It rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Air pollution, on the other hand, disproportionately affects African Americans and Latinos in California.
Even meterologial dangers have aggressive white privilege.
A group known as the Union of Concerned Scientists has now claimed that African American and Latinos breathe in up to 40% more air pollution than their white or Asian counterparts.
The reason, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, is that air pollution seems to be worse in neighborhoods primarily habitated by minority communities. For some reason, air pollutioin wants to hang out there.
Their study alleges:
- On average, African American Californians are exposed to PM2.5 pollution that is 43 percent higher than that for white Californians.
- Latino Californians are exposed to PM2.5 pollution 39 percent higher, on average, than that for white Californians.
- The lowest-income households in the state live where PM2.5 pollution is 10 percent higher than the state average.
- The highest income households live where PM2.5 pollution is 13 percent below the state average.
- Californians living in households without a personal vehicle are also exposed to much higher levels of vehicle pollution than other households because they tend to live in urban areas surrounded by vehicle traffic.
Their solution to the race-targeted pollution is that, “State and local governments must target actions to reduce emissions in and near densely populated neighborhoods and in the communities of color and low-income communities.”
In other words, they want people in low-income neighborhoods to purchase super-expensive electric vehicles with environmentally toxic batteries. But have no fear, because their study findings suggested that the government subsidize it.
You can read the study here.
