Imagine if the billion-dollar companies that run oil refineries or chemical plants could ask the government for permission to spew more pollution into the air with less hassle than it takes to renew your driver’s license. That’s now a reality. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has created a shortcut for fossil fuel and chemical […]
EPA
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Living in Industry’s Shadow: How Black Communities Are Left Behind by EPA Cuts
From Gary, Indiana’s steel mills to the oil refineries of Beaumont, Texas, and the toxic waste sites in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point, Black communities across the country are living with the harsh realities of industrial pollution. As the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations are rolled back, efforts to address these toxic hazards in these areas […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
What Trump’s Cabinet Picks Mean for Black Americans as Hearings Continue
President Donald Trump’s picks for key positions in his second administration continue their Senate confirmation hearings, which began on Jan. 14. Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for Secretary of the Department of State, was the first to win confirmation, gliding through the process. On the other hand, Pete Hegseth, selected to be the Secretary of the […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
EPA Rollbacks Mean More Pollution, Less Justice for Black Communities
For a quarter of a century, a Black neighborhood in Beaumont, Texas, where Chris Jones lives has been the subject of two federal civil rights investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency that explore the role of race in his community’s disproportionately high levels of air pollution. In San Francisco, Kamillah Ealom’s neighborhood has been the […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Unsafe Water
Millions Face Toxic Water as Trump Reverses Key Environmental Reforms
Less than a year ago, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the first national plan to remove lead pipes and limit the levels of harmful chemicals in drinking water — and they chose to do so in front of Black North Carolinians. For decades, residents in the Tar Heel State have been concerned by […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Michael Regan Rebuilt the EPA, but Did It Deliver for Black Communities?
When the Environmental Protection Agency dropped a civil rights investigation last year and subsequently weakened the civil rights complaint process, it dealt a blow to the legacy of the first Black man to lead the agency. This decision underscored the immense challenges the agency’s former head, Michael Regan, faced during his tenure, where the weight […]
Posted inInfrastructure, Unsafe Water
The Sewage Crisis Drowning America’s Poorest Town
Each time it rains, even if it’s just a light rainfall, the streets of Cahokia Heights, Illinois, flood. But that’s not all. Those floodwaters bring in a nightmarish brown tide, a disgusting slurry that engulfs the area, dragging with it the stench of human excrement and decay. With such constant and high floodwaters, people have […]
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 inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Partner Content
As Baltimore’s Sewer System Buckles Under Extreme Weather, City Refuses to Help Residents With Cleanup Efforts
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here. A sewage cleanup program meant to assist Baltimore residents with backups in their homes has been in limbo for more than a year because of […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Jackson’s Water Is Still Brown. The EPA Says That’s Not Discrimination.
As a child, Brooke Floyd wondered why her grandmother cooked all her food and washed all her dishes with bottled water. As an adult living in Jackson, Mississippi, it became clear. After a storm damaged a water treatment plant in 2022, leaving most of the majority-Black city without water flowing through their faucets for weeks, […]
