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| Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Pollution is often a consequence of racism. For example traffic-related air pollution, including diesel exhaust particulate matter, is disproportionately dumped in poor and non-white neighborhoods, leading to illness, disability, and death.
This year’s observance of Martin Luther King and his accomplishments often focused on environmental justice. Two of the best MLK Day articles on this subject are linked below
Why we still need to focus on environmental justice, Ensia
Environmental justice leader Dr. Robert D. Bullard always has important things to say about this subject. In this post he makes the point that ZIP code and race are often the best predictors of health and well-being, and answers the question,“In 2016, how can environmental issues become everyone’s issues?”
The racial justice issue that Americans must stop ignoring: Pollution, Salon
This article includes good information and thoughtful observations on pollution and its health effects in Newark, New Jersey by Dr. Bob Laumbach, associate professor of environment and occupational health at Rutgers School of Public Health.