Greenpeace partnered with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Communities for a Better Environment to highlight the negative impacts that refineries, oil drilling and storage, and freight transport have on the low-income communities of color that surround it the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Town Hall: No Tar Sands Refining in Rodeo! “All this that is surrounding us here affects San Pedro and Wilmington. New Leadership, same community// Nuevo Liderazgo, misma comunidad; Statement from EYCEJ’s Co-Executive Directors/Anuncio de Co-Directoras Ejecutivas de EYCEJ As the West faces devastating wildfires, little is being done to address the climate crisis, which makes wildfires bigger, faster, and more dangerous. This will help protect communities from toxic oil drilling emissions, spills, and explosions.
Environmental and Health Challenges in and in the Los Angeles Goods Movement and Industrial Corridor. The scale of the port is hard to fathom until you’re right in the midst of it, passing massive oil tankers and cargo ships by the dozens and feeling dwarfed by the shipping container cranes that offload freight. Above all, moving towards environmental justice means community members who cope with and contest the legacy of environmental racism everyday, must be the planners, spokespeople, and decision-makers in creating this change. The construction process also displaced entire communities and destroyed hundreds of homes, playing a part in creating overcrowded housing conditions that persist in South LA today.8 9. URSELA is the South East LA adult community component of CBE. Estrada states that communities along the industrial sector are in fact, more vulnerable to being exposed to hazardous pollutants. Southeast Cities Measure M Local Return Report, “We have nothing to lose but our chains”: East Yard’s Commitment to Black Life and Combatting Anti-Blackness, The Fire: Decolonizing “Environmental Justice, New Leadership, same community// Nuevo Liderazgo, misma comunidad, Statement from EYCEJ’s Co-Executive Directors/Anuncio de Co-Directoras Ejecutivas de EYCEJ, You Can’t Spell East Yard without Bob Eula.

During the Great Migration, redlining and restrictive covenants limited housing options for black, Latino, and Asian communities in Los Angeles. Community Boundary map. The intentionality with which an environmentally unjust South LA was created demands deliberateness in creating an environmentally equitable South LA moving forward. The Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA), a community organization fighting to protect East Los Angeles from environmental and public health threats, was born. COVID-19 Update- CBE Sobre COVID-19/ Community Fund- Fondo Comunitario. She is passionate about engaging and equipping youth with the necessary tools to fight against environmental racism, white supremacy, capitalism, and other systems of oppression. Email Correspondence with Steering Committee Members, August 19, 2020 - Community Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Presentation - English (PDF)  Español (PDF), Automated License Plate Reader Locations - Worksheet (PDF), May 28, 2020 - Community Steering Committee Meeting, Letter from CARB:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), Meeting Agenda: English (PDF)  Español (PDF), School Prioritization List:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), CARB Presentation: English (PDF)  Español (PDF), CARB Update - Truck Enforcement Efforts in Your Community:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), CERP & CAMP Implementation Update:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), January 30, 2020 – Steering Committee Meeting & CARB Workshop, Meeting Presentation:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), School Prioritization Worksheet:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), Thursday, October 24, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Agenda/Agenda de la reunión (PDF), Meeting Presentation: English (PDF)   Español (PDF), Worksheet - Truck Idling Prioritization Location Activity: English (PDF) Español (PDF), Community Maps (PDF) - Truck Idling locations Identified by CSC members: English/Español, August 22, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Agenda/Agenda de la reunión (PDF), Meeting Presentation:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), July 25, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Agenda/Agenda de la reunión (PDF), June 27, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, May 23, 2019  - Steering Committee Meeting, CERP Action Template: English (PDF)  Español (PDF), Automated License Plate Reader Privacy Policy (PDF), April 25, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Air Quality Strategies & Measures Worksheet (PDF), Hoja de Trabajo  - Estrategias y Medidas de Calidad del Aire (PDF), Map of RECLAIM Facilities in the Community (PDF), March 28, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Presentation:  English (PDF)   Español (PDF), Worksheet - Air Quality Strategies and Measures (PDF), Hoja de Trabajo - Estrategias y Medidas de Calidad del Aire (PDF), Feb. 28, 2019 - Steering Committee Meeting, Air Quality Prioritization Activity Summary (PDF), Map with List of Air Quality Concerns (PDF), Mapa con lista de problemas de calidad del aire (PDF), Jan. 24, 2019  - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Presentation:  English (PDF)  Español (PDF), Nov. 28, 2018 - Steering Committee Meeting, Meeting Flyer – Folleto de la Reunión (PDF).
Since 1997, Youth for Environmental Justice (Youth EJ) has been organizing youth in Southeast Los Angeles around the issues of environmental and social justice. How did South LA, a predominantly black and brown low income community, become home to multiple sources of pollution? Building grassroots power to create social and economic justice for low-income, 500,000 people in the greater Los Angeles area live within a quarter mile of an active drilling site, and 70% of the 1,071 active oil wells in City of Los Angeles are located within 1500 feet of homes, schools, hospitals, or other sensitive areas.

These racist practices made it so that in the 1920s, people of color were barred from accessing about 95% of the city’s housing stock. With more oil being refined in the area, greenhouse gas and VOC emissions will increase — meaning local communities will suffer increased asthma, respiratory illness, and higher cancer rates. Information sharing and collaboration enables Strike Force member agencies to maximize efficiency in conducting investigations and addressing violations.

female, immigrant, black, and brown communities in Los Angeles.

Co-hosted by Communities for a Better Environment, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Greenpeace USA. Located in southeast Los Angeles County, Commerce is sliced up by freeway overpasses and freight rail lines. The stories they shared about the ways local communities are harmed by 4 stages of the fossil fuel industry at the port — as well as the ways they are fighting back — were powerful.

This means improving public transportation to reduce localized pollution, transitioning out harmful industries like neighborhood oil drilling, and pushing for community-driven climate investments with safeguards against displacement, such as the Transformative Climate Communities. These plans are developed in close collaboration with the community, through the Community Steering Committees. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she deepened her understanding for community healing, community organizing, and community power building. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) - The AB 617 Technical Advisory Group (TAG) provides input to South Coast AQMD staff on technical details related to source attribution, air monitoring and other technical analysis needed to develop air monitoring plans and Community Emissions Reduction Plans for AB 617 implementation. Chemicals used during the drilling process cause respiratory illness and cancer in people who live nearby.

They’ve been cleverly covered up by waterfalls, trees, and towers that have colorful lights at night. We are in court and we are awaiting a decision, hoping to reverse the irresponsible decision by our local regulators.”. The Hellas Aphrodite chemical and oil products tanker ship is visible during a tour of the fossil fuel infrastructure in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to demonstrate the health and environmental justice impacts on local communities. and put us on a path to real action on climate change and healthier communities. Environmental justice issues in Los Angeles are impacting our health — that includes yours.

This work also requires furthering quality job pathways in non-polluting industries and developing energy efficient, affordable housing so our communities can afford to stay in South LA. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are the entry point of 40% of all imports to the U.S. and 20% of diesel particulate emissions in Southern California. Paola loves being in and around water and is an Aztec Mexica, The Marina Pando Social Justice Research Collaborative. Co-hosted by Communities for a Better Environment, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Greenpeace USA. cause respiratory illness and cancer in people who live nearby. As an asthma sufferer, she relies on respirators in multiple rooms of her home to cope with her symptoms. This document has been submitted to the California Air Resource Board (CARB) as per the “Community Air Protection Blueprint”. An Exide truck waits for traffic at Indiana Street and Bandini under patriotic sign at lead smelting company in Vernon, California, April 24, 2013.

These racially unrestricted neighborhoods were often located near areas zoned for polluting industries. Environmental Justice.

Lopez persuaded the state of California to provide comprehensive lead testing and cleanup of East Los Angeles homes contaminated by a battery smelter that had polluted the community for over three decades. Off in the distance, we can see a maze of bridges and freeways jammed with truck traffic. to stay updated on their work on environmental justice in Los Angeles and Long Beach!