1. Chester City Council member works for all residents
  2. Philly Thrive: people powered action
  3. Environmental impact on newly-approved Sixer’s arena
  4. Kensington’s community members works for revitalization and sustainability
  5. Philadelphia’s long dry-spell raises concerns
  6. Beautification in Philadelphia
  7. Local Legislative policies on affordable housing
  8. EV’s, public eco-friendly infrastructure and a refinery protesting: A conversation with Sophia Schmidt
  9. Elves on Wheels: Creating urban green spaces with Black farmers
  10. Environmental Impact and Immigration: A Conversation with Magybet Mendez
  11. Philadelphia Must Rethink Its Impact on Chester
  12. New Documentary Explores Philadelphia’s Struggle for Land Sovereignty and a Greener Future
  13. Capturing Hope: Power Circle Mentors Inspiring Youth Through Nature and Photography
  14. Roishetta Sibley Ozane and The Vessel Project: A Beacon of Hope in Sulphur, Louisiana
  15. ecoFEST 2023: A Celebration of Environmental Justice
  16. A is for asbestos: The environmental challenges facing Philly schools
  17. The Age of Preparedness: Securing Your Finances in the Face of the Climate Crisis
  18. A Former Sugar Plantation Up in Flames: The Lahaina Wildfires
  19. From Heatwaves to Hydration: Philadelphia’s Water Landscape Explored
  20. A Sizzling Summer: Philly Faces Extreme Temperatures
  21. Get to Know The New Host of ecoWURD: Tamara P.O.C. Russell
  22. Funding the Fight for Climate Justice: Local and Federal Grants Propel Environmental Initiatives
  23. Where There is Fire, There Will Be Smoke
  24. Lessons at Sea: Capitalism, Climate Change and a Path Forward
  25. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  26. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  27. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  28. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  29. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  30. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  31. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  32. RACISM IN THE WATER
  33. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  34. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  35. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  36. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  37. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  38. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  39. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  40. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  41. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  42. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  43. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  44. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  45. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  46. Ian Harris
  47. Melissa Ostroff
  48. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  49. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  50. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  51. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  52. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  53. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  54. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  55. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  56. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  57. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  58. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  59. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  60. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  61. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  62. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  63. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  64. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  65. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  66. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  67. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  68. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  69. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  70. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  71. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  72. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  73. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  74. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  75. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  76. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  77. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  78. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  79. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  80. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  81. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  82. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  83. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  84. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  85. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  86. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  87. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  88. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  89. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  90. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  91. THE NATURE GAP
  92. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  93. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  94. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  95. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  96. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  97. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  98. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  99. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  100. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  101. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  102. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  103. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  104. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  105. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  106. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  107. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  108. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  109. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  110. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  111. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  112. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  113. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  114. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  115. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  116. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  117. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  118. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  119. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  120. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  121. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  122. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  123. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  124. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  125. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  126. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  127. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  128. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  129. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  130. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  131. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  132. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  133. 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
  134. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  135. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  136. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  137. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  138. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  139. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  140. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  141. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  142. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  143. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  144. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  145. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  146. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  147. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  148. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  149. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  150. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  151. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  152. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  153. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  154. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  155. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  156. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  157. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  158. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  159. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  160. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  161. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  162. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  163. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  164. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  165. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  166. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  167. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  168. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  169. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  170. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  171. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  172. Are You Going to Drink That?
  173. The Origins of ecoWURD
  174. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  175. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  176. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  177. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess
Saturday, February 15, 2025
  1. Chester City Council member works for all residents
  2. Philly Thrive: people powered action
  3. Environmental impact on newly-approved Sixer’s arena
  4. Kensington’s community members works for revitalization and sustainability
  5. Philadelphia’s long dry-spell raises concerns
  6. Beautification in Philadelphia
  7. Local Legislative policies on affordable housing
  8. EV’s, public eco-friendly infrastructure and a refinery protesting: A conversation with Sophia Schmidt
  9. Elves on Wheels: Creating urban green spaces with Black farmers
  10. Environmental Impact and Immigration: A Conversation with Magybet Mendez
  11. Philadelphia Must Rethink Its Impact on Chester
  12. New Documentary Explores Philadelphia’s Struggle for Land Sovereignty and a Greener Future
  13. Capturing Hope: Power Circle Mentors Inspiring Youth Through Nature and Photography
  14. Roishetta Sibley Ozane and The Vessel Project: A Beacon of Hope in Sulphur, Louisiana
  15. ecoFEST 2023: A Celebration of Environmental Justice
  16. A is for asbestos: The environmental challenges facing Philly schools
  17. The Age of Preparedness: Securing Your Finances in the Face of the Climate Crisis
  18. A Former Sugar Plantation Up in Flames: The Lahaina Wildfires
  19. From Heatwaves to Hydration: Philadelphia’s Water Landscape Explored
  20. A Sizzling Summer: Philly Faces Extreme Temperatures
  21. Get to Know The New Host of ecoWURD: Tamara P.O.C. Russell
  22. Funding the Fight for Climate Justice: Local and Federal Grants Propel Environmental Initiatives
  23. Where There is Fire, There Will Be Smoke
  24. Lessons at Sea: Capitalism, Climate Change and a Path Forward
  25. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  26. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  27. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  28. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  29. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  30. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  31. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  32. RACISM IN THE WATER
  33. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  34. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  35. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  36. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  37. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  38. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  39. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  40. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  41. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  42. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  43. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  44. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  45. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  46. Ian Harris
  47. Melissa Ostroff
  48. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  49. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  50. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  51. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  52. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  53. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  54. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  55. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  56. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  57. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  58. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  59. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  60. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  61. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  62. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  63. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  64. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  65. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  66. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  67. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  68. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  69. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  70. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  71. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  72. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  73. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  74. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  75. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  76. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  77. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  78. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  79. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  80. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  81. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  82. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  83. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  84. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  85. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  86. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  87. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  88. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  89. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  90. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  91. THE NATURE GAP
  92. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  93. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  94. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  95. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  96. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  97. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  98. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  99. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  100. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  101. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  102. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  103. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  104. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  105. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  106. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  107. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  108. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  109. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  110. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  111. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  112. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  113. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  114. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  115. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  116. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  117. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  118. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  119. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  120. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  121. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  122. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  123. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  124. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  125. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  126. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  127. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  128. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  129. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  130. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  131. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  132. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  133. 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
  134. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  135. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  136. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  137. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  138. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  139. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  140. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  141. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  142. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  143. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  144. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  145. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  146. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  147. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  148. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  149. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  150. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  151. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  152. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  153. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  154. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  155. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  156. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  157. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  158. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  159. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  160. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  161. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  162. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  163. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  164. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  165. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  166. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  167. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  168. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  169. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  170. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  171. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  172. Are You Going to Drink That?
  173. The Origins of ecoWURD
  174. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  175. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  176. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  177. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess

By David A. Love | ecoWURD Contributor

While the federal government was partially shutdown from an impasse over a $5.7 billion demand for a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka wrote a letter to President Trump.

“I am writing to express my deep concern that you are seriously thinking of declaring a national emergency to fund a proposed $5 billion border wall,” Baraka wrote in mid-January. “I want to bring your attention to a true emergency that puts millions of our citizens at risk: The decaying infrastructure of our water systems which has created a crisis in Newark, the State of New Jersey and across America.”

Baraka made a point: there really was no crisis on the border, so why use resources for a crisis that didn’t exist as opposed to dedicating money for a crisis that actually did? But, the former high school principal also had reason to openly worry.  He was facing a lawsuit since summer 2018 from the Natural Resources Defense Council which argued that his city’s lead-in-water poisoning was a lot bigger than what the city wanted to admit. For NRDC, it was so bad that the environmental advocacy organization designed a special page on its website about it. The water was never safe: Newark was faced with the state’s largest lead poisoning problem, according to the New Jersey health department. And it was a crisis where 13 percent of New Jersey’s children with elevated blood lead levels lived in Newark – yet, they constitute only 3.8 percent of the entire state’s under-18 population.

Pressed to get in front of it, Baraka didn’t want Newark becoming another public Flint – even though the NRDC said it already was. Yet, the mayor went national in a desperate move to spark conversation about who was suffering more and how much a concerted response would cost. “This crisis, mainly, affects older black and brown cities with limited resources and serious health issues that are systemically overlooked by every level of government,” argued Baraka. “It will cost an estimated $70 million to replace the lead service lines in Newark, hundreds of millions more to replace them in New Jersey, and an estimated $35 billion to replace all of the lead service lines in America.”

Baraka, however, could be on to something. America’s aging water infrastructure isn’t just old, it’s crumbling and dangerous.  The American Society of Civil Engineers even gives national drinking water quality an overall grade of “D” in its annual Infrastructure report card.  And with water systems under growing strains from population overuse, governments on the local, state and federal level have not prioritized how they’ll fix it. What’s worse is that underserved communities using toxic water supply are unwittingly exposed to poisons and an imperiled situation in which there is little recourse and few answers.  

REMEMBERING FLINT

These days, when the topic of environmental racism comes up, Flint, Michigan is the first thing most people think about. The rusty, economically depressed and majority-Black old manufacturing town of 96,000 residents has become synonymous with environmental injustice in the way that Chernobyl, Russia is forever implanted on the global map as ground zero for nuclear meltdowns. That’s made the Flint water crisis a flashpoint in the fight against environmental racism, triggering outrage and shedding light on the pervasive problem of water toxicity in America’s cities.  

But Flint was never a fluke. Not is it an outlier or a special case scenario. Water quality is a deadly serious issue.  And it is national – indeed, it is so widespread and disproportionately impactful on Black people and low income communities that we have yet to fully comprehend the enormity of it.

It always helps to recap on Flint, however, since the story is notoriously indicative of how much urban water quality is tied to governmental and institutional neglect. Problems surfaced when the state-appointed emergency financial manager in Flint decided to replace the city’s water source with the already toxic Flint River in an attempt to save money. Flint had drawn its water from Detroit, which sourced its water from the Detroit River and Lake Huron.

But, the state government’s bid to cut corners resulted in the lead poisoning of thousands of Flint residents who regularly accessed the tainted water through old and corroded pipes.Sadly, over 80 people were infected with Legionnaire’s Disease, from which at least a dozen died (that we know of). Studies also suggest there’s an entire generation of Flint children, mostly Black, who will suffer from lead-triggered chronic and neurological disease for years.  Officials denied there was a crisis, yet 15 current and former officials were officially charged. When Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (D) concluded that race and class were clear factors in the decision to switch the water supply, dictating the slow response by state authorities, then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) reportedly told her to “get over it.”   

The most prominent feature of this scandal: Flint’s population is 53.9 percent Black, and 41.2 percent of the city lives in poverty. Per capita income is $15,622, the median household income is $26,330, and the median home value is $28,200.

WATER QUALITY IS JUST AS BIG, JUST AS BAD

The unfortunate consequence of so much focus on climate change is the false public impression that the phenomenon explains everything wrong with the environment today.

But it’s not just climate change. That’s just one out of many variables creating ecological and public health calamities. Issues such as water quality, which was an issue long before climate change was even scientifically recognized, are an entirely separate space of environmental study. And through every season of climatic weather, whether hot or cold, the topic of water will always come up because every human being needs it. That’s a problem because there’s increasing evidence it’s getting dirtier with each passing year.  

Just like Flint, there are a lot of other cities with the same demographic features. The implications for Flint, a Black city poisoned and its health compromised, reverberate across the nation. As serious as the Flint water crisis has become, Flint does not stand alone, and it’s not even the worst example.

Reuters, for example, found that 3,810 neighborhoods had lead levels at least double the amount found in Flint’s water.  This was after a thorough examination of testing data from 34 states and the District of Columbia. In 1,300 of these communities, lead levels were at least four times higher.  

Philadelphia is among the most glaring instances of massive citywide lead poisoning. In 2014, Philadelphia –a city where 39 percent of the children live in poverty– tested nearly 36,000 children under the age of 7 and found that 10.2 percent had blood levels of 5 micrograms or higher, higher than the 3.3 percent of children who were tested in Flint. A Guardian investigation later discovered that Philly was one of 33 cities using water testing “cheats” to hide high contamination levels, reflecting poor testing found in places such as Flint. That lead problem in Philadelphia is compounded by lead-based paint in houses constructed before the 1978 federal ban.

Across the country, Black people are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning. This is especially the case in federally assisted housing where 48 percent of the residential population is Black – living on properties where HUD even admits 62,000 units require lead abatement. Meanwhile, Philly is just one of 18 cities in Pennsylvania – 11 in New Jersey – with a higher percentage of children suffering from elevated lead levels than Flint.

IS WATER BEING “WEAPONIZED?”

In 2016, 5,300 water systems serving nearly 18 million Americans were in violation of the EPA’s lead and copper rule, a 1991 regulation designed to protect public health through the monitoring of drinking water. As many as 63 million people were exposed to unsafe drinking water, particularly those living in poor, small and Black and Brown communities due to aging infrastructure and lack of funding to purchase equipment to filter out water contaminants, according to a News21 investigation.

A report from the nonprofit corrosion association NACE International found that the nation’s aging water infrastructure is an urgent problem and a threat to public health. Corroding water lines expose millions of Americans to dangerous levels of lead and other toxins. The price tag for replacing this decrepit U.S. water infrastructure, by NACE’s estimates: $80 billion per year (that dwarfs the figure in Baraka’s letter to Trump).

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning because “the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults.” It’s worse, says the EPA, for children. “Low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that public health action be taken when a child’s blood has 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter (µg/dL) or more.

Still, African Americans are more than twice as likely as Whites to live in homes with inferior plumbing, due to a legacy of discriminatory land use practices. Latinos and Native Americans suffer from disparities in access to safe drinking water, too.

Water has always played a crucial and tragic role in African American history, as Tyler Parry of California State University, Fullerton has aptly noted. “One finds that water holds a dual role in the history of Black culture and intellectual thought,” notes Parry. “In one sense, water is an arena for resistance that liberates, nourishes, and sanctifies a people, but it can also be weaponized by hegemonic forces seeking to degrade, poison, or eliminate rebellious populations.

Adds Parry: “Positioning water as a tool of violence in Black Atlantic history requires one to revisit the slave ship.”

There is a needed exercise to understand that, fundamentally, water, as nourishing as it’s viewed, has been historically weaponized against Black people. It oppressed ancestors by means of the slave ship dungeons that carried Africans across the Middle Passage and left millions of souls at the bottom of the Atlantic. Conversely, it also plays a central role in Black cultural rituals, as well as Black liberation from enslavement. Still, today’s crisis reveals a new and much more uncertain front Black people must face in a larger war for basic survival – and a simple glass of water.