 Residents Protect Their Environment and HealthGreenaction Educates Communities Most Affected by Environmental Health HazardsBy David B. Littlefield In both rural and urban areas across California, residents of low-income and predominantly minority communities are often exposed to high levels of air pollution, toxins and other types of hazardous waste simply because of where they live. Their communities are often located in areas where pollution-intensive industries and waste sites operate or are near freeways and ports with heavy diesel truck traffic.
“One strategy for improving the health of these communities is to give residents the tools to empower themselves to promote communitywide environmental health and education, said Earl Lui, TCWF program director. “Organizations that undertake this work educate local residents on pertinent issues such as the health effects of particular toxins, the sources of environmental health hazards in the community, and ways to prevent orreduce exposure.” Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice (Greenaction) received a three-year, $225,000 grant from TCWF in June 2008 to provide its environmental health education programs and leadership training in impacted communities ranging from Bayview-Hunters Point and Richmond in the Bay Area to small towns in the Central Valley, including Kettleman City. Greenaction was founded in 1997 by a diverse group of community environmental justice leaders living on the front lines of impacted communities. They recognized the need for a grassroots-level organization to work in underserved communities to complement national campaigns and other work by mainstream environmental groups. In Kettleman City, a small farmworker town, Greenaction is helping families fight the proposed expansion of a toxic waste dump for harmful chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were widely used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment before being banned because of their damaging environmental health effects. "It's lots of long, patient work around the kitchen table," said Bradley Angel, Greenaction executive director. "We help adults and youth build confidence to speak out on behalf of their community - to be factual while speaking from the heart."  Greenaction helped to organize residents of Kettleman City, a small farmworker town in the Central Valley, to voice opposition to the expansion of a local toxic waste dump at a “listening session” with elected officials and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leaders.
Ultimately, Greenaction’s goal is to build community members’ capacity to raise awareness among their neighbors; engage local media to report stories about environmental health threats; and advocate for policy changes with local, state and even national policymakers and regulators, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Another area of focus is to help create sustainable local organizations so that training is also provided on fundraising, membership development and board development. In addition to working with communities on an individual basis, Greenaction builds links and partnerships among affected communities. For example, some of the new PCB waste destined for the dump in Kettleman City is from Hunters Point, and is being relocated as a result of Greenaction’s work with that community to clean up pollution there. Recognizing the injustice of moving these chemicals from one low-income community to another, mothers from Hunters Point have traveled to Kettleman City to attend meetings and rallies to help reinforce the shared interest of families in both communities to raise their children in an environment without harmful pollution. For more information, visit www.greenaction.org. |