Q+A with Air Alliance Houston

Know more about the Gulf Coast area of Texas with Alex Spike, Climate Justice Coordinator, and Genesis Granados, Environmental Justice Outreach Coordinator- representatives of the organization

WHAT DOES AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON DO?

Our mission is to reduce the public health impacts of air pollution through research, education, and advocacy because we believe everyone has a right to breathe clean air regardless of where they live, learn, work, worship, and play. We focus these efforts on empowering impacted communities to take back their power over local environmental decision-making. Currently, some of our campaigns focus on shutting down polluting facilities such as WA Parish in Fort Bend County, starting conversations on equitable decarbonization and carbon capture, and transportation justice.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES THAT YOU’RE UP AGAINST?

One of the main issues has been the reliance on industry. Texas is one of the largest oil-producing states in the US and our economy relies on oil and gas. Renewable solutions are often met with disdain because of short-term costs related to implementation, even though in the long term they are more beneficial for the environment (and can keep pace with and often even outperform fossil fuels). Many people rely on the industry for their livelihoods, so it can be difficult to engage the community due to fear of retaliation from their employers. Individuals might be aware of air pollution but becoming involved in holding industry accountable feels impossible. The energy at a personal level is also something that can run dry. There are many leaders in the movement that experience burnout because of the endless uphill work compounded by the personal trauma they have experienced from environmental injustices.

WHAT CLIMATE WINS ARE YOU CELEBRATING AND WHAT DOES VICTORY LOOK LIKE?

This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many answers and, ultimately, victory must be envisioned by the individuals who have been harmed. At the end of the day, we want climate justice that is inclusive of holding industry accountable, provides mitigation and reparations to the communities impacted (specifically labor and BIPOC communities), and works together for a sustainable and equitable future. This can be achieved, for example, by switching to low-carbon transportation, switching energy production away from coal, gas, and oil, and preserving and expanding more of our critical coastal wetland prairie. It will be difficult to make happen but not impossible. Our limits today are the lack of social-political will.

Some specific actions that we are proud of include our Community Air Monitoring Program, the effort to push the Port of Houston to use clean technology in the Ship Channel Expansion (‘Project 11’), and the introduction of AirMail. Our Community Air Monitoring Program, currently present in five Houston area neighborhoods, is a great way for the community to have access to air pollution data that would otherwise be inaccessible due to the gaps in the regional air monitoring network and lack of public outreach by facilities. Similarly. Project 11 is a multi-million dollar operation with catastrophic environmental and health impacts- so far, the Port has made a promise to the community to use cleaner technology, and we are aiming for their contracts with the Army Corps to reflect that and set a strong example for future projects. AirMail is an incredible tool that alerts us and residents of facilities requesting new permits- we are heavily involved in the permitting process and have successfully stopped the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from granting harmful permits to toxic facilities in some cases. These efforts are only possible with the community at the forefront of every discussion.

WHO IS STANDING IN YOUR WAY OF MAKING THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE? WHO ARE THE VILLAINS?

Our villains are the oil and gas industry, misguided planning, and lack of political will. For example, why does transit take ten years to build, why do we need study after study assessing the ‘viability of closing coal plants, and why do we have to hope Exxon, Shell, Valero or Calpine realize their errors and mobilize their immense resources toward climate adaptation and mitigation? Our ‘villain’ is the whole political-economic ecosystem that spawned this world-altering crisis.

WHAT OTHER MAJOR ISSUES DOES AIR QUALITY INTERSECT WITH?

Air is not static; it knows no boundaries! It’s also essential. When we are born, breathing is our first function in the world. The quality of our air doesn’t exist in isolation from other injustices. It very starkly parallels racial inequality, transit inequity, and the burden of climate change. To address one of these without challenging the others is wholly inadequate. Our team also has a diverse set of career and life experiences that inform the implementation of our mission and make it intersectional. For example, some folx have a background in reproductive justice, and they connect air quality impacts to reproductive outcomes and choices. It is also vitally important to this movement to be inclusive of all people and advance their self-determination to live in a safe, pollution-free, and accessible environment. This is why challenging climate change is so daunting: it is all-encompassing.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Two of the most important climate issues in Houston are shut]ing down the largest coal-fired power plant in Texas @shutdownparish and preventing the expansion of urban freeways with @stoptdoti45. We need nothing short of complete victory on both fronts to help slow, avert, and reverse global warming.
• Visit our website at airalliancehouston.org to learn more about our campaigns (e.g, Building healthy communities, Supporting sustainable and equitable transportation, Protecting against chemical disasters,
  Monitoring our air). Then sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social (@airalliancehou) for real-time “calls to action, such as for public hearings and advocacy events.