Justice Across the River
Cincinnati isn't the most forward-thinking city in this great union of states but it does know a good idea when it sees one. The Cincinnati City Council is looking at passing environmental justice legislation that would help to relieve the disproportionate environmental degredation facing lower-income communities.
Attorney David Altman, the co-chair of Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Crowley's environmental justice working group, has mentioned that, "there's a direct correlation between illness in certain Cincinnati neighborhoods and the burden of pollutants these communities bear, unlike Hyde Park or parts of Mount Washington," according to this CityBeat article.
You can also check out this less biased, less in-depth article from the Kentucky Post.
2 comments:
I think this is a sad waste of taxpayer money. What is the environmental protection agency for? They have rules and regulations that apply to industries and businesses regardless of which neighborhodd they attempt to site their plants in. Choosing to site in a lower income community has more to do with availability of work-force to staff the industry, available land, lower taxes (or sometimes tax abatement as an incentive) and other purely business reasons. Those communities are less likely to reject something that brings jobs in, regardless of the perception about the business itself. Up-scale "uppity" people who live in higher income neighborhoods simply have too much time on their hands and/or too much money, so they fight new business or industry much more vigorously. This proposed ordinance is yet another example of Cincinnati going about things the wrong way. There is a reason why Newport on the Levee was built and has enjoyed success for so long, while "The Banks" continues it's long history of setbacks. It's the difference between Newport (and other Cities' administration) and Cincinnati's. Oh yes, the foundational premise of the "environmental justice" proposal is that big, bad business is causing all the illness, not personal smoking, eating and exercise habits. Another example of Cincinnati trying to find evidence that "supports" what they think, rather than investigating the real problem, then trying to solve it. Thank goodness I only have to pay Cincinnati Payroll tax, not property tax.... I'd hate to see that wasted as well.
Well, anonymous, you're right to mention the Environmental Protection Agency. This is the EPA's information on environmental justice: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/faqs/ej/index.html. Back in 1990, the EPA recognized that economically depressed and minority neighborhoods experience more pollution than affluent, paler ones. And you're also right to point out that one of the reasons poorer neighborhoods experience this iniquity is because, unlike high income neighborhoods, they simply don't have the resources to fight back.
I'm not sure what role lifestyle plays in these situations - While some environmental justice studies chart the rate of disease in these low income neighborhoods, many note the water quality, air quality, and amount of greenspace, none of which have much to do with the "personal smoking, eating and exercise habits" of the residents in these areas.
It seems pretty clear that Cincinnati is trying to investigate the real problem - that there are companies who destroy the environments of the residents who have no way to fight back - and come up with a way to remedy it.
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