Originally Published with WWNO Louisiana’s Republican governor is opening the door wider to industry. But the voices opposed to the expansion of oil, gas and petrochemicals here — and its impact on vulnerable communities — are stronger than ever. A collection of local nonprofits and grassroots organizations leading the charge have something in common: They’re led […]
Air Pollution
Posted inAir Pollution, Health, Maternal Health
Toxic Air and a Maternal Mortality Crisis in America’s Steel Town
This series was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship. Kimmie Gordon sat in her car, watching the sky darken as she waited for her 15-year-old son, Kaleb, to finish football practice. It is one of five sports her teenager plays despite living with chronic asthma. Over an hour stretched on, but […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
America’s Rural South Is Paying the Price for Europe’s Energy
Treva Gear doesn’t want the forest in her town of Adel, Georgia, to be the next place “sacrificed” for someone else’s energy needs. However, a new tax credit proposed in the nation’s largest climate spending bill may make it more likely for her community and dozens of others. The credit could accelerate the construction of […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
The Court Ruling That Guarantees a Future of Environmental Racism
About 45 minutes from New Orleans, cities founded by formerly enslaved people make up St. John the Baptist Parish. As the regional economy has shifted from chains and plantation slavery to smokestacks and petrochemical plants, their descendants still make up most of the people who live there. Those original deadly threats have not disappeared. Today, parts […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
Biden’s $150M Cancer Pledge Clashes with Reality in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley
NEW ORLEANS — In one of President Joe Biden’s first public appearances since ending his reelection campaign, he spoke on something very personal to him — cancer. But Louisiana’s Black activists say he still missed the point. Over the past decade, Biden has not shied from explaining how the life of his son, Beau Biden, […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather
More Than Half of Houstonians Say They Might Move. Here’s Why.
After learning that forecasters predicted a record-breaking hurricane season this year, Marilyn Rayon and her husband, Leo, spent thousands of dollars to trim trees and shrubbery around their home so a storm wouldn’t throw them into their house. They took a practical precaution, heeding the warnings of elected officials and weather experts. Their utility company, […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Partner Content
Republican Lawmakers Take Aim at Community Air Monitoring in Louisiana
Originally published by Floodlight. In 2022, decades of advocacy by the Louisiana Environmental Action Network to address poor air quality near industrial facilities took a significant leap forward. That’s when the Biden administration awarded more than $50 million through the Inflation Reduction Act to increase air quality monitoring in some U.S. communities historically overburdened by […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Land Pollution
This Environmental Victory May Reinforce Injustices in Black Communities
While virtually every environmental group across the nation celebrated the Biden administration’s historic steps to lower pollution last month, John Beard sat patiently. After years of advocacy and hundreds of scientific studies, the federal government designated two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances. This move makes it easier to mandate the removal of these man-made compounds […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Health, Partner Content
More Than a Third of All Americans Live in Communities with ‘Hazardous’ Air
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. Within 5 miles of Kim Gaddy’s home in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey, lies the nation’s third-busiest shipping port, 13th-busiest airport, and roughly a half dozen major roadways. All told, transportation experts say, the area where Gaddy and her neighbors live sees an average […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Partner Content
23 States Ask EPA to Halt Civil Rights Rules Regulating Pollution
Echoing arguments similar to those used by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action, Republican attorneys general from 23 states petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week to stop taking race into account when regulating pollution. The petition, authored by the office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, was filed […]