Activity 10- Sharmaine Dais

For this activity I looked at an issue that is very pressing- Environmental Justice. According the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Justice is "as fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people--regardless of race, color, national origin or income-- with respect to development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." This is no doubt a very important issue, so I decided to investigate three Environmental Justice Organizations. The first one is Sustainable South Bronx (SSBX). SSBx "is a community organization dedicated to Environmental Justice solutions through innovative, economically sustainable projects that are informed by community needs" (http://ssbx.org/index.php?link=2#history). They identify their most pressing issue is with the industrialization of the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. The residents there do not have the same level of health and living conditions as other neighborhoods do. They have one of the most impoverished areas with a lack of jobs which effects all residents. The next organization I looked into was WE ACT. "WE ACT for Environmental Justice (West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc.) is a non-profit, community-based, environmental justice organization dedicated to building community power to fight environmental racism and improve environmental health, protection and policy in communities of color. WE ACT accomplishes this mission through community organizing, education and training, advocacy and research, and public policy development" (http://www.weact.org/Home/tabid/162/Default.aspx). The most important issue in that area is currently the Gentrification of 125th Street. Another issue is the "GO Green project." The last organization is New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYCEJA). They identified their main issue to be about how to effectively advocate in behave of resides and community organization and support. This subject of environmental justice is very important, especially if you live in the aforementioned communities. Hopefully this blog will spread awareness on this topic.