Bernie Sanders: Environmental-Justice Champion?
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Sanders has built a reputation as an outspoken environmentalist. But the senator is not particularly well-known as a defender of environmental justice, a grassroots movement that seeks to shield low-income and minority communities from the worst impacts of air pollution and environmental degradation.
That may be about to change. Last week, Sanders offered up an environmental-justice amendment in the Senate in response to legislation that would effectively block President Obama's effort to curb greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, a key pillar of the White House climate agenda.
The amendment calls on Congress to affirm a wide array of statistics pointing to the heightened public health risks faced by African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska natives as a result of air pollution.
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"Scientific evidence shows communities of color suffer more from the negative effects of inhaling polluted air and drinking polluted water," Mike Casca, an aide to Sen. Sanders, told National Journal. "The neighborhoods where these Americans live will continue to be the hardest hit if we don't act to stop climate change now."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/bernie-sanders-environmental-justice-20150812