Trump's planned EPA cuts will hit America's most vulnerable

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kimi Wei <kimi () thewei com>
Date: Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 8:58 PM
Subject: Trump's planned EPA cuts will hit America's most vulnerable
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>


The Guardian - Op-Ed, June 15, 2017
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/15/trumps-planned-epa-cuts-americas-most-vulnerable

Trump's planned EPA cuts will hit America's most vulnerable
by Mustafa Santiago Ali

The Trump Administration is using a deliberate and systematic approach to
undermine, weaken and dis-empower America’s most vulnerable communities.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed budget cuts
are a clear-cut example of this ongoing attack. The cuts will gravely
reduce the ability to enhance communities across the United States –
including low-income communities made up of white, blacks, Latino,
Indigenous and Asian Americans, in urban and rural settings alike.

As President Trump’s appointed leader of the EPA gets set to testify on
Capitol Hill this Thursday, it is important to understand the consequences
of the actions they want to take. The bottom line is that real people will
get sick and many will prematurely die. Communities, particularly our most
vulnerable, will greatly suffer if these cuts happen.

The road the Trump Administration is taking us down puts us full-speed in
reverse. Almost like a scene from “Back to the Future”, their actions would
embrace a time when rivers caught fire and air pollution darkened the skies
over our cities. A time when many communities of color were relegated to
the back of the bus and their voices did not have an influence of the
decision making process. Yep, the good ol’ days were actually not so good
for many of our citizens.

It is no secret on where the Trump Administration is getting their ideas.
They are running a systematic playbook put together by The Heritage
Foundation, a “conservative” think-tank that has been around since the
1980s and is well funded by the infamous Koch brothers, amongst other
individuals and corporations.

Their main office is just steps from the United States Capitol and halls of
Congress, where they wield unparalleled influence. Executing this game-plan
is a far-cry from the “helping the little-guy” and “draining of the DC
swamp” mantra the President continues to taut. If you want to see what they
will try to do next, just take a look at their report.

The proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget slashes the protections that EPA
provides, as well as the workforce made up of good and honest people
working long and difficult hours to uphold them. These protections are in
place for a reason, each having been thoroughly developed after years of
public input from millions of individuals across the United States.

They are in place as safeguards to protect us from harmful air and water
impacts from industry polluters. They are there to responsibly clean-up and
enhance designated toxic areas. And they are there to protect us from the
deadly impacts of climate change happening now and lessening these impacts
for our kids in the future. In essence, these protections are in place for
people and made by the people.

One of the initiatives the proposed budget takes a major axe to is the EPA
Brownfields Job Training Program, which couples workforce development with
environmental cleanup efforts in communities burdened with a legacy of
industrial pollution.

Take Detroit, where a local group called The Green Door Initiative utilized
EPA’s program to create a technician jobs training program in 2011. Their
training allowed their community to address extreme unemployment and
underemployment among African American men in particular, while at the same
time addressing high levels of pollution.

The training turned over 200 individuals with structural barriers to
employment into assets for their local economy and providers for their
families. This initiative continues to pay dividends to this local
community by ridding the city of problematic toxic land and creating jobs
for members of this vulnerable community.

Amongst other consequences, the proposed elimination of EPA’s Office of
Environmental Justice (my former office) will disempower our most
vulnerable, like the Southeast Community in Newport News, Virginia.

For decades, this community has faced dire air quality due to a local power
plant pumping coal-dust into the atmosphere. A few years ago they were able
to take an EPA Environmental Justice Small Grant and turn it into a
multi-year advocacy campaign to raise awareness and establish a scientific
footing for concerns about the neighborhood’s disproportionate asthma rates.

This grant funding taught the community how to better protect their health
and also enhance the Southeast Asthma Network, allowing for greater reach,
with the addition of new partnerships and shared resources.

These programs pay big dividends for local communities. Spartanburg, South
Carolina, is undergoing a transformation from a contaminated, low-income
area into a livable and vibrant community. In 1998, EPA awarded the
community a $20,000 Environmental Justice Small Grant. The community has
leveraged that into more than $270m dollars in private and public funding
through partnerships with more than 140 organizations.

Much of this work has been led by local leader, Representative Harold
Mitchell, who started a Spartanburg non-profit organization called the
ReGenesis Project. ReGenesis worked with government and industry to
clean-up the Arkwright municipal dumpsite, a former fertilizer plant, and
six Brownfield and Superfundsites.

They demolished 184 substandard public housing units and built more than
500 new, single-family and multi-family units for rental and homeownership.
The community has seen the addition of community health centers, job
training and employment programs and increased retail development. The
community is also launching a 35 acre solar farm, which will create job
opportunities and lower electricity bills for local residents.

What we are currently seeing from the Trump Administration is a disconnect
from what hard working everyday citizens are asking for and a strategic
approach that is extinguishing the hope of our most vulnerable communities.
While we should be providing them with upward mobility, this administration
is removing basic protections and opportunities for our fellow humans and
countrymen.

I know these programs work. I have seen it across communities of all colors
and creeds. Let’s focus on revitalizing our most vulnerable communities. We
have an incredible opportunity to support the vision of these communities
and focus on building them up, strengthening our country from the ground
up. We need to do everything we can to lift our most vulnerable communities
and move them from surviving to thriving.


Kimi Wei
kimi () thewei com  @kimiwei
facebook.com/thekimiwei
862-203-8814



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170617222246:027B9218-53CD-11E7-9833-F4ABCFB1BE48
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com