Last month, I was honored to visit Washington, DC for the first-ever White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action. I thought I’d share some of my experience and reflections with you.
It’s huge news that President Biden and VP Harris are using their platform to lift up the communities most affected by environmental issues — and using the framework of environmental justice to work on solutions.
The event was really a celebration of 40+ years of EJ work, and the multigenerational struggle it has taken to get it recognized as a legitimate issue.
Peggy Shepherd from WE ACT in New York summed up the feeling pretty well:
“Can you all really believe that we’re actually here at something called the White House Summit on Environmental Justice? When has that ever happened?
And they actually invited EJ people, how big is that?”
The Biden Administration also sent some important voices, including EPA Administrator Michael Regan and John Podesta, a key advisor to Biden on clean energy.
I’m also inspired by the huge investment made in organizations and people doing the work. Last winter, the administration selected ACE to work to oversee $50 million in funding for regional environmental justice work (along with Health Resources in Action and New England Grassroots Environmental Fund).
If you know me, you know I’ve never been impressed by folks talking the talk. What really matters is this: are they using their power to change real conditions toward environmental justice?
Well, we have a long way to go together, but it does seem like we’re on the right track. The Biden Administration has issued important executive orders that put environmental justice in the spotlight and push all agencies to do more.
The administration used this occasion to release the first Environmental Justice Scorecard. It tracks how 24 federal agencies are incorporating environmental justice into their work — from the USDA to the EPA, Energy, and Homeland Security. All important progress.
I celebrate progress, I appreciate the movement from Washington.
I also keep in mind that we’re working toward a just transition away from our extractive, profit-driven economy. That will require more than federal agencies can do on their own.
Even so, what the White House is doing really matters. Let’s use this momentum to grow our movement, to lift up our communities, and celebrate what we’ve accomplished.
And now back to the good fight.
