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

Pandemic and climate crisis have a lot more in common than we think – they’re both forms of environmental injustice

 

Charles Ellison | ecoWURD | Managing Editor

 

With the 2020 election over, and a new Biden administration expected in 2021, there will be more than a few urgent priorities dropped in the new president’s lap. At the top of that list will be coronavirus, of course: from how to manage it to eradicating and then helping the economy recover from it in the post-pandemic landscape.

 

However, there will be two big priorities to contend with. As urgent as putting a lid on the pandemic is the growing threat of climate change as it evolves into climate crisis. This year found us all witnessing a surrealistic, sci fi movie-like convergence of numerous social fabric destabilization events. Of the more prominent were uncontrollable climate-related disasters: a record hurricane season just ending, epic wildfires devouring entire states and record-cracking heat waves. As all of this happened, adding new stresses and strains on emergency management systems, we also witnessed very little federal government interest in commanding an effective national response. Cities and states, along with their constituents, were left to their own devices.

 

The expectation that the incoming Biden administration plans to address both 1) coronavirus and 2) climate change aggressively is a promising sign.  How much fruit those efforts bear, still, will largely depend on other political factors such as the political composition of Congress and how much of a role state and local policymakers play – not to mention how far the private sector goes without stalling itself over “free market” worries.

 

To arrive at success, equity and inclusion should be included as key benchmarks. Both coronavirus and environmental climate concerns are environmental justice issues; they both meet at the intersection of racial and vulnerable population imperatives – and they are both determined by struggles over the spaces people live in. Communities devastated the most by both sets of catastrophes, particularly Black communities, could insert themselves as leaders on both issues, setting the agenda and pace for success – and not only as primary victims and targets of the circumstances created by these disasters, but as primary subject matter experts.

 

Environmental injustice is fast evolving into, arguably, the most significant problem of the 21st century – indeed the most urgent problem facing historically marginalized Black people in the United States (and throughout the global Black diaspora for that matter).  Stressors triggered by climate calamities and public health crises are creating conditions for increased income inequality and hyper-scarcity. These conditions make existing challenges like racism much worse.

 

Coronavirus and climate crisis are both forms of environmental injustice. The extent of coronavirus’ destruction on Black, Brown and Indigenous communities depends greatly on proximity: where do those communities live, are the living spaces and neighborhoods dense, thereby disallowing preventative measures such as ‘social distancing?’ How much reliable, well-resourced and responsive healthcare do they have access to? How prevalent is chronic disease in those communities since COVID-19 infection can aggravate what are called ‘co-morbidities?” In the case of climate crisis, it’s also a war over space or the spaces people live in: Are the places where people live most vulnerable to events like heat waves, flooding and hurricanes?  Can these communities access resources to escape impending climate events – or do they have enough assets (like home and flood insurance) to respond to those events when they happen?  Do these climate-related events prevent access to quality healthcare?

 

With both issues growing and intersecting, impacted communities are in a perfect position to lead through agenda-setting. Extra advocacy on coronavirus public health and economic relief can lead to progress on a wide range of issues, especially as it relates to healthcare, income disposition and education innovations. Pandemic recovery shouldn’t just mean the end of COVID-19 through vaccine distribution, it should also entail the end of health disparities, mass unemployment and academic achievement gaps that are exacerbated as a result of high infection rates. “We talk a lot about the average 2 deaths per day resulting from police violence. But we never really mention the more than 274 deaths per day, on average, attributed to some form of racial bias in healthcare,” Kevin Ahmad-Jenkins, a social epidemiologist who lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, tells ecoWURD. “That results in an estimated annual loss of more than $1 trillion … that we know of.”

 

“But, there are no protests. We need to get people to care about the statistics.”

 

Resolving those social and economic justice issues in ambitious coronavirus “stimulus” could also be bolstered by climate crisis-driven stimulus. Both “Marshall Plan”-style relief packages should contain features that simultaneously 1) invest in communities while 2) eliminating the disparities and discrimination they’re constantly faced with. A “climate crisis” stimulus would include the large-scale creation of new clean energy and so-called “green” economies that are centered around complete environmental health and remediation. That translates into greater public health returns, job growth and wealth generation through the incubation of Black-owned sustainable start-ups. Recent research shows that the expansion of “green” or “clean energy jobs” actually reduces wage inequality. “Mean hourly wages in each major category of green jobs (clean energy production, energy efficiency, and environmental management), were above the national average by at least $2 per hour,” cites Amanda Novello and Greg Carlock in a Century Foundation briefing. “Wages in each category were also at or above $15 per hour for the lowest decile of earners, at least $4 per hour above earnings at the low-end for all workers nationally. Out of all occupations nationally, over 30 percent of workers earn under $15 per hour, whereas that figure is around only 4 percent of green workers. Notably, in effect, there is less income inequality within green jobs than the national average, despite there being lower educational requirements, on average, than jobs nationally.”

 

This is crucial in a pandemic moment where more than 40 percent of Black-owned businesses have already closed this year alone, with more expected.  A smart mix of coronavirus and climate crisis stimulus, dominated by a Black “Health, Wealth and Education” agenda, can offer an opportunity for these communities to become frontline stewards of the environment and public health as they re-invent themselves into first wave participants in a re-energized economy.