In My Opinion: Why People of Color Need Green Too

By Reginald Larkin

One’s ethnic background has always been a hot topic of discussion, in America. Despite the arrival of more pressing issues such as global warming, one begins to wonder when the waves of racism will subside. As a community, blacks have been trying to catch up with the majority society since post slavery; moreover, minority participation in the Green movement is almost non- existent. The rate in which global warming is occurring is quite alarming. Movies such as The Day After Tomorrow are now becoming reminders of the affects of global warming. There has been a sort of “call to arms” in response to the Earth’s climate.

Many have heeded this “call to arms”, however, people of color have somehow “missed the memo.” The Green movement lacks diversity for a number of reasons. The pressures of daily struggles tend to overshadow the need to worry about the environment. Never the less, there is a need for the effects of climate change to be properly communicated to ethnic people.

Urban communities are falling prey to environmental crimes that place their livelihoods and health at risk. Environmental crimes are white-collar crimes, which target ethnic or low-income communities and place health risks such as power plants near homes. Scenes such as this one are all too familiar thus, allowing the cycle to continue. Another common scene is the suburban area that does not have a power plant in the community.

The difference between these to two scenarios is the people in the suburbs go to their council members about environmental issues and they take an active part in their community. Meanwhile, people living in urban communities have to suffer. People of color want to get involved in the green movement, however they may not know how. The need to educate all people about the effects of the changing climate is one that is quite dire.

The Green Movement has always been a white movement but this can change with the involvement of minorities. Communication is a key factor in getting people involved in the environmental movement. The information should be provocative. People should understand how they are personally affected. If someone were writing a song, it would have a target audience in mind, during the creative process. Information should meet people where they are so it can be applied to their personal lives.

Minorities have to voice their concerns about their communities, or no one else will. Yes, the Green Movement is a wonderful thing that is getting people from all lifestyles involved. There are many different types of organizations dedicated to bringing more people of color into the movement, such as the Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative (EJCC).

These organizations are trying to promote ethnic participation in the movement. There is a great need for the Latino’s, African - Americans and Asians to take part in the Green movement. If minorities fail to their voice their opinions, they will proceed to lose the rights in the process. There are many things to be concerned about, but we cannot be concerned about anything if we do not have a place to call home.

- Reginald Larkin is a fashonisto, rising eco-journalist and college student at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He is also the President and Co-founder of Green Morgan a campus group working to engage more youth of color on environmental justice. For more writings from Reginald "treehuggeRL" Larkin visit http://larkintips.blogspot.com/

Read More

Hip Hop Caucus' Green Campaign Featured on CNN

Check out Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus showcasing how the Hip-Hop Generation does politics. Special mention was made to their new campaign "Green the Block". This campaign is slated to take the Green Movement by storm starting this August. For more information please visit Hiphopcaucus.org!

Read More

Good News Katrina Survivors Won't be Evicted from FEMA Trailers

The New York Times reported today that Hurricane Katrina survivors living in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not be evicted. In fact, those living in the trailers will be able to buy the trailers for five dollars or less! Also, The Department of Housing and Urban Development will give the 3,450 families still in trailers or temporary housing — including many elderly, poor and disabled people — priority for $50 million in permanent housing vouchers. The money for the vouchers was appropriated by Congress last year.

This story is a follow-up to the story we posted last week and to the several rallies that were held in support of the Katrina survivors.

Finally some good news to share! This post and tomorrow's full day of uplifting stories are dedicated to Dominique Grant, avid reader and dancehall queen. For more on Dominique and the hottest reggae events, news and gossip visit thewickedesttime.com!

Read More

Helping M.I.A. Put People on The Map That Never Seen A Map

20 Dollar - M.I.A.

Today, the Weather Report is featuring Environmental Justice news from around the world. We thought 20 dollar by Sri Lankan musical phenom, M.I.A. would be a good fit to highlight today's focus. The song discusses economic disparities and cultural differences in developing nations around the world. The lyrics not only showcase the real issues going on in Sri Lanka and Africa but also the deep connection and respect hip-hop has across the world.

More recently, M.I.A. was honored as one of the 100 most influential people by Time Magazine along with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. After the awards ceremony, Metrolyrics.com reports that M.I.A. wrote on her Myspace page that she was courting support from Oprah and other high profile celebrities. M.I.A. hopes to use her growing profile to draw attention to the plight of refugees in Sri Lanka. Check this link for the lyrics to this song.

Read More

Welcome to Toxic Village, China

By Reginald Larkin

Toxins from burning e-waste in the area cause birthing defects like this woman who's baby formed in her back

China is home to 1.3 billion people and is a nation that is on the cusp of becoming the world’s leading super power. Constantly developing and growing, China must find a means in which to support its vast populous and it appears that this budding nation may have found a means to and end. Electronic waste or "e-waste" as it is referred to with great disdain has been the cause of many health problems such as birth defects, miscarriages, and lowered IQ’s in children.

Recently I saw a video called Toxic Village that defined e-waste and also discussed it’s many health risks.


The villages of Nanyang and Guiyu are home to many migrant workers whose job it is to dismantle any electronics imported from America. After failing to sign the Basel Ban of 1994, America has continued to export electronics to villages in China. The streets on Nanyang are littered with stacks of dismembered electronics that are waiting to be burned or reused. For roughly twelve dollars a day the migrant workers are exposed to a number of poisons such as mercury and lead.

Prolonged exposure can cause a person to suffer a number of health afflictions such as learning disorders and cancer. It’s been stated that the air in these villages are foggy, dirty, and dusty, inducing headaches and respiratory issues for outsiders. the health defects may also be a bi-product of the fact that parts that cannot be "recycled" are burned in a local power plant. The Chinese government has made a point to keep the atrocious acts a secret from the rest of the world. People who carry video cameras are met with resistance on the part of the residents who appear protective of their communities.

The growing mass media in china has made it their mission to hold the Chinese government accountable for pollution they are pumping into these communities. The Chinese government has had little to no choice in the matter of cleaning of towns that piled to the brim with e waste. The news feed of Toxic Village was filmed in 2003 and as of 2005; the rate of which e-waste is being shipped to china is being regulated. The numbers of people with high lead blood problems in Nanyang and Guiyu has been reduced to 25 percent, however this is still higher than what normal people are living with. America should take heed from China’s efforts to reduces ewaste, after all America is the largest producers of ewaste yet fails to acknowledge the contribution. for more information and videos on this issue visit http://cnettv.cnet.com/60-minutes-walking-through-toxic-village/9742-1_53-50004404.html

Read More

Over 30 Environmental Justice Activists Murdered while Protesting in the Amazon Rainforest!

Protests turned for the worst this past Friday in the Amazons of Peru. Al Jazeera reports that over thirty indigenous Amazonians were killed during clashes with Peruvian government over planned oil and gas exploration on ancestral land.
Last Friday, thousands of indigenous people gathered in Bagua, Peru and created a human road blockade keeping government and corporate officials out of the rainforests they call home. Police attempted to break up the blockade of people which led to a violent clash between the protesters and police. When on the ground troops could not contain the protesters, witnesses reported that police officers shot fire and dropped teargas from helicopters.

The video below is footage from the protests. Although it is in Spanish, you can here the victims screaming out for help and water for the wounded.

Indigenous rights activist, Ben Powless of Ontario, Canada was in Peru during this tragic event while attending the Indigenous People's Summit held in Puno, Peru. Powless reported back that this tragedy is government retaliation for 50 days of ongoing protests. Along with the road blockade protesters have shut down parts of the Amazon and the Andes. On May 8th the Peruvian government announced a 60-day state of emergency in areas of the Amazon, suspending constitutional guarantees in an attempt to suppress the protests, which have targeted airports, bridges and river traffic. Alberto Pizango, elected representative of the Amazonian Peoples and supporter of the recent protests now has a warrant out for his arrest because of his high profile and alleged organizing support with the ongoing protests.

International human rights and Environmental Justice advocates are standing in support of Pizango and the thousands of other indigenous Peruvians who have lost their constitutional rights due to the protests to save their land and traditions.

Powless and the Indigenous people of Peru have offered some suggestions on how people like you (yes you reading this) can support this fight:

Please go here to send a letter to the President of Peru, and show him that the international community is watching and is outraged: http://www.amazonwatch.org/peru-action-alert.php

You may also donate to the cause with the following bank information: account number is 395-11-35-338057 (in nuevos soles, Peruvian currency) of the "Banco de Crédito del Peru" The contact information is Nicanor Alvarado Carrasco, coordinator of the "Vicaría del Medio Ambiente de Jaén". Phone: +511 076 433948.

with the suspension of constitutional rights it is even more important to scream and shout because there is a good chance that Pizango and other protestors will be tortured or executed once apprehended.

Continue to checktheweather.net for more info! Correspondents will also live tweet and blog from the protests planned for today Monday June 8th at 12:30 at the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, DC. Follow us on twitter or come join us if you are in the DC area!

Read More