密歇根新闻广播 边缘化社区与环境保护

The environmental justice movement aims to address the disproportionate impact that environmental degradation¹ has on people of color, the economically disadvantaged, and indigenous² groups.

Mustafa Santiago Ali spent more than two decades at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working to fight air, water, and industrial pollution in those marginalized communities.

The nationally-recognized environmental justice leader will be speaking this week at the Great Lakes Conference in Detroit, hosted by the Healing Our Waters, Great Lakes Coalition³.

Ali has worked on a range of environmental justice cases in more than 500 communities nationwide. Those cases dealt with issues like air pollution from coal-fired powerplant emissions⁴ and industrial farming's impact on local water quality.

"We often place the things that we don't want in our most vulnerable communities," Ali said.

The public health issues caused by pollution, Ali notes, affect other areas of life like housing, transporation, and employment opportunities. He says the environmental justice movement is about pointing out the interconnectedness of those issues.

It also deals with having the opportunity to have your voice reflected in the decision-making process, and also making sure that resources are actually going to the communities that need them the most, Ali said.

Ali co-founded the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice in 1992. He says that during his 24 years at the agency, environmental justice principles were slowly but meaningfully integrated into its policies.

But in 2017, Ali sent his letter of resignation to former EPA Administrator⁵ Scott Pruitt. He says he could no longer be a part of the agency because it was moving in a direction that was going to put people's lives in danger.

Ali notes that the EPA has yet to find a replacement⁶ to fill his former position at the Office for Environmental Justice.

In his keynote speech at this week's conference, Ali says he plans to talk about issues like water quality and affordability⁷, as well as the importance of holding elected officials accountable for protecting the Great Lakes.

I'm always helping⁸ people to realize that they have power unless they give it away, and that power can play out in lots of different ways, Ali said. In the civic⁹ process, making sure that you're honoring your vote, never tell anybody who to vote for, but you should be voting for somebody who cares about your community, and you have to make the decision of who that is.

This post was written by Stateside production assistant Isabella Isaacs-Thomas.

1 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。