environmental justice

South Tacoma is heavily populated by industry, covered with concrete and pavement, where traffic clogs up around commuting times.Alejandro Fernández has lived in the area since 2018, and he knows the industrialization of the neighborhood well. He and others who call the area home enjoy the remaining Garry oak trees and green spaces.

Los trabajadores agrícolas están presionando por la justicia climática en Washington y ahora están llevando su mensaje a todo el mundo. El defensor de los…

(Runtime 1:09) Agricultural workers are pushing for climate justice in Washington and are now taking their message worldwide. Farmworker advocate Edgar…

If approved, a utility-scale solar farm would be the largest in renewable friendly Klickitat County and in Washington. But some residents say its potential location doesn’t take one important thing into account: environmental justice.

Some infrastructure concerns go far less discussed than others including, notably, the issue of wastewater and sanitation. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the country’s wastewater treatment plants are functioning at an average of “81 percent of their design capacities,” and 15 percent have “reached or exceeded” that capacity. Drinking water service disruptions and flooding from sewer backups and other infrastructure failures cost U.S. households $2 billion in 2019.

Pollution, much like wealth, is not distributed equally in the United States.

The Environmental Health Disparities Map ranks neighborhoods from 1 to 10. Ten is coded in red, meaning a higher environmental risk while 1, being the lowest, is coded in blue. On that map, Yakima County is a big, red blemish.