NAACP on Climate Change
by Gaius Publius
What the NAACP has to say about Climate Change (h/t climate advocate Lowell Feld):
When folks think about climate change, the first things some people
think of are melting ice caps and suffering polar bears. However, many
fail to make the connection in terms of the direct impact on our own
lives, families, and communities.Climate Change is about Katrina, Rita, and Ike devastating
communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, Climate
Change is about our sisters and brothers in the Bahamas who will be
losing their homes to rising sea levels in the coming few years. Climate
Change is about people in Detroit, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere
who have died and are dying of exposure to toxins from coal fired power
plants.Climate Change is about sisters and brothers in West Virginia who are
breathing toxic ash from blasting for mountain top removal. Climate
Change is about our folks in Thibodeaux, Louisiana who are being forced
to move within the next 10 years because rising sea levels will result
in the submersion of the coastal land that is their home currently.It’s about the fact that race–over class–is the number one
indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country. Climate
change is about the fact that in our communities it is far easier to
find a bag of Cheetos than a carton of strawberries.Climate Change is about us.
Maybe these issues aren’t as silo’d as they look.
GP
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