The quest for Environmental Justice forges on to Washington D.C.

Ciel. A French word meaning, “heaven”. Also, another obscure acronym to add to the list of alphabetical agency jargon in Washington D.C. CIEL, the Center for International Environmental Law, is one among the many organizations we are visiting this week during our environmental policy making trip to Washington D.C.

Peace Corps economics volunteer in India, president of the student body at Harvard, and the former White House adviser, Mr. Dan Magraw, finished up teaching a class at Johns Hopkins before humbly offering his thoughts on human rights and the environment to the cohort. Donned in pink (yes, pink), strapped with a variegated bow tie, frazzled gray hair and a charming personality, I was comforted by his generous, humorous and passionate approach to engaging people all over the world.

Whether in the Maldives or the Amazon, CIEL is working on projects throughout the world, attempting to preserve the right to an environment capable of supporting a healthy society and an environment that allows for the realization of all other human rights. One project that piqued my interest was in the Arctic where Inuits are fighting for their rights to food, livelihood, property and culture amidst a climate of melting permafrost and changing sea temperatures. Through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, CIEL has partnered with some of these Inuit people to amplify their voice in the spaces that have the power to alter the current state of affairs, literally suing the United States of America. Magraw says CIEL may have “lost” in technical report terms, but considers every case a success by “forcing the conversation”. The “loss” forces inter-agency processes; it forces silo-ed sectors of governance to unite, collaborate, and listen to the scientific findings of each other; these environmental cases force the EPA to have rich discourse with “foes” such as Senator Inhoffe of Oklahoma.

Magraw also highlighted the importance of the “normative power of the absolute”, arguing that by actually doing things, these environmental realities are transformed from “pie in the sky BS” to implemented policies.

Arriving Friday, we enjoyed a weekend of freedom (how appropriate in the nation’s capitol) to peruse the city, absorbing the richness of culture, diversity, and history represented in the illustrious, sublime mastery of architecture and design. Monuments and museums echo the sagacious utterances of so many great heroes, big and small, soldier and president, citizen and martyr, and patriotic emotions abound.

We began our week Monday with a workshop conducted by Conituum, a global innovation design consultancy firm, who led us through a creative process of designing a sustainable waste management system for Costa Rica. Tuesday through Friday were filled with experiences similar to the CIEL visit descried above. Via security gates at USAID, identification cards at the World Bank, and several non-governmental organizations like CIEL, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), we have been exploring the world of international environmental policy making – what do these people really do andhow do they do it?

After a few days traversing the bustling streets of one of the most powerful cities in the world in heels, I’m inspired by the vitality and vibrancy of this great city. So many people, so many great ideas, so much to do.

Environmental Justice

We’ve all seen these drab photos of billowing gray smoke being dumped into the air. It enervates us, leaves us distraught. But the less-than-desirable emotions of guilt quickly subside as we drive away towards our cleaner milieus in the city, leaving the destructive vista in our rear-view mirror, and leaving the worries of the detriment we’re causing to our planet for another day.

But what if this was your backyard? What if you lived in the port of Los Angeles where 40% of the country’s imports coalesce, the view outside your window sprinkled with power plants and diesel trucks, your water and air sprinkled with pollutants and particulate matter too small to identify yet too large to ignore. The guilt would be much more difficult to drive away from, and the personal health of your family, your neighbors, your community would be a staggering, daily concern.

Last weekend we participated in an Environmental Law workshop co-hosted by the DU law school and two passionate laywer/practioners from Los Angeles. Communities for a Better Environment works in urban communities in Southern California among low-income African Americans, Latinos and other nationalities who are bombarded by pollution from freeways, power plants, oil refineries, seaports, airports, and chemical manufacturers. Worsened by high rates of poverty, inadequate housing, poor schools and inadequate health care and social services, these people – who have no choice but to live in these areas — suffer from very high rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses, heart problems, cancer, low birthrate, and miscarriages.

Two highly trained lawyers opted out of the high wages and posh lifestyle some of their fellow graduates found, to fight for the environmental justice of a people without a voice. Environmental racism refers to the disproportionate location of polluting industry and heightened environmental risks that are borne by poor communities and communities of color. Thus, Environmental Justice is the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Among other projects, they are currently fighting the expansion of the 710 Freeway to sixteen lanes, which runs directly through low-income neighborhoods and exploring alternatives to the “cure-all environmental policy” of cap and trade, arguing that cap and trade only bolsters the effects of environmental racism, allowing pollutants to be flooded onto poor communities.

These things are not only in Southeast LA, they’re in our own backyard here in Denver. Communities on the northern outskirts of Denver are fighting to save their public health by opposing the expansion of I70 and the power-producing, pollutant-releasing plants of Sun Corps and Excel.

The pressing question I’m left with after all this….It’s our own fault. We can combat the polluting activities of the big bad evil corporations all we want – and I am proud to have shared a weekend with lawyers and activists fighting this good fight – but the truth, for me, is that our consumerism habits must change. The common emitting culprits: Asphalt/Cement companies, producing the streets and sidewalks we wish to traverse; the power companies producing the energy we all consume without conservation; the freeways packed with diesel trucks toting the material possessions we all must purchase next weekend at the local department store.

I made a commitment last August, one that I have kept thus far. I will not buy anything new for one year. Its incredible what Goodwill and good friends with hand-me-downs and borrowed tools can do for you. What could we all do to live more simply and reverse the order of dilapidated backyard views in poor neighborhoods?