Revere with a splash of Environmental Justice

Team Fatima and Kharliyah's weekly selfie :)

   
Hey everyone,     
     July done already? Well, time is flying and this past week my team and I explored the first public beach in the United States, Revere Beach. To start of the week, on Tuesday --the hottest day of the week-- my team and I decided to make a TikTok for our deliverable about environmental justice. In the Tiktok, you will see Kharliyah, Keren, and Keiana picking up different types of trash on the sand and in the water then throwing it where it belongs, which is the trash. After making the TikTok, we spent some time sand racking, enjoying the refreshing cold water, and avoiding any sunburn since this week was very hot with lots of sun. For the remainder of the week, we spent our time picking up more trash that we found, did some tanning while relaxing on the beach, and team bonding.

Justice for the environment :)

        Just like climate change, environmental justice is a social movement that doesn't get talked about enough, knowing how important it is in today's world! Some may think that environmental justice is making sure that the oceans are becoming cleaner, less trees are dying, and less animals are dying, which is true but there is a lot more to it. Environmental justice is securing that all people regardless of their race, color, ethnic background or income has the same rights to a clean environment and neighborhood. To me, real environmental justice and change starts at the leaders of the cities and states putting more funding into projects and policies that are going to ensure making neighborhoods cleanlier and healthier.
      One doesn't need to be an adult to know that neighborhoods in Boston need to be more taken care of, especially low-income areas. On a website I found called, Environmental Racism/Justice, A Report By The Philanthropy and Environmental Justice Research Project at Northeastern University states, "Dr. Daniel Faber, project director, says "If you live in a white community, then you have a 1.8 percent chance of living in the most environmentally hazardous communities in the state. However, if you live in a community of color, then there is a 70.6 percent chance that you live in one of the most hazardous towns." This doctor is saying that if you are living in a community of color, there is nearly a 70% chance that your community is more hazardous than a white community. That statement is completely absurd and it is 2020, not the 1800-1900s. These types of statistics shouldn't be valid anymore. All communities should have the equal amount of protection and cleanliness regardless of color and income. This is a problem that needs to be fixed now and the leaders of these areas such as state legislators, mayors, and city counselors need to make the change happen by providing more funding to policies that make sure low-income areas and communities of color are becoming cleanlier and less hazardous.
      Catch you on the water,
           Fatima Fontes :)

       Duffer Erin. Environmental Racism/Justice. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=2121227eea084b98a8eb7e2f13563bfc