Environmental Racism NEWS! Environmnental Racism Takes Senate Stage New: Read about the NCC Clergy Listening Tour to New Orleans to visit communities living with conditions resulting from Hurricane Katrina and toxic waste in their communities. The destruction of our environment is felt disproportionately amongst communities of color. Air of Injustice finds that 71 percent of African Americans and Latinos live in communities where the level of air pollution violates federal clean air standards.  Additionally, The United Church of Christ found in their report Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007 that people of color make up the majority of those living in host neighborhoods within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the nation’s hazardous waste facilities. And the pictures from Katrina still stick in the minds of many of us.  The effects of environmental degradation are felt most readily by the minority communities among us.     What We Can Do Ask Congress to properly fund the Office of Environmental Justice and implement Executive Order 12898. Entitled, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Racism in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations” this is the strongest order from the federal government to address environmental racism. This law now needs to be codified by Congress and implemented. The Office of Environmental Justice was established to investigate and respond to environmental injustices, but their funding is limited, and so is their ability to respond to the myriad of cases. Hold a bible study session on environmental racism in your church. Download the NCC resource: Environmental Racism: An Ecumenical Study Guide.  What People of Faith Are Doing Resources: Race Waste and Class: New Perspective on Environmental Justice Race, Racism and Law: Speaking Truth to Power Environmental Racism: How minority Communities are expose to Toxic Soup The United Church of Christ, Toxic Waste and Race Report at Twenty 1987-2007 Links: National Black Environmental Justice Network Environmental Justice Resource Center- Clark Atlanta University Environmental Racism: An Ecumenical Study Guide