Madison Environmental Justice Organization - Essay Example

?Madison Environmental Justice Organization Part I Environmental justice in US Pollution and adverse environmental conditions have become a matter ofconcern for the last few decades as these directly and severely affect the health of people especially the well-being of those who are colored or belong to low-income communities since these people stay in unhygienic environment. The environmental justice movement is led by people of color as they are the most susceptible community in the United States towards pollution. These movements have been growing in number and proportion to create awareness of the fact that environmental degradation and pollution can adversely affect all communities irrespective of their race and social class. People of all communities all over the world and in the United States are getting together in order to increasingly and effectively express their concern and address environmental justice (Shepard, et al, 139). Why Madison environmental justice organization? The Madison environmental justice organization is one of the most efficient organizations working on improving environmental conditions of the low-income residents for a significant amount of time. The approach of the organization towards improving the environment is very systematic and result orienting, as they not only work by themselves in achieving their goal, they also educate the locals in their community regarding the environmental degradation, and spreads awareness about the same (About MEJO). Location of Madison environmental justice organization The Madison environmental justice organization is located at Madison in the United States of America. The broader Madison area covers Dane County which has four freshwater lakes in Dane County called the Yahara Lakes. Madison lakes are used for the purpose fishing in large scale by ‘thousands of recreational, subsistence, and ice anglers’ from Madison and surrounding areas (About MEJO). Goals of the organization The Madison environmental justice program creates awareness within the community about issues regarding environmental justice, guides in facilitating the abilities of communities to publicize these issues, and provides support to the cause of environmental justice for well-being of the general public. The Madison environmental justice organization has been working with people of color and low-income residents for more than two years, discussing and addressing issues regarding toxins in locally caught fish, and learning about the cultural practices regarding fishing and preparing and eating fish. The local air and water pollution has a disproportionate impact on the people belonging to poor and minor communities. This issue is not being addressed by the institutions or the community as a whole. Madison environment justice organization aims to change this (About MEJO). Organization’s history and mission The Madison environmental justice organization was founded in the year 2006. The prime objective and mission of the organization is to educate the community regarding the issues of environmental justice, engage in work to address the critical issues of environmental justice, and support the cause for the benefit of the common people. The organization has been working with people of color and low-income people for more than two years, regarding the issue of high toxic level in the fishes that are caught in the local lakes by the members of the community (Powell and Powell, 1). The programs that the organization is currently working on The Madison environmental justice organization has its prime focus presently on the rising toxic levels at the waters of Madison’s north side. It is entrusted with the duty to control the spreading of the toxins, and to spread awareness amongst the local people of the community, as they are engrossed in fishing activities and their diet also includes fishes obtained from the local water. The main purpose of the project is to engage in work activity with minority people and the subsistence anglers to gain knowledge about fishing and the fish consumption methods that are practiced on Madison’s North side to identify social, communication, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that affect fish consumption in these communities. The program also emphasizes to reduce the consumption of the fish that are contaminated, while still encouraging the consumption of less contaminated, self-caught fish as a healthy local food source. Also, the Madison environmental organization engages itself to build collaborative and effective partnership among minority and poor anglers, neighborhood associations, community centers, non-profit organizations, university scientists, and government agencies that can effectively address fish consumption and water quality issues on Madison’s North side and throughout the Madison area. Finally, the organization participates to empower citizens and build community capacity to educate the community about fish consumption and water quality issues and work to improve these issues in the long-term (EPA, 1-6). The demographic condition of the community The population of Wisconsin is comprised mostly of the immigrants. The population of the state was subjected to a sharp growth due to the constant arrival of immigrants from both America and Europe. (A brief history of Wisconsin’s demographics) The distribution or proportion of genders was proper. The women in the state were predominantly Caucasian. An approximate of 5% was African American. The education rate in the state was significantly better with almost 85% of the population holding a high school degree. The major problem of unemployment was also significantly low at this part of the world, with unemployment rate recorded at 4.1%. Due to this fact, only 7% of the families in Wisconsin are below the poverty line (Wisconsin’s demographics, 16-17). The majority of the population was white in race, but the population also included members from Africa, Asia, China, Japan, Korea and also from other places (Demographic statistics: Wisconsin). Part II The kind of environmental justice program The Madison environmental organization is presently dealing with the rising level of toxic wastes in the inland Wisconsin waters. The toxins that are emitted in water from the various neighboring factories are polluting the water with high level of toxic materials. The growing concern of the toxic level is even more intense due to the fact that the local people of the community depend heavily on the resources available in the water, which comprises mainly of fish. Fishing has been significantly an important activity for the anglers, as fishing provides them means of earning as well as it is a healthy source of food for their daily diet (Powell and Powell, 1). The specific toxics that are emitted in the water The main sources of toxic pollutants are mercury and polycarbonate biphenyl or PCB. The other significant toxic water pollutants in the area include dioxin, hexachlorobenzene (a fungicide), octachlorostyrene (an industrial by-product), and four pesticides (DDT, dihedron, chlordane and toxaphene). Open burning of garbage is a prominent source of dioxin, which is a major source of pollutant of water in the area. Also the high level of increase in industrial activity, and the growing demand for energy resources is also a significant reason for the rising level of toxic pollutants in the water. Also the fast growing population adds to the pressure on water resources, and in turn indulges in the contamination of water as significant amount of toxic chemicals are also released in to the water via household wastes. (Lake Superior lake wide management plan highlights, 1-3) Effects of the toxic chemicals on the human body The increasing level of mercury, PCB’s, dioxins, and other toxic chemicals are a prime reason of concern for the health of the people of the community. The anglers populates the shoreline catch and indulge in the consumption of many pan fish with lower toxin level than the larger fish, but it is to be taken into consideration that when these small fishes itself are consumed in large quantities they cause almost the same amount of damage to the human body as the consumption of a large fish would do. They even frequently consume large fish, which in itself possesses large amount of toxins that are harmful for the human body. The women who have reached the age of puberty, or the woman who are already pregnant, and small children are potentially at risk of problems concerning developmental, neurological and other long term health problems from exposure to toxins present in locally caught fish (Powell and Powell, 1). There is a high concern that people limit the volume of consumption of fish from these waters, as the toxic compounds gets deposited in the tissue of the fish inhabiting the water. Constant exposure to compounds like dioxin can lead to health concerns like patchy darkening of the skin, altered liver function and long term exposure of the chemical may lead to permanent impairment of the nervous system, immune system, reproductive system and the endocrine system. Other toxic chemicals like PCB, is known to cause cancer in certain cases over the years and it also affects the sexual hormones in a female. (Subsistence fishing in Madison and environmental justice, 16) The health risk studies conducted in the community Due to the lack of data of human exposure to toxins, Madison environmental justice organisation had collected interview data of 129 people of the community in the nearby areas. The vast majority of people are from low income groups. DATA FOR THE AVERAGE CONSUMPTION OF LOCALLY FISH N=81 Locally caught fish meals for families per week Ethnicity Average Median Low High African American 2.3 2 1 7 Hmong 3.6 1 0 21 Latino 3.9 2.5 .75 10 White 1.5 1 0 8 Other .3 .5 .04 .5 All 2.8 1.0 0 21 (Powell and Powell, 3) It was evident from the collected data that the members of the community were heavily inclined towards consumption of fish products in their daily diet, which they caught from the surrounding water spots. The majority of the individuals were unaware of the toxic materials, and the contaminated state of the water. The consumption of fish rises significantly during the fishing season which increases the rate of consumption of the toxic chemicals that are inherited in the fish. Most of the inhabitants of the region are devoid of any formal education or source of knowledge; hence they are more unaware of the dismal condition of the environment and the pollution cycle (Powell and Powell, 3-4). Environmental justice organizations fight back for the cause The Madison environmental justice organization is taking essential measures to prevent the contamination of water and to educate the members of the community on the harsh effects of the toxins. At various locations where fishing is done signs are posted in English, Hmong and Spanish so that the anglers can read them. The signs provide knowledge and in most cases these will be their sole source of awareness. The sign posts are made of metal and are laminated. They are installed on permanent basis. The lists of fish are graphically represented on the signs needs to mention the names of those fishes which are more easily caught and so consumed in larger quantities. Some popular fishes are ‘white bass, catfish, carp, bullhead, buffalo and sheep head’. The names of these fishes are unavailable on the ‘DHFS brochure or the DNR signs on the Fox River and Green Bay’. The images of fishes are essential on the signs as awareness can be strongly created by visual impacts. One other essential fact that the larger carp in Lake Monona and Lake Mendota contains PCB should also be mentioned in the signs. Apart from putting up these essential signs and boards, it is important that the indications of the signs and boards are effectively interpreted for the people so that they can understand the importance accordingly. A public relation officer is assigned for this purpose in order to achieve the goal. Nurses, social workers and other members involved in Madison neighborhood resource team help in communicating to the low-income and color communities. Advisory brochures are distributed by volunteers, especially during the fishing seasons to enhance the awareness among people. (Powell & Powell, 5-6) Legal issues and environmental regulation The current power plants that use coal as fuel because global warming that can lead to health problems like respiratory and asthma attacks. According to scientists global warming will cause heavy floods, intense heat waves and spread of diseases that are infectious. The power plants are main source of carbon pollution yet there have been no legal restrictions so far. Only on March 27, 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to impose limits on carbon pollution emitted by the power plants. This step has been taken primarily for the health of the population of Wisconsin and includes cutting down of pollutants emitted by power plants like ‘soot, smog, mercury and other toxic pollutants’. The EPA looks forward to full cooperation from the public to finalize the proposed standards for fuel efficiency before the end of 2012 (Severson). References 1. “About MEJO”, MEJO, 2006-2008, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.mejo.us/about.html 2. “A brief history of Wisconsin’s demographics”, Rutgers, April 17, 2000, March 31, 2012 from: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~dalbello/FLVA/background/demographics.html 3. “Demographic statistics: Wisconsin”, infoplease, 2000, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.infoplease.com/us/census/data/wisconsin/demographic.html 4. EPA. “Environmental justice small grants program”, EPA, 2007, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/publications/grants/ej-smgrants-recipients-2007.pdf 5. “Lake Superior lake wide management plan highlights”, binational.on.ec.gc, 2008, March 31, 2012 from: http://binational.on.ec.gc.ca/superior/pdfs/ls_highlights_2008_e.pdf 6. MEJO. “Subsistence fishing in Madison and environmental justice”, MEJO, May 5, 2008, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.mejo.us/downloads/Subsistence%20Fishing%20in%20Madison%20and%20EJ%205-5-08.pdf 7. Powell, Maria and Jim Powell. “Madison environmental justice organization”, MEJO, June 13, 2008, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.mejo.us/downloads/MEJO%20recommendations%20to%20Public%20Health.pdf 8. Severson, Megan, “Obama Administration to Protect Americans’ Health by setting carbon pollution standards for new power plants”, Wisconsin Environment, March 27, 2012, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.wisconsinenvironment.org/news/wie/obama-administration-protect-americans%E2%80%99-health-setting-carbon-pollution-standards-new-power 9. Shepard, Peggy M, Northridge, Marie E, Prakash, Swati & Gabriel Stover. “Environmental Justice”, Environmental Health Perspectives, 110 (April, 2002) 139, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1241155/pdf/ehp110s-000139.pdf 10. WWHF. “Wisconsin’s demographics”, WWHF, February 13, 2008, March 31, 2012 from: http://www.wwhf.org/documents/Demographics.pdf Read More