About a year ago I made a video about the crazy things going on in our world and how environmental justice (or environmental violence rather) was playing a significant role in racism and everything else going on. This was one of the first videos I made (so the quality was not as good as it is now) and I wanted to readdress my concerns. (Watch the original video here.) At the time I am writing this, there have been no recent news-breaking stories about environmental justice, which is of course a good thing. However, that is not to say bad things aren’t happening without being talked about. There definitely are some things that need to be talked about. That is what I am going to be doing today.
Numerous studies have shown that Black and Hispanic communities are exposed to higher proportions of air pollution, toxic waste sites, landfills, lead poisoning, and other industrial complexes compared to communities where the majority of people are white. And an estimated 70% of contaminated waste sites are located in low-income neighborhoods, and upwards of 2 million Americans live within a mile of sites that are vulnerable to flooding — the majority of which are in Black and Brown communities.
I think one thing that we really need to mention is how the Asian Community is impacted by environmental racism. Recently we have been able to acknowledge that we mistreat Asians often and the fossil fuel market is no exception. To begin, China is definitely overpopulated (and yes, I understand that for the most part, this doesn't apply to the AAPI community). This means the people who live in China, many of whom are Asian, are exposed to a lot of pollution. I think it is also important to recognize a ton of fast fashion comes from China. Think about how many times you’ve bought an item with a little sticker that says “made in China” or how many times that same phrase was on a tag for a piece of clothing. Almost all of these items can be categorized as fast fashion or at least cheaply made products. Not only are these items made with plastic, but the people in the country where the item was made are overworked. Lastly, you likely eat food every day that was grown in an Asian country. We simply don’t give enough thought to this. But again, that does not mean it doesn’t happen.
In terms of Asian Americans, they too don’t get the quality of life they deserve. First of all, it seems like no one talks about them, and what they face. Therefore no change is happening. Again, this gave me the reason to make this video. Because they are a minority in the US, Asians face similar struggles that other minorities are forced to deal with. They often can’t get clean air or the basic necessities they need. According to the EPA, Asian Americans and Hispanics in 2006 to 2008 had the greatest percentage of populations residing in counties where air quality did not meet EPA standards for particulate matter and ozone, compared with other populations. No one should have to live in a world like this. However, if we don’t start doing things differently, everyone, no matter where they live, will feel the significant impact of our rising temperatures.
So what can we do? We can stop buying fast fashion. This helps both directly and indirectly. We can also learn to buy local rather than from foreign countries regardless of what we purchase (food, clothes, toys, supplies, accessories, etc). Of course, we also need to start participating in protests for both the environment and minorities. Use your voice because silence is the most painful thing to hear. Together we can solve the climate crisis, but only together.
If this opened your eyes to the problems we are facing (or at least helped you understand something), please make sure you are subscribed so you can be notified when new posts come out. (Sign up below!) Until next time, peace.
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