Environmental Justice Organizations

Oceane Mercadal

Activity #10

I had to search for environmental justice organizations and find out what there goals where and what they where doing to help their area of focus. In my search I came across and organization called EPA (United States Environmental protection agency). The headquarters of this organization are located in Washington DC so I unfortunately was not able to meet up with a member of the organization to talk about their mission which is to protect human life and to safeguard the natural environment. In order to find out more information about the association I tried to call them, which, was harder than I thought it would. At first the office was constantly busy and no one had enough time to talk to me. I tried calling another day and I kept being transferred from one person to the next. By this point I wanted to abandon my quest but decided to give it a last shot and call the Public Information Office in Buffalo. The woman I talked to was very nice and took the time to explain to me in an understandable manner what the possible effects of polluted water and air. She explained how it effects our environment and how the climate will keep deteriorating in the long run.

Another environmental justice organization I found is called NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Science). I didn’t find a phone number I could reach someone at while I was searching the website but I was able to find their calendar of events and their goals. All of the events are open to the public but I was not able to go to any because none took place in Manhattan or nearby. This association focuses on the toxicological wastes and how they are harmful to the environment. NIEHS, located in North Carolina, is one of the 27 research institutes and centers that comprise the National institutes of Health. The mission of the NIEHS is to diminish the amount of human illnesses and disability by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease.

The last organization I found was the Department of Environmental Conservation. This organization is located around New York City and other major cities of the US. Its aim is to improve environment in communities, and specifically low-income communities, minorities and address disproportionate adverse environmental impacts that may exist in these communities. It was interesting to see that a note on the website stated: “Please Note: The purpose of this office is to serve the environmental needs of minority and low-income communities. It is not intended for general environmental inquiries unrelated to the issues of Environmental Justice. Please consult the list of phone numbers and addresses for other DEC programs to determine appropriate DEC contacts.” Right from the front page of the organizations website you are basically told to back off unless you are interested in improving the environment of low-income communities. This organization is good because not only does it help the environment but it targets the people who cannot afford or don’t have the availability to do something about it.

All three of these organizations have their own focus but contribute to a common interest being the well being of the environment. It was interesting to see how the first blog was so hard to get in touch with but was happy I managed to after I realized I wasn’t able to get in touch with any one from the other two blogs. It was nice to research these associations because it allowed me to be more aware of what is going on and how some people try their best to improve the environment.

Activity #9

Bianca Klotsman
Activity 9- Book review

While looking at the list of books of books we could read for this assignment, I instantly chose Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez because I’ve heard amazing reviews about the author. Rodriguez is the son of Mexican immigrants who began writing in his early teens and has won national recognition as a poet, journalist, fiction writer, children's book writer, and critic. He is currently working as a peacemaker among gangs on a national and international level. He has helped create Tia Chucha's Café & Centro Cultural, a multiarts, multimedia cultural center in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and im sure will continue to do great things to benefit his passion against gangs after what he has been through.
Rodriguez tells the story of how he and his older brother one day entered a white neighborhood and were immediately assaulted. Racist comments such as "What do we got here? Spics to order - maybe with some beans?" were said by the local white kids. Overwhelmed by prejudice and poverty, Rodriguez and his friends drifted into gangs for protection and to gain self-respect. While writing about his many encounters with other gangs and the police, he describes the experiences as harder to defy the expectation of a “criminal” than just accept it and fall into the trappings. The outlaw life rapidly took its toll, and by the time Rodriguez turned eighteen, he had seen friends die right in front of his eyes. One day, he stumbled onto some radical literature in the library, which opened his eyes. An administrator at a local youth center took Rodriguez under his wing and brought him to a radical study group, where his political ideas took shape and began to organize protests against abuses at school. He also started to express his talents in dancing, writing, and painting. All of these productive activities helped Rodriguez to move on. Rodriguez’s life is the perfect example of how our society leaves minorities and the poor no alternatives leading normal people to join gangs. The problem Rodriguez makes clear is not with the gangs but with the society that creates gangs. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was heartbreaking especially knowing that it is a true story, with a purpose.

Activity 10 - Environmental Justice - Patricia Fraser

I did not attend the class trip to Fresh Kills because of a conflict with another class. Instead I researched three environmental justice organizations in New York. From the name I thought I knew what environmental justice entailed, but I was wrong. There is alot of work in this field that I never realized. Environmental justice is about changing existing policies to better reflect awareness of how pollution, factory placement, transportation and other factors affect our local communities. WE ACT (West Harlem environmental Action Inc)was the first environrmntal justice organization in New York, started in 1988. It is also the first to be run by people of color. Its focus is on educating Northern Manhattan communities about prejudiced practices that are detrimental to the African American and Latino communities. For example, placing all but one of the bus depots run by the MTA in Harlem neighborhoods has a negative effect on the air quality, which in turn can affect respiratory function, especially in children who are most vunerable. Other issues related to having a community say in what is built and maintained in Harlem has led to a better quality of life for the community. The organization was also recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation with the Jane Jacobs Award a few years ago for collectively working for the betterment of their own neighborhoods.

The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) is an organization based in New York state but has local offices in different urban and suburban areas, all with a focus on environmental justice; it was started in 1991. The office in NYC is currently working on making the five boroughs greener. This entails making local communities aware of what steps they can take to press elected officials to change policies that benefit all New Yorkers. For example, using alternate energy sources that decrease the carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings.

The Sierra Club is a national organization with chapters in every state. The organization focuses on teaching individuals in local communities about the environment, threats to it and solutions to combat those threats. The members work at the local, state and federal level to effect change. In NYC, the Sierra Club works with local organizations and schools to expose children to the natural world. Through nature walks, hikes through parks, and visits to farms and state parks, children go bird watching, camping and learn about endangered species through these activities. These activities expose children to how pollution, global warming, drilling and neglect affect plants, animals, humans and the environment. Working with adults, the Sierra Club continues these activities, but also informs local communities and city governments about ways to live greener, healthier and with respect of the natural world around them. One project going on in NY is the painting of tar roofs white. Black tar roofs make buildings hotter in the summer by drawing more heat from the sun. This increases peoples' reliance on fans and air conditioners in their apartments which dominoes into a greater reliance on electricity, a limited and focused resource. Painting the roofs white deflects some of the heat and keeps the indoor spaces cooler. The Sierra Club has been working with local officials to address this issue; also organizing groups of people to work with the city to get their building roofs painted. I need to give them a call and organize to get my roof painted!

Activity 10-Freshkills...Fresh Start

Activity 10

Rosedelle A Chery

For this last assignment, I attended a trip with some of my classmates to Freshkills Park, in Staten Island. This was the second assignment that forced me to go into a borough that I told myself I would never go. However, I actually enjoyed this trip, especially since it was a class trip. I don’t know why, but having the class together on this trip made it a lot more fun and interesting. Nonetheless, Freshkills was actually very beautiful and amazing, it was hard to believe that all this land, which seem to be as big and Rockaway, was a land fill just a few years ago. Its really shameful how the land was destroyed and wasted just to put trash in, it makes me really think about all the trash that I produce and contributed to this problem. “In 1999, bowing to political pressure from Staten Island, Rudolph Giuliani announced that he would be closing Fresh Kills landfill and that the city would ship its trash to South Carolina” according to New York Magazine, its hard to believe that people of Staten Island had to literally live with filth and the city would have left it like that had they not been pressured to close it. New York already has such pollution and to leave the landfill would probably have had an even worse impact on the health of New Yorkers.

While reading “Turning Trash Piles Into a Bird-Watcher’s Paradise” I couldn’t help to remember how the thought of seeing birds on this trip and being near them disgusted me, living in the city with all these nasty pigeons and seagulls has lead to an aversion of birds for me. However, when we got there and I actually started to see the birds, I couldn’t deny how beautiful they were flying peacefully around the park. It was exciting to read that native birds, “Upwards of 50,000 great black back gulls,” as stated by Edward Johnson are returning back to the park, taking back there habitat. Its very disappointing though that it would take up to 30 years for the park to be complete and that I wouldn’t to fully enjoy it in ma youth. However, I’m happy to know that by the time I have kids, or my dog, I would be able to enjoy the park with them. Humans have taken so much from the earth and animals through our selfish ways, it’s about time that we started to give back and take steps to bringing the land back to what it once was.

I believe the transformation of Fresh Kills Landfill into Freshkills Park is one of the first steps to creating a more environmental and sustainable world for future generations. Lastly it’s funny that it will even take my computer time to stop referring to Freshkills Park by its old name and stop trying to correct the spelling back to Fresh Kills.

Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier

Oceane Mercadal

Book Review

The sidewalk by Mitchell Duneir was not my first choice of book to read for a book the book review. My first choice was The Hidden Dimension by Edward T. Hall, the title just attracted me but the book was not available at my bookstore any more. I was scared at first when I realized how thick the book was but soon found out that it was an easy and fast read. The book is more like a documentary than a novel. Mitchell describes the life of book street vendors and what happens on the sidewalks.

The author makes assumptions right at the beginning of the book, which he soon realizes where wrong. When he walks by Hakim’s book table he feels that it is not a place for him to hang around because the majority of people around them is black. Most of the street book vendors specialize in one or more areas such as “expansive art and photography books; dictionaries; New York Times beset-sellers; “black books”; new quality mass-market…” (p.19). Mitchell thought that the so-called “black books” that where on sail, defined the boundary of an exclusively black area were African Americans were allowed and whites where banned. The author goes through out the book making assumptions of this sort and is then to realize that they are wrong because once he approaches Hakim’s table he is welcomed like any other individual, yet he is uncomfortable for an unknown reason. The only reason why Mitchall thought that the ‘black books’ where reserved to an African American public was because the ones talking about them were black and they seemed to define themselves as the people. He was soon to realize that whites were also taking part of the conversations. Through out this documentary the author studies the lives of African Americans and two of them in particular, being Hakim the street book vendor and Jerome the young man that works at the Vitamin Shop by the corner of Hakim’s table.

The author observes what happens of the sidewalks of different streets and examines people’s actions and behaviors. He interacts with, as many people as he ca in order to better understand their living situation and life. Mitchell meets a lot of new people but always seems to be mainly fascinated by the African American population. When he describes the ‘new uses of the sidewalks’ you realize that every one is equal once you’re on the streets. Every one occupies the sidewalks according to Mitchall Duneier: “ But at all times the neighborhood lends itself to the affluent and to the unhoused, to the ph.D and to the unschooled, on the same sidewalk at the same time.” (p.119) Everyone uses the sidewalks for their own reasons. Some find a shelter in them while others use it as a path to another destination.

This book reminds me of Jane Jacobs one The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Both authors describe the various uses of the sidewalks. Everyone interacts with each other on the sidewalks whether it is the help the old lady with her grocery bags or the mother with the baby stroller. At the beginning of Mitchell’s book he describes how the delivery boy leaves a package to Hackim for the store next to him because Hakim is seen every day on the same spot so he is therefore trusted and aware of everything going on, on this street. In Jacobs book she describes a little girl being bothered by a man and soon the entire soon street was surrounding this man in order to protect the girl even though they did not know who she was. According to these two books the sidewalks may be the safest area to be in considering people will always intervene if need be to protect the tranquility of their street.

Activity 9 - Urban Life Blog Search - Patricia Fraser

The search for urban life blogs was interesting. A Google search yielded so many pages that I randomly picked links on four different pages. The first one can be found at www.streetlifeworldwide.tv/slw-blogs.html. This blog focuses on using hiphop centered music, prose, and movies to minister to teens across the country, and expose them to the Bible and teachings of the evangelical church. At first I was a little surprised by the content, but as I read early blogs, I realized what they're doing. The organization responsible, Streetlife Worldwide Evangelistic Association, uses this forum, along with sports, cars, and hiphop to reach kids that are used to getting messages through their music and recreational activities. The blog specifically centers on Bible passages and their application to everyday life of young people. The second site, ecolifeblog.com, looks like an educational site on green living. The links all had to do with being more conscious of the environment and how to change current habits. The categories covered included conscious living, natural foods, natural building and environmentalism. Different people contribute to the blog with their own personal experiences, research on the topics and tips for readers to follow. There was a link to orble.com, another blog that covered many different topics, not all having to do with living green. The third site I found, loveurban.com/blog/urbanreef/urban_life, is written by the staff of a seaside bar/restaurant in Britain. It was funny! The blogs are personal stories of what happens to the staff in the day to day operations of the restaurant; also trips they take together, and local happenings related to food - marketplaces, shows, environmental concerns, cooking healthy, etc. Made me want to make a reservation!The site was easy to navigate, had lots of pictures and alot of the stories were entertaining. Link number four was urbanzoo.suedarroch.com, a Canadian mother of three daughters, who is into many things. Her main blog is about her home life with a new husband, kids, animals and her medical trials and tribulations. The other links on the page dealt with her work in paranormal studies, her interest in history and her fascination with science fiction and horror films. This blog was the funniest of all. It was very personal and candid. The blog had pictures of her many animals and kids, and their adventures as a family. The last link was
pluckandfeather.com, about a woman in Oakland, CA who is an urban farmer. her blog centers on her life with close neighbors and the noise from her animals, but seriously on the issues of healthy living and eating, concerns about organic food production, and dealing with obesity in children.

I liked this activity because it gave me the chance to see just how many blogs are out there and the different things that people find to write about. Doing the blog for this class was something new to me, but something I'd like to embark on personally when the class is over.

Book Review

Jennifer Rios

Book Review

Luis Rodriguez’s account of his life in Always Running La Vida Loca: Gang days in L.A focuses on themes of despair, hope, escape, with an undertone of angst towards the lifestyle he once had to endure. Always Running has the double meaning of stating what the author had to do to physically survive, but also what many other Chicanos and minorities are faced with due to the impossibility of success by staying in the same place and succeeding in life. Rodriguez’s message, in part, can be seen as STOP running. By repeating the cycle of running, we get nowhere, and by addressing the core problem(s) we can achieve actual solutions.

Rodriguez’s work is layered with statements of concern for why problems in the barrios occur. From the body of text Rodriguez writes, “There is an aspect of suicide in young people whose options have been cut off. They stand on the street corners, flashing hand signs, inviting the bullets.” (p. 9) Because of this it is clear why Rodriguez feels young people should be given a “complete literacy” so that they can “have the ability to participate completely and confidently in any level of society one chooses.” (p.9)

A surprising point of the book is the level of police brutality that the author faced in the 70’s and how it evolved to the Rodney King attacks in the 90’s. That along with actually reading of the troubles of many immigrants as the Arizona law comes in effect makes reading this book more personal in some levels.

In connecting this work to the topics from class, with regards especially to gender spaces and Private vs Public space(s), some examples in Rodriguez’s account are: how boys and girls can both be in school, and by junior high shape identities and roles. On page 44, in connection with gender spaces, Rodriguez writes, most if the Mexican girls weren’t cholas; their families still had strong reins on many of them.” (p. 45). This shows how the roles of girls were limited by family members and what was thought to be a females role. It was common for boys to be the majority when it came to being on the streets and getting involved with violence showing that boys were not controlled as much as females.

With regard to public versus private space, while gang life can arguably be said to be purely private, with initiations and secret meetings, publicly this form of social expression manifested itself violently several times in the book. On page 57 and 58 Rodriguez shares a clear account of how public the vida loca could get, “Automatic gunfire followed them as they rolled in the dirt…Windows flung upward. Doors were pushed aside. People bolted out of their homes. Mothers cursed in Spanish from behind weather-beaten picket fences.”

In summation, Always Running La Vida Loca: Gang days in L.A expresses a clear sample of urban life in the 20^th and 21^st centuries through the themes discussed in class.