Friend,

In an election year marked by a national reckoning with structural racism and an escalating climate crisis, there is more and more talk -- from the campaign trail to social media -- about the need for environmental justice.

Read our new policy memo, written alongside our friends at Dēmos, to learn how Congress and the next president can take action on equity mapping, which will take us from talking the talk on environmental justice to walking the walk.

So what is equity mapping? Equity maps give policymakers the data-driven tools to identify which communities are experiencing cumulative impacts from environmental and social harms. Through equity mapping, we can finally understand the extent that racist practices like decades of permitting polluting fossil fuel power plants in low-income and communities of color have on a national scale. And this idea is popular with voters! According to a new Data for Progress poll, 67% of voters support equity mapping.

The EPA launched a basic equity mapping tool called EJSCREEN a decade ago, but its characterization of environmental burdens is woefully deficient. In fact, Senator Elizabeth Warren, in conjunction with our memo's release, sent a letter today to the EPA saying as much.

Just like the climate crisis, decisively addressing environmental racism calls for a national approach -- one that accounts for the cumulative impacts that pollution and economic inequality have had on frontline communities throughout the country. That's exactly what our memo proposes.

We are proud that Evergreen's policy team had a hand in influencing the Biden-Harris climate plan, which calls for 40% of green investments to go toward frontline communities. That's the "what" that needs to be done. The "why" is devastatingly clear. Our new memo describes the "how," which will be a keystone policy for the next presidential administration to achieve both climate and environmental justice.

If you care about environmental justice, read the Evergreen/Dēmos policy memo to learn how we can go from talking about it to making it a reality.

For all the data behind it, equity mapping isn't about parts per million; it's about people. It's about investing resources in a way that makes frontline communities safer, healthier, and more resilient -- physically and economically. And it's about creating environmental and economic policies in America that are defined by justice and inclusion, not racism and exclusion.

Thank you for reading,

Maggie Thomas
Political Director, Evergreen