D.C.’s Minorities Hurt Most By Climate Change, EPA Says
D.C.’s Minorities Hurt MostBy Climate Change, EPA Says
WASHINGTON -- An Environmental Protection Agency report released last week that documents global warming’s disproportionate effect on minorities fits well with an earlier study showing the Washington area’s African American neighborhoods will be hit hard by climate change.
Hotter weather will lead to more severe hurricanes, flooding and poorer air quality, which means minorities are most likely to die, lose their jobs or suffer property damage, the report says.
Black people, for example, are 40 percent more likely to live in areas of extreme heat, the report says. Global warming would raise their likelihood to 59 percent.
Persons who work in weather-exposed industries such as construction and agriculture will be most affected by extreme temperatures, the EPA reported.
An added effect of the higher temperatures will be shrinking ice caps, meaning sea levels will rise. Coastal communities should then expect more flooding, the EPA reported.
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In the Washington area, the EPA’s report implicated Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia’s Ward 8 as enduring the brunt of the damage. Ward Eight lies between the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and Prince George’s County.
The Biden administration prepared the report as part of the president’s pledge to help minorities who would suffer injustices from climate change.
A 2008 U.S. Department of Transportation study reached similar conclusions, saying residents along low-lying areas of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers might be forced to move away without major infrastructure improvements.
The study warns that about 823,075 acres in Maryland would be "impacted by regular inundation or at-risk" by 2100 unless seawalls or other infrastructure are built to protect them from a roughly 19-inch rise in water levels. Rail lines and airports would have to be moved and some streets abandoned if they are not protected.
For the legal community, both reports, along with the Biden administration policy, create opportunities to advocate for environmental rights of disadvantaged persons.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.