NEW
ORLEANS - What we once called home is now
a toxic wasteland. But our communities
were polluted even before Hurricane Katrina. The
85-mile stretch from New Orleans to Baton Rouge
is home to many African-American communities, as
well as 136 petrochemical plants and six refineries.
At the Deep South Center for
Environmental Justice at Xavier University, I work
with these “Cancer Alley” communities.
I have learned how the use of fossil fuels hits
us hard at the front end, through pollution from
the production process. But we also suffer from
a “boomerang” effect: the increased
extreme weather patterns caused by global warming.
Until Aug. 29, 2005, this was just a scientific
theory for many people. But on that day the predictions
became reality and my beloved city was washed away.
The situation in New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast has pushed three critical issues
into the national spotlight. First, Hurricane Katrina
dramatically demonstrates our vulnerability to environmental
disasters. Second, America still suffers from gross
economic inequalities, and these inequalities largely
coincide with race. Third, these two issues are
linked, and the results can be deadly.
Here lies the root cause of the
problems that we’ve seen in New Orleans and
the Gulf Coast - the environmental and economic
vulnerability of people of color and poor communities.
There are two terms that aptly describe these intersections
of race, class and the environment: “environmental
injustice” and “environmental racism.”
Race played itself out in a poisonous
way. Somehow, the French Quarter and the rich uptown
area and the Central Business District were spared
the brunt of the storm. The areas that were completely
washed out were the lower 9th Ward, a community
of poor working class, mostly African-American homeowners,
and the New Orleans East area, composed of mostly
African-American educated professionals and business
owners.
Both areas have a history of
political engagement and high voter turn-out. Ironically,
a large area of wealthy white citizens who mostly
lived very near Lake Pontchartrain, called Lakeview
and the University of New Orleans, also went down
in the flood. The 17th Street Canal did not hold
for them. The lesson learned here is that “doing
for the least of us helps all of us.”
Katrina is a test of how America
should respond to the effects of global warming.
It is a test that we are largely failing. Environmental
scientists and activists have warned that warming
ocean waters will increase the frequency and intensity
of these storms. They have also warned that the
working poor and people of color would bear the
brunt of climate change impacts at home and abroad.
To address these issues, we need
to begin reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
We must learn to build cities and towns that are
less environmentally vulnerable and more sustainable.
We need to address the root cause and protect against
the impacts that are already coming.
I know in my heart that New Orleans
will be rebuilt. But who will do the rebuilding?
The reconstruction of the city should not be controlled
by government bureaucracies or a handful of giant
corporations. Local people must be involved. Community
organizations, small-business owners, churches,
workers and families must be included at every step
of the way.
People in these communities know
the landscape and culture of New Orleans and should
lead the efforts to rebuild. Support should be given
to organizations in poor and minority communities
that are working on education, job placement, environmental
protection and improved health care, to name just
a few key issues.
Seeing tens of thousands of African
Americans camped day after day in front of the Superdome
did what thousands of academic studies and political
campaigns could not do - it brought empathy back
to the debate about race. The rescue and relief
efforts are a priority for now, but we must address
the root causes of the disaster: environmental racism
and environmental injustice.
The images of victims left stranded
with little food or water must be changed into pictures
of the same individuals as victors rebuilding their
communities and environments with all the resources
that they need. That change will bring “environmental
justice.” An opportunity like this comes but
once a generation.
If the experience in New Orleans
has taught us anything, it is that we cannot afford
to delay. Now is our time to shine.
