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Richmond, California is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, world-renowned for its natural coastal beauty. Though Richmond enjoys the ocean breezes like many of its neighbors, those breezes often come laden with chemical fumes, hazardous waste residues, and particulate matter. Richmond is one of the lowest-income communities in the Bay Area. It’s also one of the most toxic. But in recent years, Richmond’s also become a leader in the growing environmental justice movement, due in large part to lots of grassroots community action. On this edition, we’ll hear how community activists in this heavily polluted area are coming together to fight for environmental justice.

Special thanks to Richmond Confidential, a project of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, and reporter Sara Bernard.

Featuring:
Sherry Padgett, community activist; Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of Richmond, California; Eric Blum, filmmaker; Sandy Saeturn, Asian Pacific Environmental Network organizer; Jessica Tovar, Communities for a Better Environment organizer; Nile Malloy, Communities for a Better Environment Program Director

For More Information:
Communities for a Better Environment
Asian-Pacific Environmental Network
West County Toxics Coalition

Articles:
Pollution, Poverty, and People of Color
Zeneca, Richmond – Public Health Activities
State Fines UC, Zeneca for Richmond Toxic Disposal
Mesothelioma
Environmental Justice Case Study: West County Toxics Coalition and the Chevron Refinery
Years Later, Chemical Company Lot Still a Toxic Stew

Maps:

http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/12/07/richmonds-toxics/

http://www.ehib.org/cma/projects/Zenecamap.jpg

Tags: climate change, environment, environmental justice, food and agriculture, race

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2013 at 12:21 pm and is filed under Climate Justice, Environmental Desk, Public Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.