The new administration in Washington has released an unprecedented series of executive orders, and rescinded many of the existing ones – including the environmental justice executive orders issued by Presidents Clinton and Biden. One executive order in particular calls for the elimination of all federal environmental justice efforts. From the language and proposed actions in this and other executive orders, it’s clear that the administration is waging a war on equity. And we have been raising this concern in the media over the past few days.
Peggy Shepard was featured in a USA Today article on the attacks on environmental justice in the executive orders. Two quotes that stood out:
“It really shows there is a war on equity and a real fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of environmental justice,” said Peggy Shepard, executive director and co-founder of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a national advocacy group based in New York City. “It ensures communities of color will feel the effects on their well-being.”
“They’re claiming that these environmental justice initiatives are illegal and discriminatory when these programs are actually there to reverse the discrimination that’s been occurring for decades,” Shepard said.
Peggy was also interviewed by E&E News on the new administration’s elimination of the existing environmental justice executive orders: “It's turning the clock back on decades of work,” said Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, based in New York. “They're working to eliminate policies and programs that support equity, support environmental and climate justice, and that's just going to harm the health and well-being of so many people in these disadvantaged communities.” This article also appeared in Scientific America.
Leslie Fields was quoted in another E&E News article on the new administration's executive orders: “These actions also place vulnerable communities in even greater danger from pollution and the dire, real-time consequences of the climate crisis,” Leslie Fields, chief federal officer at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, said in a statement. “In the face of these assaults, we will not stop pursuing justice.”
In the face of these assaults, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication shared a summary of an article published last year that shows how Americans overwhelmingly support climate justice. Manuel Salgado and Annika Larson were among the authors.
Peggy was also one of the climate experts profiled by Atmos offering advice on how to move forward under the new administration. Her comments included:
“Just as we did before, we will continue to resist on all fronts. We will work with our allies to track and defend every rule and regulation they attempt to roll back. We will aggressively pursue state legislation and help others do the same. And we will work together to publicly—and, whenever possible, legally—hold the next administration accountable for the damage it does to our environment and our communities.
“Those of us in the environmental justice movement understand the joy of resistance. We can and will be part of the solution. We’ve dug in and are prepared to give them the fight of their lives. We won’t go back!”
Finally, Harlem World provided some coverage of our One Harlem coalition and the demands it has made of Columbia University.
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