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

A study shows dangerous racial and economic disparities in the destruction and protection of nature in America

 

Jenny Rowland Shea & Shanna Edberg | original Center for American Progress

Clean drinking water, clean air, public parks and beaches, biodiversity, and open spaces are shared goods to which every person in the United States has an equal right both in principle and in law. Nature is supposed to be a “great equalizer” whose services are free, universal, and accessible to all humans without discrimination.1 In reality, however, American society distributes nature’s benefits—and the effects of its destruction and decline—unequally by race, income, and age.

 

The nation’s recent reckoning with racism and violence against Black people has brought environmental injustices and disparities into long-overdue focus. The stories of Christian Cooper, threatened with violence and arrest while bird-watching in Central Park, and Ahmaud Arbery, murdered while jogging down a tree-lined street in coastal Georgia, are among the countless stories of Black, brown, and Indigenous people who, while seeking to enjoy the outdoors, have been threatened, killed, or made to feel unsafe or unwelcome.2

 

Meanwhile, long-running environmental injustices, such as the concentration of toxic air pollution and water pollution near communities of color, have been exacerbated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities experiencing higher virus-related hospitalization and death rates than white communities.3 Further, in many parts of the country, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed an uneven and inequitable distribution of nearby outdoor spaces for recreation, respite, and enjoyment. Particularly in communities of color and low-income communities, families have too few safe, close-to-home parks and coastlines where they are able to get outside.4 At this time of social distancing, when clean, fresh air is most wanted and needed, nature is out of reach for too many.

 

The unequal distribution of nature in America—and the unjust experiences that many people of color have in the outdoors—is a problem that national, state, and local leaders can no longer ignore. With scientists urging policymakers to protect at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and ocean by 2030 to address the biodiversity and climate crises, now is the time to imagine how, by protecting far more lands and waters over the next decade, the United States can guarantee every child in America the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of nature near their home.5

Using a new analysis by Conservation Science Partners (CSP), commissioned by Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF) and the Center for American Progress, this report examines the distribution of America’s remaining natural areas to understand the types and extent of disparities in nature access that exist in the United States.6 This report is intended to supplement, not supplant, the many individual voices and grassroots efforts that have been calling out and working to solve the many inequities and injustices in American natural resource policy. The data in this report help confirm the scale of racial and economic disparities in U.S. nature access. In particular, this report finds that the United States has fewer forests, streams, wetlands, and other natural places near where Black, Latino, and Asian American people live. Notably, families with children—especially families of color with children—have less access to nature nearby than the rest of the country. In other words, these communities are nature deprived.

 

These disparities are particularly concerning because nature is not an amenity but a necessity for everyone’s health and well-being. In the places where human activities in the United States have destroyed the most nature, there are fewer trees to filter the air and provide shade on a hot day; there are fewer wetlands and marshes to clean the water and to protect communities from floods and storm surges; there are fewer parks where children can grow their curiosity and fewer trails where adults can stretch their legs; and there are fewer public spaces where people of all races, cultures, and backgrounds can forge the common experiences and understandings that build respect, trust, and solidarity.7

 

To correct for the inequitable distribution of nature in America, among other barriers8 that racially and economically marginalized communities as well as LGBTQ and disabled people face to accessing the outdoors, this report puts forth several recommendations for policymakers to consider, including: creating more close-to-home outdoor opportunities in communities of color and low-income communities; changing hiring and workplace practices in government agencies, nonprofits, and foundations to create more representative leadership teams, boards, and staff; improving consultation with tribal nations and pursuing more opportunities for tribal co-management of natural resources; and working to overcome the nature gap among children by bolstering education and outreach programs. Broadly, however, the findings of this report affirm an urgent need for the United States to pursue an ambitious goal of protecting at least 30 percent of lands and ocean by 2030—and to do so in a way that ensures that nature’s benefits are more evenly and fairly distributed among all of the nation’s communities.

This report examines ethnic, racial, economic, and other demographic disparities in the current distribution of natural areas in the United States. It does not, however, pretend to offer a satisfactory or comprehensive answer to the questions of how and why these disparities emerged. Still, these questions are vitally important, and a deep-rooted body of scholarship and activism sheds light on the systems of power and white supremacy that have caused these disparities to emerge.9

 

One thing is worth stating upfront: The inequitable distribution of nature’s benefits in the United States is not the result of a consenting choice of communities of color or low-income communities to live near less nature, to allow more nature destruction nearby, or to give up their right to clean air and clean water.10 Nature deprivation is, instead, a consequence of a long history of systemic racism.

 

The data that CSP developed cannot be adequately analyzed without keeping this context of environmental racism in mind, including the following realities:

 

  • Discrimination and racism in the United States have had profound effects on human settlement patterns and on the patterns of protections for the nation’s remaining natural areas. Redlining, forced migration, and economic segregation are just a few of the unjust policies and forces that have created barriers to, and a gradient of distance from, the United States’ remaining natural areas for people of color.11

 

  • The history of public lands in the United States is rooted in the violent dispossession of lands from Native Americans. For centuries, settler-colonists on the North American continent displaced tribes from their ancestral homelands and engaged in the deliberate destruction of vital natural resources—many with economic and cultural significance—as a tool of genocide against the Indigenous population.12 This legacy continues in the U.S. government’s repeated failure to live up to its obligations to Indian Country that are enshrined in the treaties through which it acquired large swaths of Indian land.13 The federal government is legally required to ensure that tribes can access natural resources to protect their sovereignty, culture, and economic well-being.14 Too often, however, the government has sanctioned development that threatens sacred sites, weakens and circumvents tribal consultation, and ignores tribal concerns around environmental degradation.15

 

  • Historically, the United States has systematically segregated and excluded people of color from public lands and other natural places. Black people have experienced segregation from the Civilian Conservation Corps to the National Park System; the nation’s public lands, beaches, and other natural areas have also been venues in which communities of color have been the subject of legalized and institutionalized racism.16 The legacies of this exclusion persist in many forms, including in the continued underrepresentation of people of color in hiring at natural resource agencies as well as in the histories of different groups represented by national parks and public lands. It also affects visitation to national parks and other public lands and participation in outdoor recreation, as well as causes people of color to feel unwelcome or in danger in nature.17

 

  • People of color have been and continue to be the subject of violence, intimidation, and threats while in nature. The broader societal criminalization of people of color—and the accompanying threat of police brutality and even murder—can be exposed in parks and public lands.18 Participants in outdoor activities face the risk of being targeted, stereotyped, and harmed for simply enjoying nature or even trying to protect it, as was clear in the case of Christian Cooper.19 Experiences such as his led to the coining of the phrase “Birding While Black” to describe the risk, difficulties, and alienation that people of color endure in certain outdoor spaces.20

 

  • People of color have traditionally been excluded from the U.S. conservation movement. For more than a century, the movement to protect parks, public lands, and other natural places in the United States has been dominated by white people and perspectives.21 Discrimination and the framing of conservation priorities through this exclusive lens—bolstered by underrepresentation of people of color at the staff and leadership levels of conservation organizations, foundations, and natural resource agencies—has perpetuated the racial divide in nature access.22

 

It is important to recognize that people of color have long experienced unequal access to nature. The United States must not perpetuate existing inequities, which have a real cost in terms of the health and economic well-being of these communities.

“THE NATURE GAP” originally appears at the Center for American Progress. Weekly “CAP Corners” happen on WURD’s “Reality Check”