#ActOnClimate: What you can do to support our most vulnerable communities

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Hannah Flesch

Have you been told that in order to help address climate change you should…

-Buy a hybrid car?

-Use eco-efficient light bulbs?

-Install solar panels on your home?

But what if you’re a college student like me who doesn’t drive cars or own a home? Outside of these conventional measures, is there anything you can do to take meaningful action to address climate change? Can you still be a part of the solution?

The answer is yes! You can make a difference right away through service–specifically in volunteering to build and strengthen resilience against climate change. As we begin to witness record-breaking heat, more frequent and intense storms and rising sea levels, communities everywhere must invest in durable infrastructure and smart mitigation plans. These actions will help cities, towns and villages to become more resilient, meaning that they will not only be able to withstand the physical impacts of climate change, but will also be able to rebound and grow stronger and more capable as a result of sustainable planning.

But these communities, and particularly those that are most imminently at risk, such as those in coastal and urban areas, cannot do it all on their own. Through the spirit of volunteerism, students and recent graduates who want to act on climate can do so by helping communities strengthen their resiliency to ensure that residents and leaders are better prepared to manage the risks. What’s more, service opportunities are primed for students and college graduates because they can help them develop confidence and build leadership skills before entering the workforce. While scientists may not be able to predict exactly where the next big storm will hit, strengthening resilience through service can ensure communities are well informed, prepared and adaptable in the face of a changing climate. Below are just some examples of some of these service opportunities:

Resilience AmeriCorps

The White House, along with Cities of Service, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service recently announced 10 cities selected for Resilience AmeriCorps (courtesy of citiesofservice.org)

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, Resilience AmeriCorps seeks to build resilience in vulnerable communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change. The two-year pilot program will deploy AmeriCorps VISTA members to ten cities nationwide to help address existing economic or health-related challenges while also helping them better prepare against extreme weather events and other climate-induced stresses. The July 2015 announcement reflects the Administration’s increasing attention to resiliency by improving preparedness and ensuring long-term sustainability. To apply or learn more about AmeriCorps and its new pilot program visit: http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps

Habitat for Humanity

Students involved in a Habitat for Humanity project (courtesy of Flickr)

You may have heard about this non-profit organization through its engaging outreach efforts on college campuses and in communities nationwide. Habitat for Humanity is another great opportunity to help build resilience particularly in communities already hit hard by a natural disaster. By focusing on home building and renovation, Habitat aims to help families in need of affordable and durable housing to ensure that they can physically and emotionally withstand another disaster. Its work in historically vulnerable urban areas such as New Orleans is notable, particularly since Hurricane Katrina inundated the city and many of its poorest residents. If you are interested in connecting with Habitat through your own community or college campus and like to do hands-on work, find you local Habitat at http://www.habitat.org/.

Citizens Climate Lobby

600 volunteers gathering on Capitol Hill for the Citizens Climate Lobby Conference in June 2014 (courtesy of Flickr)

Not sure what specific community you want to work in? Passionate about the environment and politics? If so, then consider joining the Citizens Climate Lobby, a non-profit organization that works with elected local and federal officials to get the most pressing climate issues on the political agenda. CCL empowers citizens to connect with and influence policymakers by rounding up political support and engaging policymakers in climate action. The non-partisan grassroots organization seeks to bring citizens and politicians together by lobbying, making phone calls, and publishing articles and making presentations. If you want to go beyond just one community and help strengthen resiliency for a swath of areas through policymaking, then CCL may be the right opportunity for you. To learn more visit CCL’s website at http://citizensclimatelobby.org/

Although service opportunities are great ways for students and college graduates to act on climate, it is important to note that many people, while interested, may not have the time or the finances to formally volunteer. If this is the case, no worries! You can still make a difference simply by having conversations among community members about the impacts of climate change and identifying areas you may believe to be especially vulnerable. A key element of strengthening resilience and adapting to climate change lies in the willingness to promote well being and foster cohesion among community members so that we are all aware and capable of managing the risks. So sure, you can make sure that your future car or home will be energy efficient, but if you are a college student and you want to make a difference now, go out and get involved in a community either on your own or through a service program. Community-based actions will be much more impactful, engaging and rewarding because they will ensure than we are not only protecting ourselves against climate change, but each other as well.

Dear Plastic Bag Users

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Shivani Kuckreja

Date: October 31, 2015

Subject: Floating Plastics and Dying Turtles

Recipients: Concerned Coastal Citizens

http://radicalmycology.com/2012/07/03/fungi-the-plastics-problem/

http://ecotoad.org/category/ocean/

Dear Plastic Bag Users,

With the number of plastic bags found in the ocean, you could travel to the moon over one thousand times. 10% of plastics produced end up in the ocean; over 13 million tons of plastic are dumped into our waters annually. As a consequence, 1 in every 2 sea turtles has eaten plastic. Some, like leatherback turtles, mistake plastic for jellyfish, their primary food source. Consuming plastics can block the intestines of sea turtles and eventually lead to death. In addition to ingesting plastic, turtles often become deformed after getting caught in plastic can holders and bottles, and can suffocate from being trapped in plastic debris. Only one in one thousand sea turtles survive to adulthood today, in a large part due to plastic debris in our oceans.

Thankfully, you can help! By decreasing your use of plastics and working to reduce the amount of plastic entering our waters, you can save hundreds of thousands of sea turtles. Beginning with the most practical acts and progressing to more complex ones, below are some ways in which you can help:

Coastal cleanups and proper disposal

Be sure to dispose of your trash appropriately. That small cup that you leave on the beach will break down in the water, making it easily digestible for sea turtles and other sea creatures. That plastic bag that you were using to throw away your cherry stems will look exactly like a jellyfish to a hungry leatherback turtle, who will realize the difference when it is too late. Those plastic can holders will envelope a baby sea turtle, growing with it and deforming it as time progresses. Trash from sewage drains is also emptied into our oceans and contributes to the creation of man-made garbage patches, which you can read more about here. America is one of the top 20 sources of plastic marine debris. Let’s change this.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/sea-trash-spiraling-out-of-control-study-finds

Opt for reusable bags and containers rather than plastic bags.

Instead of double-bagging your milk and orange juice, bring your own reusable bag to the supermarket. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family uses 1,500 plastic bags a year. Think about all of the Ziploc bags you use for packing lunches, and all of the plastic bags you use as storage during transport, and as trash bags. Everything adds up. Do your part in helping keep our oceans clean and our sea turtles safe by opting for reusable bags rather than plastic bags. As an added bonus, reusable bags are also sturdier and more durable, and many contain insulation to keep foods hot or cold. To learn more about why switching out plastic bags for reusable bags is a good idea, check out this Huffington Post article.

http://www.notcot.com/tag/reusable+bag

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-Compartment-Bento-Containers-Classic/dp/B004S129AQ

Support local banning or taxing of plastic bags.

In many states, plastic bags are taxed or banned. The Hawaiian islands of Kaua’i and Maui have banned all non-compostable plastic bags. Vermont is currently looking to ban plastic bags and its petition needs less than 200 signatures to gather the support of 1,000 people. Similarly, New York City also has a petition in place to ban the use of plastic bags in stores throughout the city. I encourage you to learn more about your state’s efforts to reduce the number of plastic bags its residents use. You may come across a petition you did not know was being circulated. If there are no petitions or proposals in place, write your own!

Donate to causes that are helping keep plastics out of waters for sea turtles

Donating to The Sea Turtle Conversancy and See Turtles, among other programs, is a great way to contribute to the wellbeing of sea turtle populations. Even a $5 donation can go a long way towards ensuring that sea turtles prosper in the future.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140414-ocean-garbage-patch-plastic-pacific-debris/

Spread the word!

It is so easy to ignore what happens to plastic bags once they are out of your hands. Please let people around you know that each bag lives a long life, often in oceans surrounding hungry sea turtles and other marine mammals. You can make a difference and, together, we can create long-term change.

Progressing from simple actions to more challenging ones, these actions illustrate a number of ways in which you can make a difference in the lives of sea turtles. Without change, the amount of plastic in our oceans may double within the next ten years. Play a role in helping keep our oceans clean. Take a moment to consider those that live out of sight. There is a world underwater that we feel quite distant from, but, with your help, we can bridge the gap between our differences and create a home for everyone on the one planet that we all share.

Sincerely,

Shivani Kuckreja, a fellow concerned coastal citizen

http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/costarica/

The Fault in Our Lawns

Posted on October 29, 2015 by rmatteso

The Charles River has been the focus of clean up efforts. A recent bill could make it better than ever. Photocredit: Susan E. MacDonald, Wikimedia

The Environmental Protection Agency wants you to rethink your lawn. Or at least the stuff you put on it.

Let me explain. Many fertilizers have phosphorus in them, because phosphorus is an essential ingredient to all life, plant or otherwise. But this life-giving quality also has the potential to kill fish, poison water, and stunt the tourism industry, all through a process called eutrophication.

Eutrophication happens when large amounts of phosphorus or nitrogen end up in a body of water like a lake. Algae then blooms and uses up oxygen until the fish in the lake can no longer breathe. The blanket of algae also blocks sunlight and starves lake plants of sunlight. The blue-green algae that commonly cause the blooms can produce a toxin called Mycrocystin L-R, which is more poisonous than cyanide. Needless to say, this makes the water undrinkable. Usually, it’s Lake Erie that gets all the attention when it comes to eutrophication, but it’s also a problem in Massachusetts. A 2002 study found that the Boston Harbor, as well as the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset rivers all exceeded the EPA standards for phosphorus loading, even on their lowest days. This phosphorus overload can hurt the appearance and smell of the rivers, making them useless as recreational places, and in paces like the Charles River, recreation is of critical importance. In 2013 the Head of the Charles Regatta attracted around 9, 000 rowers, made $4.8 million in local and state taxes. Some local businesses and hotels depend on the nearly $47 million earned during the regatta weekend. Once phosphorus runoff gets into a body of water, it can be hard to get it out again. Phosphorus deposited 10 or even 20 years previous can still cause an algae bloom. Every day without action causes harm.

Fertilizer runoff is a primary source of this phosphorus. For this reason, Massachusetts passed a law that would limit the amount of phosphorus in lawn fertilizers. The decreased phosphorus load of these fertilizers could save the state of Massachusetts as much as $ 180 million per year in water treatment costs. The law imposes a fine for putting phosphorus on a non-agricultural area without first testing the nutrient balance of the underlying soil. Lawns that aren’t established yet are exempt. The law also regulates times of year in which the fertilizer can be applied, since during some times of year soil conditions make runoff more likely. In addition, fertilizer retailers must display phosphorus-rich fertilizers separately from non-phosphorus fertilizer and put up a sign explaining that the law prohibits the use of phosphorus fertilizer on non-tested lawns. This is an important regulation and should be pretty non-controversial. While fertilizer used for food could potentially have a reason for high phosphorus, since that phosphorus is meant to fuel plants that people eat, non-agricultural land does not need this kind of attention.

Not to mention that the fertilizer might not even help your lawn that much. Using a fertilizer with too much phosphorus can actually hurt your garden. This excess phosphorus can crowd out other more important soil nutrients, and can harm soil organisms that live symbiotically with garden plants, helping them grow with fewer nutrients.

The lawn laws enacted in August were a notable victory with a just as notable gap. As mentioned previously, there is a fine for non-compliance, but a monitoring system would be next to impossible to implement. The best thing citizens can do for this law now is to follow it voluntarily and to spread the word about the personal and statewide financial benefits this law produces.

Non-Massachusetts residents can also help their own states by voluntarily reducing fertilizer consumption. Get your soil tested to see what your soil actually needs before you load up on fertilizer. A simple test usually costs from $7 to $10 while a container of high phosphorus fertilizer which you might not need can cost as much as $13 or even $40 . UMass Amherst is one of many places that will test your soil. Here are some guidelines for reducing phosphorus runoff from your lawn, and here is a guide for reading fertilizer bags, so you know what you’re buying. Extra credit: ask your representatives to seek phosphorus regulations in your own state. Your local water sources, and maybe even your lawn, will thank you.

A Call to White Conservationists (From a White Conservationist)

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Rosalie Sharp

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Fyodor_Vasilyev_Trees_Study_11002.jpg

A recent New York Times article raises a question that’s plagued the outdoor recreation community for decades: “Why are our parks so white¹?” While people of color represent nearly 40% of the US population, they make up only 22% of National Park visitors and even less of Park Service staff.

Too often, this disparity is attributed to the myth that people of color are less interested in nature than whites (by the way, this assumption is easily disproven with a few minutes of internet research). Let’s be honest, this explanation is a cop out – it asks people of color to step up and visit parks instead of confronting the problems that are currently keeping them away.

Identifying these problems – let alone confronting – is challenging, as they’re rooted in this country’s systemic racism and the institutionalized racism of the National Parks. However, the New York Times article cites a number of examples that highlight the impacts of systemic racism in day-to-day life. For example, the article quotes Carla DeRise, a Black Seattle resident, who fears race-driven harassment or attack in the rural areas around parks and in isolated campsites. For DeRise, driving through the sweeping forested lands outside of Mount Rainier National Park will never be entirely comfortable or rejuvenating. As the rural inhabitants of these areas are typically white, her journey quickly becomes eerily reminiscent of landscapes that concealed murders and lynchings of Blacks. She’s not alone – this sentiment is mirrored in a number of other accounts from Black Americans traveling through predominantly white areas².

Access to public natural space is supposed to be a privilege for all US citizens, but it’s not. Since visiting natural spaces can be a moving, even transformative, experience, indirectly denying this right to some Americans is an injustice. And preventing people of color from forming connections with these environments only hurts the conservation movement – we need diverse input and participation in conservation efforts to create a sustainable and effective conservation system in the future.

The New York Times article asks the Park Service to be a leader in diversifying outdoor recreation by making the areas they manage accessible, inclusive, and safe for people of color. But there’s more to be done than wait for the National Park Service to effectively reach out to underrepresented racial groups, especially since NPS outreach efforts continue to target people who already visit the parks¹.

White environmentalists who aren’t employed by the Park Service need to reconsider our participation in the conservation movement. It’s easy to name this as the National Park Service’s problem to take the burden off our shoulders. But we have an opportunity, and responsibility, to help reshape US conservation strategies to reflect a diverse set of backgrounds and opinions. I hope we have the courage to take it, for practicing anti-racist conservation is the only way to sustainably and equitably maintain true public access to natural spaces.

There are many ways to do this. Drawing from Carolyn Finney’s work³ on African American participation in the environmental movement, here are three ways to begin practicing anti-racism in conjunction with conservation work:

Confront the ways we, as individuals, perpetuate structural racism. Finney found that over 35% of Black Park Service employees felt that exclusionary practices were a key reason the organization was predominantly white. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of their white co-workers listed exclusionary practices as the least important issue or a non-issue. Again, this mindset of white racist denial extends beyond the Park Service. Being an environmentalist or being liberal doesn’t exempt us from perpetuating racism – this denial prevents us from actually addressing the inequalities present in the conservation movement. We must confront our personal biases to create effective multiracial leadership groups and confront day-to-day discrimination and silencing of people of color. This article by writer and activist Ted Glick or this article from Arielle Newton, the editor and chief of the blog Black Millennials, are good places to start understanding what day-to-day antiracism means for white people.
Diversify Leadership in the Conservation Movement. A recent study shows that most conservation organizations employ less than 16% people of color. Since access to conserved land is supposedly a resource for all Americans, organizations making conservation decisions must reflect the diversity of this country. White environmentalists must work to make our environmental spaces and organizations more inclusive for people of color.
Ask parks we visit for comprehensive histories. Many National parks present an idealized version of history that erases the violence towards people of color that has occurred, and continues to occur, on this land. For example, many parks in the South choose not to acknowledge slavery in tours. Failure to present slave history not only erases Black Americans’ presence, but also denies the violence towards Black Americans that occurred in those areas and ways that legacy persists today.

Of course, this list is far from comprehensive. Articles like “Why are Our Parks so White” are important to draw attention to the whiteness of outdoor recreation and the conservation movement, but at some point we need to respond. Conserving natural spaces should unify, not fracture, America – centering ourselves and our environmental work in antiracist practices will help us get there.

¹http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/opinion/sunday/diversify-our-national-parks.html?_r=1

²Ironically, this account was published in the New York Times 12 years ago – a reminder that this isn’t a new problem and it won’t have an easy fix.

³A supplementary bullet point: read Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney (2014). It’s a great book.

Field of Dreams? The Future of the Belle Mead Depot

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Hannah Davelman

Town, county and state officials pose for a photo at the future site of Mountain View Park. Photo courtesy Somerset County Park Commission.

It’s been a year since Somerset County and Hillsborough, New Jersey formally dedicated the future site of the new athletic complex at Mountain View Park, site of the old General Services Administration Belle Mead Depot. The first phase of construction, already underway, will result in seven new, lighted, baseball fields. Phase two consists of plans to build an additional six baseball fields, and has yet to move beyond the planning stage. Public interest in the process has been limited in the past few years, partly because every press release announcing these plans describes the site the same way, just as I’ve done- “the site of the old GSA Belle Mead Depot.” Many Somerset County residents have spent their entire lives just a few miles away from the depot, and yet most have no idea what that actually means.

It wasn’t always that way, though. A big part of the problem with Mountain View Park is how thoroughly it erases what could easily be one of Hillsborough’s proudest historical moments. Beginning in the 1940s, the Belle Mead Depot was one of eleven World War II “filler bases” where weapons and equipment were stored before being shipped to the front. On any given day, the warehouses stocked 1.2 billion dollars (over 16 billion in 2015 dollars) worth of nails, bolts, trucks, munitions, and anything else that might possibly be needed overseas. If it was needed on the front, it often went through Belle Mead Depot to get there. When a shortage of labor arose, hundreds of students from Princeton University were bussed in to sort the warehouses’ stock. For a while, it even housed Italian prisoners of war. Yet, the athletic facilities planned for the site make no reference to this past.

Change isn’t always a bad thing, and both the county and the township understand that residents’ needs have changed in the past seventy years. However, according to Hillsborough Parks and Recreation, the town already has more than fifteen public baseball fields. When the park was first proposed, residents overwhelmingly supported using the depot for walking trails and bike paths, and adapting the site for such a purpose opens up a new world of opportunities for recreation as well as a chance to explore the site’s history.

Residents should ask the Somerset County Improvement Authority to reconsider their plans for the second phase of Mountain View Park. This is an opportunity for Hillsborough to embrace its history. The recreational facilities at Ann Van Middlesworth park and Woodfield Park, each less than half a mile away, could undeniably use some upgrades- perhaps instead of building more baseball fields, the town could update those facilities to the standards proposed at Mountain View. By doing this, we could provide residents with the state-of-the-art athletic fields the county has envisioned, as well as retain part of the GSA depot for less structured recreational use, perhaps with much-needed historical information about the site. This kind of use would augment the nearby Sourland Mountain Preserve, and give residents the opportunity to get outdoors while learning about local history. The Delaware Raritan Canal State Park is one nearby example of the merging of historic information with valuable recreation space, and it could potentially serve as inspiration for a new kind of park at the Belle Mead site- one that uses recreation to complement history, rather than obscuring it. At the D&R Canal, the towpath that once guided mules pulling barges is now used for biking, walking, fishing, and birdwatching, with historic markers that explain what the various locks and bridges were used for. At this point, it’s unlikely an extensive project would be possible for the Belle Meade Depot, but even a rudimentary marker could be fascinating to residents looking to connect with local history.

It’s often difficult for New Jersey residents to connect with their state’s military past. Unlike Boston, with its freedom trail and historic monuments, it’s incredibly easy to grow up in this state and have no idea what’s happened here. By reconsidering what the Belle Mead GSA property could be, we have an opportunity to maintain open space, and educate residents about the history of this town. Somerset County and the town of Hillsborough have a unique opportunity to tell a story that’s been almost completely forgotten. They should take it.

Seeds of Justice: 4 Ways You Can Support Sustainable, Community-Driven Food Systems

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Meredith Wade

Five white men and women with tools tend a community garden.

U.S. industrial agriculture causes an estimated $34.7 billion worth of environmental damage each year, yet 49 million Americans still live in households that can’t count on having enough food. It’s clear that our food system is not meeting our social and environmental needs – solutions, on the other hand, aren’t quite so straightforward. When you think about better options for the food system, do you imagine buying local and organic? Do you picture urban farms and community gardens? Are you dreaming of artisan coffee and a stroll around the farmer’s market right now? (Yeah, me too.) Can you envision these actions making it harder for certain communities to access healthy, sustainable food? Hold up – what?

It’s true: many popular approaches to the “food problem” tend to push privileged and disadvantaged groups farther apart, which is especially troubling given the demographics of food access. Food insecurity intersects – perhaps obviously – with lower household income, but it also reflects significant racial disparities: while 11% of White households experienced food insecurity in 2013, a quarter of Black and Latin@ households faced barriers to food access in the same year. These patterns ring true in the long-term effects of food access, too, putting racially, culturally, and economically marginalized populations at greater risk of diet-related disease. Latin@ and African-American children are 1.7 times more likely than White children to be diagnosed with diabetes by the time they turn eighteen; Native American children are diagnosed at more than twice the rate of White children.

A graph showing the prevalence of diabetes among adults, by race/ethnicity. Graph shows Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native at a far higher prevalence than White non-Hispanic.

A graph showing the prevalence of diabetes among adults, by race/ethnicity. Source: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/mead_racialethnicdisparities_chartbook_1111.pdf

If you grew up thinking that farmers’ markets, urban gardens, and natural food stores offered the best options for your health and the planet’s, it can be hard to grapple with the unintended social consequences these resources can have. But the environmental movement needs people like you to engage in thoughtful action – in fact, our collective future depends on it.

If you are ready to make social equality a core part of your food ethic, read on:

Examine your own place in the food system. Start by thinking about what kind of foods make you feel physically and mentally nourished, as opposed to just full – how often do you have these foods around? List the parts of your identity – such as class, culture, race, gender, age, geographic location – that you think have made it easier or harder for you to get the foods you need. Taking a moment to reflect – alone or with a friend – on your experience with food justice will help you identify your own unique position, and develop a more thoughtful approach to action.
Understand food justice in your community. Who lives on your block, in your neighborhood, in your city? Talk to the people who live nearby to see how they feel about their food options. Then, take what you have learned and zoom out: try comparing your grocery stores with those of a friend in a different neighborhood or part of town. How might the resources you have align with resource gaps somewhere else? Talk about ways you and your community can leverage these resources to make healthy, sustainable food more accessible.
Get schooled. Young people face some of the biggest risks that stem from food in Reach out to your local school board about your concerns – or better yet, see how you can support a student-driven movement for sustainable, nutritious, and culturally relevant meals in the cafeteria. If you need inspiration, look no further than the New Orleans-based Rethinkers, an organization that used youth participatory action research (Y-PAR) to transform the way cafeterias sourced food after Hurricane Katrina devastated local public schools.
Sow your support. If your area already has community gardens, take a moment to learn about their history: find out how they were established, who tends to use them, and how they fit into the picture you’ve been developing of food justice in your area. Then pitch in a few volunteer hours! Many urban farms – especially those that lead youth and community programs on the side – could use the extra set of hands, whether you end up harvesting, weeding, or sorting papers in an office. Not exactly a green thumb? Ask if they could use your help with upcoming fundraisers or events. No community gardens? No problem! Talk with your neighbors to gauge interest, look for existing organizations that could sponsor you, and check out some potential sites.

Structural inequality and environmental problems often go hand in hand. Few examples show this more clearly than the American food system. Luckily, this connection is true of our potential solutions, too: one small step towards a more sustainable food system can often start a cycle of positive social impact that benefits everyone. And the best news? This cycle of growth starts with you.

Let’s Stop the Food Fight: Why Labeling GMOs Is Not the Best Solution, and How You Can Get Involved

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Carolyn Chelius

Are you are entitled to know whether or not your food is genetically modified? Three quarters of state legislators in Massachusetts think that you are – and have signed onto a bill that could make GMO labeling mandatory in Massachusetts. This bill, however, isn’t the right approach. While knowledge is good, misinformation is bad. If you care about science, the environment, or the world’s ability to feed itself in the future, you need to be part of this conversation. Given the extreme importance of the issue, take the time get involved to make a difference.

The subject of genetically modified foods is complex, and both sides of the labeling debate present valid arguments. Take, for instance the topic of safety. On the one hand, the American Association for Advancement of Science, the American Medical Association, and the World Health Organization have concluded that GMOs pose no known risks for human consumption. On the other hand, advocacy groups like the Environmental Working Group argue there may be unidentified risks to transplanting the genes of one organism into another. Another argument is environmental concerns. Proponents of GMOs argue that crops like insect-resistant Bt corn and herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans have increased crop yields (reducing the need to expand land for agriculture), and reduced spraying of toxic herbicides and pesticides. However, there are environmental reasons to be wary of GMOs too; recent research shows that pests are developing resistance to these insect-resistant crops, rendering them no more productive and environmentally beneficial than their conventional counterparts.

A simple label denoting, “contains GMOs,” would fail to convey such information. A label reduces the question of GMOs to a mere binary, suggesting there are only two options: GMOs and GMO free. While it’s certainly crucial to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of GMOs and take this into consideration when food shopping, a label hardly provides the information needed—it would require significant background knowledge to make an informed choice.

In addition to being potentially misleading, there are other drawbacks to changing labels. Labels are expensive. A recent study at Cornell University analyzed the potential costs of labeling products containing GMOs in the state of New York. The study catalogued the costs of the physical act of labeling, warehousing, stocking, and tracking the products in supermarkets, and predicted that labeling GMOs would cost the average family of four $500 per year in increased food expenses.

Labeling GMOs is also difficult to implement. Proposed laws require labeling foods at grocery stores—this entirely ignores restaurants and cafeterias. Drawing the line between a supermarket, and say, a store that sells both prepared and made-to-order food would be a logistical nightmare. GMO labeling schemes also create problems when they are enacted state-by-state; food producers would be forced to follow separate standards for each state they send products to—ultimately increasing the price of food for the consumer.

It is important to acknowledge, however, the benefits of a labeling scheme. Labeling products containing GMOs would provide consumers the information to make their own choice. It’s possible that labels might generate questions and promote education about GMOs. Labels could also facilitate trade with countries where foods containing GMOs are unaccepted. It seems more likely, however, that a label may just further confuse consumers about GMOs—suggesting that the government or the scientific community have adjudicated them as unsafe. Public distrust is the last thing we need to fuel right now, as it hinders the conversation on the benefits of GMOs and distracts us from addressing the real dangers in our food – substances that, unlike GMOs, have been scientifically proven as harmful – such as antibiotics, pesticides, and excess sugar.

Here are a few ways you can get involved, and help Massachusetts see past the issue of labeling:

Read the labels that are already on your food. Are there added sugars? Is it antibiotic free? Ask yourself what information influences your purchasing decisions, and how might GMOs fit into that picture?
Write to, call, or email your local Senator and ask that the complex issue of GMOs not be reduced to a simple yes or no label. Reach out to these 44 Massachusetts legislators, as they have yet to make a decision on the bill.
Explore alternative options. Check out your local farmers’ market and ask farmers about their growing practices. If, after weighing the pros and cons, you decide to avoid GMOs, purchase USDA organic which promises no genetically modified ingredients.
Don’t fuel the fight. It’s exciting that state legislators are acting on food issues and thinking critically about GMOs. Let’s make sure, however, that the people who represent us are concentrating on the right questions and debating the appropriate solutions. Let’s examine GMOs with scientific rigor and give the conversation the time and thought that it deserves.

A Letter to Residents of Southeast Los Angeles

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Idalmis Vaquero

October 2015

Dear residents of Maywood, Boyle Heights, and East Los Angeles,

On August 21, 2015, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) announced that anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 homes may be contaminated with lead in the neighborhoods near Exide Technologies in Vernon, California. If you live in Maywood, East Los Angeles, or Boyle Heights, just north and south of the facility, your home may be at risk.

Exide Technologies was a lead-acid battery recycling facility that operated on a temporary permit for over 30 years. The facility was allowed to remain open even though it was cited over a dozen times for emitting lead and other hazardous chemicals to the air, water, and soil of nearby communities.

Although Exide was permanently close in March 2015, there is still a lot of mistrust in DTSC from the community. Therefore, a community advisory group at DTSC was created in May to ensure that Exide is held accountable for the cleanup of the area. This group includes Mark Lopez, the executive director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, a representative from the Los Angeles Public Health Department, and a technical advisor that advises on the appropriate measures needed for appropriate closure of the facility. Although it is hard to place trust in an agency that has failed to protect the public for over 30 years, our community is finally being heard and we should use the resources we have been fighting for, for so long.

Although lead poisoning has devastating health consequences, it often goes undiagnosed. This is a major concern in Los Angeles, where over one-third of the children in California under the age of six tested positive for elevated lead levels in 2010. Lead is a dangerous chemical has no safe level of exposure and has been proven to impair brain development in children.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the allowable limit of lead in bare soil is 400 parts per million (ppm). Testing has confirmed that 38 properties have lead levels over 1,000 ppm and require immediate clean-up since there are children and pregnant women living in these residential properties.

Here are the four most important steps you can take now to make sure you and your family are protected from Exide’s lead contamination.

If you live in Maywood, East Los Angeles, or Boyle Heights, it is important to get your property tested.

DTSC has recently secured $7 million to begin the immediate clean-up of the properties contaminated with lead in the expanded testing are near Exide. You do not need to pay for testing, clean-up, or relocation costs. Even if you are not the owner of the property, you have the right to receive soil testing if your home is within the expanded testing areas.

Map: Testing was originally conducted in the green squares. Lead soil testing is now being offered in the Northern and Southern expanded sampling areas, since the extent of contamination is greater than anticipated.

If you are the owner of the property, you must contact Marina Perez, Public Participation specialist at DTSC, to set up an appointment toll free at (844) 225-3887 or by email at marina.perez@dtsc.ca.gov. She is bilingual and working directly with community members in the areas affected by Exide’s contamination.

If you are a tenant, you must contact your landlord and ask them to contact Marina Perez.

Once you call her, she will schedule a home visit to conduct soil testing. The results of the sampling will determine whether your home requires cleanup and if so, the extent of such cleanup. Homes with lead levels over 1000 ppm and homes where children and pregnant women are present and with lead levels over 400 ppm will be prioritize for clean-up. A work notice detailing the plan for cleanup will be distributed at least a week before soil removal occurs and entire process should not take more than two weeks.

Relocation and meals cost during this time will be covered by Exide and additional accommodations can be made for public transportation users. It is therefore, important to take advantage of this opportunity to make sure you home is lead-free.

Get a free blood test from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health for you and your children.

Since it is difficult to tell if you or your child are lead poisoned, blood testing can show whether the lead levels are above the CDC’s acceptable limits. In the case that someone in your family has over 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, you can obtain medical attention to reduce health effects of lead exposure.

You can sign up for blood lead testing at bloodleadtesting.com or by calling toll-free at 1 (844) 888-2290.

Once you sign up for a free blood lead screening, a lab form will be mailed to you. You will be asked to provide your contact information and take the completed form to your nearest Quest Diagnosis Laboratory, which may be in Downey or Boyle Heights. Although it might be difficult to take a large chunk of your time to get a blood test, it could help uncover the cause of any current symptoms your child might be suffering and prevent future exposure.

If you are unable to get a blood test, you can also visit your local community health center and be seen by a physician free of charge. At any of these centers, you can also ask for other resources and information available to prevent lead exposure.

Get connected on Facebook!

Like the Facebook pages of local environmental justice organizations, like Communities for a Better Environment and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice to get the latest updates on Exide.

All the DTSC and AQMD meetings have bilingual support and the organizations’ meetings are also accessible to Spanish-speakers. Check out this website to find out when the next community meeting will be.

But most importantly, share this information with your neighbors and other community members. Let them know what is happening in our community.

Although Exide is finally shut down, there is still more we can do to protect ourselves and our families. This is a step we can take towards addressing environmental injustice in our community and ensuring that our homes are free of Exide’s lead contamination.

Sincerely,

Idalmis

A concerned resident of Southeast Los Angeles

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Environmental Synthesis & Communication

Category Archives: Call to Action