOs have largely focused on reducing the risk of fire. But no matter how effective such management is, there will still be wildfires across the U.S. – they are a natural, indeed necessary, part of many ecosystems.

However, natural resource managers can further reduce vulnerability of people to fire by increasing the adaptive capacity of affected communities. There are already some services in place; for example, some state and county agencies have cost-sharing programs to help homeowners reduce fuels on their properties, while others offer educational programs to help communities adapt to wildfires. However, there is evidence that socially vulnerable populations are less likely to participate in these types of government programs.

Cultural differences may also affect preferences for fire management. For example, black Americans have shown more reluctance toward some fire management practices, such as prescribed burning, than their white counterparts.

All loss of life is tragic, and the devastation caused by property loss is terrible for all victims, no matter their race or ethnicity. Like some other scholars, we feel that it’s time to stop thinking of “natural” disasters as natural, and start thinking of them as the consequences of social, economic and political factors that make communities more vulnerable to ruin. Facing the rising risk of fires due to climate change, communities must make sure that emergency planning and mitigation strategies are inclusive of vulnerable minorities, so that no one is left behind.

PHIL LEVINis Professor of Practice in Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington

IAN P. DAVIES is an M.S. Candidate at the University of Washington

The Conversation