Transcript:
As people burn fossil fuels, the climate is warming around the world. But the impacts of climate change harm some communities more than others.
Bullard: “The climate justice movement is about … addressing the needs of communities that are on the front line and that are feeling the impacts of climate change now, right now.”
Robert Bullard is the director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University in Houston.
He says communities’ vulnerability to climate change is often rooted in history.
For example, in many cities, racist housing practices called redlining created neighborhoods that received lower levels of investment for generations.
So today, those neighborhoods may have fewer trees and outdated stormwater systems – leaving residents more exposed to extreme heat and flooding.
And low-income communities are more likely to be located near polluting factories and power plants.
Bullard: “Zoning and planning have allowed industrial facilities to locate on top of communities, next to communities, and create these environmental sacrifice zones.”
So he says climate justice is about taking steps to repair these harms – so no community is left behind to suffer – and all have a chance to thrive.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
