Environmental Justice

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected by pollution from various sources, such as power plants, transportation, and heavy industry.

Climate change affects all of us. But some groups of people are affected more severely than others.

Environmental justice means that every person, regardless of race, class, gender, nationality, etc., has the right to a safe and clean environment. It is the intersection of social justice and environmental health.

However, the right to a clean environment is not being granted to everyone. In the U.S. and across the globe, marginalized groups bear the brunt of climate injustices and disasters at rates that are grossly disproportionate to their environmental impact.

AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution kills an estimated 168 people a year in Connecticut, according to a 2016 NYU study.

A 2019 study found that on average, white individuals experience 17% less emissions compared to the emissions caused by their consumption, whereas Black and Latino individuals experience 56% and 63% more emissions than what they produce, respectively.

Higher rates of air pollution are linked to higher rates of asthma and other respiratory conditions, as well as higher rates of ADHD and learning disabilities. The prevalence of these conditions also falls along racial lines; in 2018, Black Americans were 42% more likely than white Americans to have asthma (10.9% versus 7.7%). Household income is also a factor; 11% of people living below the poverty level have asthma, while the percentage falls to 6.8% for people living 2x or more above the poverty threshold.

NATURAL DISASTERS

According to a 2021 EPA study, Black individuals are 40% more likely to live in areas with the highest projected increase in mortality rates due to extreme temperatures and sea level rise caused by climate change. Native Americans are 48% more likely to live in areas where the highest percentage of land is expected to be inundated due to sea level rise.

Lower-income households are also less able to move away from high-risk areas such as coastal flooding areas, areas with high heat, and areas with high wildfire risks, due to moving costs. These environmental factors can also make property values decrease, further trapping residents into staying in the area.

BROWNFIELDS & SUperFUND SITES

Brownfields are areas of land that have been abandoned due to pollution and toxic waste that has leached into the ground.

In the 1940s and '50s, near Niagara Falls in New York, a company buried drums containing 21,000 tons of hazardous chemicals into an abandoned excavation site known as Love Canal. These drums started to leak, and as groundwater levels rose, the water became contaminated. In the late 1970s, after complaints from households near the site, the EPA and New York State began investigating the contaminants. This resulted in President Carter establishing the Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area (EDA) in 1980. Of 1,050 families living near Love Canal, 950 were evacuated, and the evacuated homes were destroyed.

The severity of the site's consequences led to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) being passed in 1980. This act is also known as Superfund due to the funds that have been set aside for site cleanup and regulation enforcement. Hazardous waste sites that have been officially recognized by the EPA are known as Superfund sites.

Today, BIPOC make up over half of the population surrounding brownfields and Superfund sites.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Educate

Our briefing papers provide a foundational knowledge of environmental topics, including environmental justice. CTLCV also recommends that our members conduct their own research on the history of environmental racism in the United States. Knowledge makes us better advocates.

LEARN MORE HERE

Advocate

Contact your legislators about environmental concerns and stay engaged by tracking the bills CTLCV follows each session. CTLCV advocates for environmental justice through support for the Environmental Rights Amendment, clean air, housing equity, clean energy, education, waste reduction, water protection, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation.

Vote

Voting is essential for advancing environmental justice. By electing leaders who prioritize clean air, water, and equity, you help shape policies that protect vulnerable communities. CTLCV's scorecard is a valuable resource for identifying candidates committed to sustainability, enabling you to play a key role in creating a just and healthy future for all.

Environmental Scorecard

HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IN CT

BIPOC communities and low-income communities face higher rates of air pollution, water contamination, proximity to hazardous waste sites and other environmental hazards due to a number of factors. First, when a pollution source such as a factory or a brownfield is built near a residential area, those who cannot afford to move are trapped. Moreover, the presence of these pollutants decreases the property value in the area. This phenomenon stems from decades of history and housing discrimination.

When Black families started moving into white neighborhoods in the 1940s and '50s, they faced ostracization and hostility. White families started moving out of areas with more Black residents, and the Federal Housing Administration recommended that banks not offer housing loans to Black buyers or properties in BIPOC communities (known as redlining) because they felt that Black residents would cause property values to go down (even though they had no evidence for this). This exacerbated and set the precedent for the continued segregation of American communities.

In many towns and cites there were enclaves of Black residents in certain areas. These neighborhoods were targeted through the purposeful construction of infrastructure such as highways that were deliberately planned to go directly through those communities as a measure to displace Black residents. This infrastructure also brought more air pollution to the areas.

Though the Fair Housing Act in 1968 banned discriminatory practices in mortgages and real estate, the effects of redlining and housing injustice are still seen today. In many areas, especially in cities, residential areas are still racially segregated, and BIPOC communities still tend to be nearer to areas of high environmental risk due to the established communities there and lower housing costs.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN CONNECTICUT

In Connecticut there are over 600 potential pollution sources in each of our five major metropolitan towns: Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Waterbury. These five towns combined contain:

19% of the state's pollution.
20% of all potential pollution sources.
51% of all the state's population in poverty.
71% of the state's minority population.

Hartford's trash-to-energy incinerator produces 56% of its non-traffic air pollution. The four highways that run through the city account for 70% of its transportation-based carbon monoxide emissions.

11.8% of children in Connecticut are diagnosed with asthma, compared to 7.5% of children nationwide.

Again, Black and Brown communities are affected the most. According to the American Lung Association, in the US in 2018, 10.9% of Black residents and 12% of American Indian/Alaska Natives have asthma, compared to 7.7% of the white population.

“Asthma is an environmental justice issue. Because of Connecticut’s history of red-lining, exclusionary zoning, and other racially-motivated policies, traffic and industrial pollution is concentrated in communities of color. This leads to asthma hospitalization rates that are 2 to 3 times higher among Black and Latinos in Connecticut and asthma death rates that are 8 times higher among Black children when compared to white children. We must adopt policies that improve health for all, address climate change and also reduce health disparities. We must set specific statewide pollution reduction targets and allow our state environmental agency to deny permits for new pollution sources in overburdened communities, as bills SB 1145 and SB 1147 propose.”
- Mark Mitchell MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Climate Change, Energy, and Environmental Health Equity at George Mason University and Co-chair of the Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Council

CTLCV'S WORK

On February 13, 2023, CTLCV co-sponsored a Valentine’s Day Rally with the Sierra Club. Our staff and other advocates urged Governor Ned Lamont to stand by his commitment to 100% clean renewable energy and to transition the power plants that heat state buildings from being run by fossil fuels to clean energy.

The state of Connecticut had recently bought the Capitol Area System, a power plant utilized to heat state buildings in downtown Hartford. The plant had a history of polluting Hartford's air and water. We urged Gov. Lamont to uphold his commitment to achieving 100% clean renewable energy for Hartford by transitioning the power plant from fossil fuels to green energy.

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE​