WEI RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY PROGRAM First Quarter 2008 Update
FIRST QUARTER 2008: Environmental Justice Education and Advocacy Collaborative (EJEAC) in Phillips Neighborhood:
WEI’s research report, Environmental Justice Analysis of Phillips Neighborhood – A Demonstration Model of Population and Place-Based Environmental Risk, has been completed and will soon be available to the public. This report provides a mapping of toxicity levels distributed throughout Phillips Neighborhood and argues the case for environmental injustice affecting the neighborhood. The second phase of the project, which is a neighborhood health survey, is being developed with the grassroots leadership of Phillips Environmental Steering Committee Initiative (PESCI), a coalition of Native American, Latino, Somali, African and other Phillips Neighborhood groups and individuals. Principal Investigator, Ann Fredrickson. and Community Organizers, Sheri Apungu and Caroline Marin, are WEI’s staff dedicated to the project. The purpose of this second phase of the project is to see if there are any measurable health effects that could be correlated with the toxic exposures found in the Phillips Neighborhood. PESCI has drafted the health survey using standardized questions from both federal and local county agencies and Phillips-specific questions, and is in the process of determining issues of sample selection, community involvement and promotion, interviewer recruitment and training, logistics of data collection, and refining goals and final products. Funding for the project is provided by Bremer, Bush and Headwaters Foundation for Justice
East Metro Environmental Justice Education and Advocacy Collaborative (EJEAC) Update underway.
FIRST QUARTER 2008: Climate Justice Project The EJAM-WEI collaboration on the Climate Justice project continues to evolve as Climate Justice Working Group members continually re-evaluate the project’s goals and strategies. The group continues to be a space for people of color, native communities, and low income communities to engage, network and be empowered for self-advocacy around climate change impacts/solutions that affect their communities. During the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) process, Climate Justice members worked to ensure the presence and recognition of a justice and equity voice. Currently, the project is focusing on building up community outreach and grassroots base in these communities around climate justice issues.
Dr. Cecilia Martinez, the Climate Justice Research Coordinator, has achieved a first draft of a climate justice informational pamphlet targeted to the Native community. Her work enriching the current climate justice fact sheets and providing the analytical background for the group’s “Ten Principles for Just Climate Policies in Minnesota” also continues to progress.
Just solutions to global warming, including just “green” jobs and manufacturing, equitable access to user-end energy efficiency, and adaptation strategies to current and future climate changes, continue to play a main role in the group’s goals and interests. To this end, EJAM Organizer Karen Monahan, EJAM Organizer and Wellstone Fellow Deborah Torraine, and WEI Climate Justice Project Coordinator Eleonore Wesserle attended the “Green Jobs, Good Jobs” conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 13-14, bringing back resources and ideas. Ms. Monahan and Ms. Torraine will continue this work in Memphis, Tennessee at the “Dream Reborn” conference hosted by Green For All April 4-6.
The Climate Justice Working Group meets regularly every third Tuesday. For locations and more information on the Climate Justice Project, contact Eleonore Wesserle, WEI Climate Justice Project Coordinator, at eleonore@w-e-i.org or 651-209-3934 x6.
Arsenic Triangle Working Group: Jacquelyn Zita continues to work with a group of U of M students and community activists to update WEI's policy work on the Arsenic Triangle, not only as it affects residents in Phillips Neighborhood, but also in Seward, Longfellow, Powderhorn and Corcoran Neighborhoods. Plans are underway for a large EJ community meeting in Phillips.