Communities Affected by Hurricanes Need Climate Change Solutions

For environmental justice advocates like myself, hurricane season is always a nerve wracking time of year. Unless you have been on a media diet, you know that hurricanes devastated the United States, Puerto Rico and several other Caribbean islands this past month. The science tells us that warmer water due to climate change is making hurricanes more powerful and more frequent. Without addressing climate justice, there can be no environmental justice.

This means that unless we confront the causes of climate change, low income and communities of color will continue to be unfairly impacted by it.

In early September, Hurricane Harvey hit Southeast Texas killing 200 people. Then, Hurricane Irma in Florida and other areas of the Southeast killed at least seventy-five people across the state of Florida. Now, Hurricane Maria has impacted Puerto Rico, and the death toll is rising. While these numbers arelower than that of Hurricane Katrina’s, primarily due to emergency preparedness, recent hurricane survivors are faced with health issues in the aftermath. Environmental justice communities know these health impacts well — they are often the first and the worst hit by natural disasters. Several Environmental Justice Leadership Forum members were affected by hurricanes this month. Hilton Kelley from CIDA, Inc., evacuated his city of Port Arthur, Texas, with his family until recently because his house flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Juan Parras of T.E.J.A.S warned members of his Houston community about the pollutants released in the air. Unfortunately, these stories are not uncommon.

Read the rest of the story on our website: weact.org.