The Latest News and Updates
Dec 2, 2022
From the Nile to the Mississippi, petrochemicals are the next big climate fight around the world
From the Nile to the Mississippi, petrochemicals are the next big climate fight around the world Commentary by Dr. Beverly Wright - December 2, 2022 Recently I returned from the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties, known as COP27, in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, where I joined global leaders, advocates and NGOs who are charting the global path forward on climate. As I met with people from around the world to highlight the importance of environmental justice on a global scale, my thoughts never left the climate fights back at home. Born and raised in New Orleans, I have witnessed the polluting effects of Cancer Alley – an 85-mile stretch of land between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that is home to over 150 petrochemical plants and refineries. For decades, since the 1950s, it’s been part of our landscape and our shared reality and the effects have been devastating – from corrosive air, and dead birds, to sick relatives and neighbors. Attending COP27 reminded me that if we are going to meet the goals outlined by the Paris agreement and chart a sustainable future for all communities, we need to take action locally. World leaders can work together to raise global climate ambition, but petrochemical hubs in local communities such as Louisiana are where the fight starts. Today, petrochemical expansion continues to be rubber-stamped in Louisiana, and many of these companies are making plans for a massive buildout of new and existing plants in Louisiana, Texas and Ohio. By 2050, petrochemical applications will account for nearly half of the growth in oil demand. If unchecked, this rapid expansion of petrochemical production will be devastating to climate progress and public health. Today, petrochemicals account for 10% of global emissions, which will increase by 20% by 2030 as production increases, making it nearly impossible for the U.S. to meet its Paris Agreement climate goals. This would also be devastating to Black, brown and poor communities living near petrochemical facilities in Louisiana. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently made headlines after reporting the harmful effects of the Mississippi River chemical corridor on Black and brown communities. The EPA found an increased risk of cancer when you live near a chemical plant. Eighty-percent of Black people in Louisiana live within 3 miles of a petrochemical facility. Even more concerning, negligence from Louisiana state officials allowed air pollution to remain high leading to decades of filthy air and water and high rates of cancer amongst its residents, nearly all of whom are Black. Earlier this year, Shell admitted to moving high-emitting facilities to regions such as Louisiana with poor environmental regulations. The well-being of these communities continues to be neglected due to a history of policies rooted in systemic racism and an unwillingness from policymakers to stand up to the industry. It is critical for climate and environmental justice advocates to stand united in pushing for policies that cut carbon emissions and address the historical and ongoing legacy of pollution in our most vulnerable communities. That’s why we have joined forces with other local groups as part of the Beyond Petrochemicals Campaign, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $85 million effort to stop the expansion of more than 120 petrochemical plants in Louisiana, Texas and the Ohio River Valley. This partnership is working to foster a prosperous future full of climate progress. Now more than ever we need legislation to prioritize the safety of our people, our planet, and our future. As the environmental justice movement has grown, fence line communities, such as the ones in Louisiana, have become more active in using our voice to speak out about the impact these plants have in our communities. With the help of community partners, we can ramp up efforts to organize and end petrochemical pollution and build a cleaner, safer and more prosperous future. We have the historical evidence of wrongdoing by the petrochemical industry, the data showing how harmful their operations are to our health, and now there are resources to do something about it. It is time to break the cycle of continuing to put dirty, nasty, polluting facilities in our neighborhoods. We need solution-based policies that address climate change and environmental justice from a racial equity lens. It’s time to transition to an equitable and renewable energy economy, including workforce training for the clean energy jobs of the future. Some effects of climate change cannot be reversed, but we have a responsibility to take actions now that will improve the quality of living for those who are disproportionately affected. ...
Dec 1, 2022
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to offer free Environmental Career Worker Training
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to offer free Environmental Career Worker Training FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2022 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) - The Deep South Center for Environmental (DSCEJ) is currently accepting applications for the 2023 Environmental Career Worker Training Program which will begin on January 4 and conclude in mid-March, 2023. This program focuses on delivering comprehensive training to increase the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented minority workers in areas such as environmental remediation/restoration, construction, hazardous materials/waste handling and emergency response. DSCEJ will identify, train, and mobilize men and women to participate in hazardous materials clean-up, construction, and disaster recovery locally and across the nation. After receiving certification, participants will be assisted with job placement. The DSCEJ program has an average job placement rate of 98% with average earnings of $17 - $20 per hour. To apply, please visit www.dscej.org/ecwtp. For more information, please contact Dr. John Warford at johnw@dscej.org or call 504-272-0956. PROGRAM OVERVIEW: Training Is Free Training is offered in a 12-week classroom and hands-on type setting by dynamic instructors and trainers that are experts in their field. Program graduates are fully certified in each technical segment completed satisfactorily and are provided OSHA workplace cards. The staff provides placement and career development assistance and continues to track the performance of both recent and past graduates. PROGRAM COMPONENTS: Basic Skills The Basic Skills instruction provides trainees with the personal and interpersonal skills required to deal with the challenges of everyday life and to obtain and sustain employment. The ECWTP six-week basic skills training utilizes a work-based learning curriculum. Classes include study skills, mathematics, an introduction to hazardous materials, computer basics, life skills, job readiness, and physical fitness. There is also a counseling component that provides students with problem intervention and assistance, in addition to information on a wide range of social services to aid them in achieving their educational and vocational goals. Technical Training Technical training can include the following components as required by the granting agency: 40 hour—Construction 40-hour—Weatherization 16-hour—Lead Abatement 32-hour—Asbestos Abatement 40-hour—Hazardous Waste Worker 16-hour—Mold Remediation 10-hour OSHA Construction or General Industry Student training incentives include: Stipend Lunch Bus Pass (if needed) TWIC Cards available to eligible participants PROGRAM HISTORY: Many communities in the Gulf Coast region face barriers to sustainable employment. In Louisiana alone, roughly 3.5% of the population is unemployed and approximately 19.6% are living in poverty. To help overcome these socioeconomic barriers, Dr. Beverly Wright, DSCEJ Executive Director and her longtime colleague Robert Bullard, Ph.D., of Texas Southern University, direct the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Consortium. The HBCU Consortium focuses on delivering pre-employment and life skills training to underserved and under-employed individuals. The consortium is one of several grantees funded by the NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP), administered by the broader NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP). The HBCU Consortium has been a part of the ECWTP for more than two decades. The consortium partners with others in academia, community and faith-based organizations, and small businesses to deliver training to individuals in New Orleans, Houston, Detroit, and Pensacola, Florida. This training increases career and employment opportunities in the fields of environmental cleanup, construction, hazardous waste removal, and emergency response. In 2021, the HBCU Consortium trained a total of 80 individuals and 87% were placed in jobs. In 2022, with 85 individuals trained a 100% placement rate was achieved, with the average rate for job placement over the last four years being 93% . Trainees were placed in jobs that include environmental remediation, green infrastructure installation, construction and demolition, and transportation. The HBCU Consortium also equips trainees with the skills necessary to respond to climate-related disasters and public health emergencies. Over the years, many trainees have participated in cleanup and recovery activities following the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey, and others. READ THE NIEHS ECWTP PROGRAM OVERVIEW About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice. ...
Nov 28, 2022
Ms. Magazine: COP27’s Newest Headliner: Environmental Justice
Ms. Magazine: COP27’s Newest Headliner: Environmental Justice Dr. Wright, Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Talks Climate Justice Pavilion at COP27 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 28, 2022 New Orleans, LA – Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) penned an op-ed in Ms. Magazine bringing attention to the first-ever Climate Justice Pavilion inside the Blue Zone at COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Climate Justice Pavilion was created in collaboration with DSCEJ, WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT), and the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University (BCECJ). In her piece, COP27’s Newest Headliner: Environmental Justice, Dr. Wright discussed how the environmental movement pushed for more equitable solutions to tackle the world’s biggest problems. The Climate Justice Pavilion was successful in its efforts to address the risk of carbon capture and storage technology to front-line communities and the need for just solutions to reduce carbon, assess the damage to underserved communities due to years of colonialism and environmental racism, and rethink climate reparations for poor communities burdened by the world’s richest people. The COP27 Climate Justice Pavilion is a collaboration effort from Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice; Peggy Shepard, Executive Director of WE ACT For Environmental Justice; Dr. Robert Bullard, Director of Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, Texas Southern University; Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund, Abigail Dillen, President of Earthjustice; Dr. Deb L. Morrison, CLEAR Environmental; Marina Macal, Instituto Clima e Sociedade; Cathy Eatock, Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform; and Mithika Mwenda, PACJA, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. See below for excerpts from the op-ed, or read it in Ms. Magazine here. COP27’s Newest Headliner: Environmental Justice Dr. Beverly Wright, November 18, 2022 “This year, as I traveled to COP for the 13th time, my organization, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in partnership with WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT), and the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University (BCECJ) hosted a Climate Justice Pavilion designed to foster environmental justice conversations between diplomats, policymakers, businesses and professional advocates. This first-of-its-kind pavilion brought together people from the Global South, the U.S. environmental justice movement and Indigenous peoples to highlight the voices of communities disproportionately impacted by our climate crisis. The pavilion focused on historically overlooked sectors of climate policy, including the risk of carbon capture and storage technology to front-line communities and the need for just solutions to reduce carbon.” *** “Environmental justice must be at the forefront of every conversation about climate change and what our country and others will do to reverse the dangerous path we are on. From the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States to the significance of hosting a climate conference on the content of Africa, we welcome the opportunity to make bolder strides toward environmental and climate justice.” Click here to read the full op-ed. ### ...
Nov 15, 2022
Environmental Organizations File Suit Against Louisiana Dept. of Natural Resources for Illegally Exempting LNG Facility from Critical Permit
Deep South Center of Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, and Healthy Gulf hope to prevent further construction of a fracked gas export facility that will further harm Black and Indigenous communities in Southern Louisiana without the proper environmental precautions FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2022 (New Orleans, LA) – PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LA - Last week, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, and Healthy Gulf filed a petition for judicial review against the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR). This petition follows the LDNR’s decision in a one-page letter to illegally exempt Venture Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC from obtaining a Coastal Use Permit for further development of a fracked gas export facility under construction in Southern Louisiana. The LDNR’s decision provides no analysis, finding of facts, or any showing that it considered the data and scientific reports showing the immense damage that can result from the Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility. Located 35 miles south of New Orleans in the Plaquemines Parish coastal zone, the Venture Global LNG facility will contribute to the climate crisis and cause irrevocable damage to surrounding communities of color. Construction of the site will destroy nearly 400 acres of vulnerable wetlands that serve as a storm buffer for nearby communities including New Orleans. An affidavit by Dr. Ivor Van Heerden concludes that the existing and proposed levees around the LNG site are inadequate, risking surge flooding and levee failure for major hurricanes and other severe storms. “Substantial design flaws in the proposed storm wall and construction process pose substantial risk of a levee failure. Failure of any levee and especially the I-wall ring dike will result in catastrophic release of chemical contaminants towards Barataria Bay impacting wetlands as well as the waters of the Bay. The impact to wetland fauna and flora would be immense,” according to Dr. Van Heerden’s affidavit. Just last year, Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, flooded the site for over a month. With an operational LNG facility at the location, a similar storm would release pollution into homes, businesses, farmland, and coastal waters. Further disruption to these coastal lands continues an unjust pattern of people of color bearing the brunt of the climate crisis despite contributing to it the least. By not requiring Venture Global to obtain a Coastal Use Permit, the LDNR has put the priorities of a large corporation ahead of the safety of families in Plaquemines Parish. Despite input from the scientific community and lessons from previous natural disasters, the LDNR unlawfully ignored the damaging effects of the facility. When presented with facts and data necessitating Venture Global Plaquemines LNG apply for a Coastal Use Permit, Thomas Harris, Secretary of the LDNR, said, ". . . I do not find that conditions have changed sufficiently for me to reopen this matter.” "The LDNR continues its track record of failure to execute its duty as a public trustee under the Louisiana Constitution which harms Black and Indigenous communities and damages our coast,” said Monique Harden, Assistant Director of Law and Public Policy at Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. “Venture Global is not above the law that requires companies to minimize harm in a coastal zone." “The LDNR's refusal to require a Coastal Use Permit for Venture Global's Plaquemines LNG facility puts frontline communities and precious Louisiana coastal waters at severe risk, and we look forward to the court's review,” said Lisa Diaz, attorney for Sierra Club. "The people of Louisiana have to endure enough with natural disasters threatening our coast and way of life. We absolutely do not need the compounded risk of environmental damage caused by facilities in the aftermath of detrimental storms, yet we see this happen time and time again,” said Jessi Parfait, a citizen of the United Houma Nation and Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Representative. “In the face of evidence, LDNR is refusing to do what is right and are instead choosing to risk the lives and health of communities who are already vulnerable because as a resident of coastal Louisiana, we know it isn't a matter of if we will get another big storm but when.” "The LDNR's decision that a Coastal Use Permit isn't required runs contrary to what we know about this Environmental Justice community in Plaquemines Parish that already had a backlog of wetlands restoration needs before the impacts of Hurricane Ida," said Scott Eustis, Community Science Director for Healthy Gulf. ### Contact: Ginger LeBlanc | gingerl@dscej.org Valerie Keys | vkeys@skdknick.com About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice. ...
Oct 25, 2022
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GROUPS DEBUT FIRST-EVER CLIMATE JUSTICE PAVILION AT COP27
Deep South Center For Environmental Justice, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice Join International Partners for Historic Environmental Justice Presence in the Blue Zone FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2022 (New Orleans, LA) – The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT), and the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University (BCECJ) will debut the first-ever Climate Justice Pavilion inside the Blue Zone at COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 6-18, 2022. The pavilion will bring together representatives from the Global South, the U.S. Environmental Justice Movement, and Indigenous peoples to spotlight the voices of communities disproportionately impacted by climate change. The IPCC reports consistently raise the alarm about the worsening impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable communities, countries, and island states. Yet, the voices, stories, and perspectives of residents of these localities are rarely heard, communicated, or promoted – despite the increasing incidence of climate migration due to extreme weather events that cause flooding, destruction, drought, and soil and coastal erosion. The Climate Justice Pavilion will help to bridge that gap by serving as a space for productive conversations in the Blue Zone, which is where the majority of diplomats, policymakers, business, and professional advocates convene at COP27. Historically, grassroots groups and activists have been providing environmental justice programming for years in the conference’s Green Zone which is geographically isolated from the Blue Zone. Because of this segregation, a collaboration was developed to build a Climate Justice Pavilion where individuals from the Global South, the U.S. Environmental Justice Movement, and other international movements can dialogue on issues including: Connecting the people of the global migrating south forced to flee their homes because of unsafe communities due to outsized natural disasters or life-taking pollution; The risk of carbon capture and storage technology to front-line communities and the need for just solutions to reduce carbon; Climate Finance and the need to support communities with mitigating and adapting policies that will address climate change; Loss and damage to underserved communities due to years of colonialism and environmental racism; The need for energy justice, including equitable reparations for communities historically harmed by climate change; and climate reparations for poor communities burdened by the world’s richest people. “Women, children of color and the communities where they live are too often an afterthought when talking about climate justice. The first-ever Climate Justice pavilion will provide a global stage to highlight their stories and others, encouraging governments to develop policies and clean energy transition plans that are inclusive, equitable, and reflect research on the effects on our communities.” said Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. “The Global South from the United States to Africa is bearing the brunt of our climate crisis. Natural disasters coupled with centuries of colonialism and racism that underpin global environmental policy have devastated countless communities. This pavilion will challenge the world’s best and brightest to reimagine how to tackle climate change and protect the most vulnerable all around the world.” “You cannot talk about solving the climate crisis if the people most impacted are not at the table,” said Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “The historic nature of the Climate Justice Pavilion cannot be understated, as it creates a space for those voices, their stories and perspectives, to be heard by decision makers on the international stage. We look forward to elevating the discussion of climate migration, energy justice, and the risk of false solutions to our communities as well as the need to center equity when addressing climate change.” “The significance of COP27 in Africa underscores the importance of environmental justice and the significance of our first-ever climate justice pavilion. Those who visit the pavilion will hear about sectors of climate policy routinely overlooked and marginalized because of historic environmental racism,” said Dr. Robert Bullard, Director, Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, Texas Southern University. “We will host discussions on climate finance, loss and damage, energy justice, and climate reparations, among the topics most important to vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of the climate crisis around the world. I am very excited about what our team and the Climate Justice Pavilion are bringing to this year’s conference.” A delegation of over 40 representatives of grassroots communities; Students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and staff support will accompany the collaboration to manage logistics, travel, programming of the pavilion, and relevant research. The COP 27 Climate Justice Pavilion is a collaboration effort from Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice; Peggy Shepard, Executive Director of WE ACT For Environmental Justice; Dr. Robert Bullard, Director of Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, Texas Southern University; Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund, Abigail Dillen, President of Earthjustice; Dr. Deb L. Morrison, CLEAR Environmental; Marina Macal, Instituto Clima e Sociedade; Cathy Eatock, Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform; and Mithika Mwenda, PACJA, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. Sponsors Include: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, Union of Concerned Scientists , The Kresge Foundation , National Wildlife Federation, Center for American Progress, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Columbia Climate School. ### Contact: Ginger LeBlanc | gingerl@dscej.org Valerie Keys | vkeys@skdknick.com About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice. About WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT) WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. About the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University (TBC) The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University addresses longstanding issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering and death in Black and other people of color communities. The Center is directed by environmental justice scholar Dr. Robert D. Bullard and is housed in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. It strives to be a leading force for transformative environmental, climate, and racial justice using rigorous science, community-driven research, policy, civic engagement programming, and effective advocacy. ...
Sep 28, 2022
Take Action Alert: Tell Your City Councilmember to Support Healthy Homes!
DSCEJ is proud member of the Healthy Homes Coalition in New Orleans, which believes that everyone deserves a home free of leaks, mold, and other major health and safety hazards. TOMORROW (Thursday, September 29), the New Orleans City Council will introduce the Healthy Homes Ordinance (Ord. Cal. No. 33,898). We invite NOLA citizens to take action for healthy homes for all. 1. ATTEND the Healthy Homes Council Hearing and make a comment in support of the proposed Healthy Homes ordinance. WHEN: Thursday Sep 29, 2022 ⋅ 1pm – 5pm (Central Time - Chicago) WHERE: New Orleans City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido St, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA This hearing will be in the City Council Government Affairs Committee. The front desk staff will guide people to council chambers. Once inside, you may fill out a yellow speaker card, located on a table at the far right side of the chamber. Submit your card and wait to be called up to the mic to speak. 2. SUBMIT A COMMENT on the Council website. To submit your comment to the Governmental Affairs Committee, click here. Be sure to click agenda item "1. Healthy Homes Ordinance (Ord. Cal. No. 33,898)." 3. CALL your Councilmember. Call your Councilmember to tell them you support Healthy Homes! VISIT THIS LINK FOR MORE DETAILS ...
Aug 25, 2022
DSCEJ Receives $500,000 Grant from The Windward Fund to Support New Data Hub
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 2022 (New Orleans, LA) – The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from The Windward Fund through its Environmental Justice Data Fund project. This grant will fund DSCEJ’s creation of the Environmental Justice Data Hub (EJDH), an interactive online portal to provide environmental justice organizations the opportunity to conduct research relevant to the needs of their communities. “The Environmental Justice Data Hub will be an invaluable tool for our community partners as well as environmental and climate justice advocates across the country,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, DSCEJ Founder and Executive Director. “One of the best tools we have to advocate for policy change is data. We will develop the EJDH to help communities to effectively show what is in the air we’re breathing and the water we’re drinking, as well as bring more attention to the impacts of toxic chemicals on our health and quality of life. We thank the Windward Fund for this award and the ability to continue empowering advocates and climate justice leaders with the resources they need to catalyze change in their communities.” The EJDH will leverage DSCEJ’s 30 years of education and research programs that provide community-based organizations with the tools needed to advocate for change on local, state, and federal levels of government. ### About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from toxic air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to place environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ provides research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice. About the Winward Fund’s Environmental Justice Data Fund The Environmental Justice Data Fund (EJDF or “the Fund”) is an $8 million fund, created and seeded by Google.org, that aims to help frontline communities who have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice. ...
Aug 16, 2022
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Calls on President Biden to Step Up Protections for Communities Targeted for Increased Pollution in the Inflation Reduction Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2022 NEW ORLEANS, LA – Following President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act, Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), released the following statement: "The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes positive benefits that are responsive to the needs of families, but its funding for dirty energy puts a target on Black and other communities of color harmed by pollution in the Gulf Coast and across the United States. Instead of funding the transition away from fossil fuel production, the IRA incentivizes it. Among these incentives are billions of dollars for carbon waste projects without regard for their risks to communities and record of failure to mitigate climate change. "The Environmental Justice community is no stranger to setbacks, and we are already planning our next steps forward. Our efforts will be centered on engaging regulators and policymakers, as well as taking court action, to prevent polluting facilities from ever coming online. In collaboration with our partners, we will apply science, collect data and bring advocacy to ensure that our communities receive the justice they deserve. "I call on President Biden to deliver on his promise to our communities who are fighting for environmental and climate justice. This means stepping up action to enforce civil rights laws against environmental racism, inform the public on the risks of carbon waste projects, and secure a just transition away from dirty energy that restores overburdened communities and sustains future generations.” ### About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice. ...
Aug 8, 2022
Now Accepting Applications for the NOLA HBCU Environmental Justice And Climate Corps Fall Internship
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) is now accepting applications for the HBCU Environmental Justice and Climate Corps Fall Internship in New Orleans. An HBCU student intern from the Metro New Orleans area will immerse themselves in a hands-on research to action project working with a partner community based organization disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards and climate change. DEADLINE: AUGUST 31, 2022 For more details and application instructions, please click on the flyer below. ...
Jul 28, 2022
Statement from the DSCEJ on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2022 NEW ORLEANS, LA – In response to today’s reporting on the status of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, released the following statement: “"In the Gulf Coast and across the United States, Black and other communities of color are fighting for their health and safety in the shadows of industrial polluters. Today, this fight has gained more support from Senators, but it is far from over. The Senate’s Inflation Reduction Action is one step forward on environmental justice, but it includes some steps back with tax credits for polluting industries. We are deeply concerned about the future legacy pollution that would result from these tax credits that allow the continued burning of coal, oil and gas with inherently risky carbon capture projects and new hydrogen production facilities. We need bolder action to achieve environmental and climate justice for ourselves and future generations.”...