environmental racism

EPA Investigating Racism in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ Permitting Decisions

EPA Investigating Racism in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ Permitting Decisions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating whether the Louisiana state departments of Environmental Quality and Health illegally discriminated against black residents in permitting decisions regarding two chemical plants and a grain export terminal. Petitions to the EPA seeking an investigation allege the state departments failed to provide proper notice and comment opportunities to […]

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    Increased Flooding Due to Climate Change Will ‘Disproportionately’ Affect Black Communities, Study Finds

    Increased Flooding Due to Climate Change Will ‘Disproportionately’ Affect Black Communities, Study Finds

    Climate-caused flooding will increase in the next 30 years, causing billions of dollars of losses that will disproportionately affect Black communities in the United States, according to a new study. Flood risk will increase by 26 percent, especially on the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, where there is a greater threat of sea level rise and hurricanes are becoming more intense.

    Hundreds of Toxic Sites in California Could Flood Because of Sea Level Rise By 2100

    Hundreds of Toxic Sites in California Could Flood Because of Sea Level Rise By 2100

    A new California mapping project reveals another example of how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. The Toxic Tides project, unveiled during a virtual workshop Tuesday, maps more than 400 hazardous sites like power plants, refineries and toxic waste dumps that could flood if sea levels rise by more than three feet, […]

    Top Cancerous Air Pollution Sites in U.S. Revealed

    Top Cancerous Air Pollution Sites in U.S. Revealed

    An extensive analysis by ProPublica reveals a detailed map of more than 1,000 American communities that are hotspots for carcinogenic air pollution. The worst three are in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” five of the top 20 are in Texas, and predominantly Black areas experience double the cancer risk of white areas. “Go read this investigation on […]

    The People of the People’s Trail

    The People of the People’s Trail

    By Derrick Z. Jackson I am the very accidental Black nature lover. I was a typical urban boy in Milwaukee and a rabid sports fan in the 1960s. The most significant eagles to me played football in Philadelphia. The first cardinal I ever paid attention to was Bob Gibson throwing fastballs for St. Louis. My […]

    Los Angeles County Votes to End Oil and Gas Drilling

    Los Angeles County Votes to End Oil and Gas Drilling

    Los Angeles County supervisors on Wednesday voted to ban drilling in unincorporated areas and to phase out oil and gas drilling. There are currently 1,046 active wells, 637 idle wells, and 2,731 abandoned wells in unincorporated areas of the nation’s most populous county. according to a memo to the board dated June 3, 2021. County […]

    ‘Sometimes the Good Guys Win’: Byhalia Connection Pipeline Canceled

    ‘Sometimes the Good Guys Win’: Byhalia Connection Pipeline Canceled

    On the Friday before the extended July 4 weekend, the developers seeking to build the Byhalia Connection oil pipeline through predominantly Black neighborhoods called it quits. The companies blamed the coronavirus pandemic in an SEC filing, but the pipeline, described as a “reckless, racist rip-off” by former Vice President Al Gore had been fiercely opposed […]