Vice President Kamala Harris wakes up to environmental racism

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Vice President Kamala Harris. Monday, January 9, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris, Monday, January 9, 2023

Nobody likes to think about climate change. There’s a reason every supernatural villain these days is a thinly veiled allegory of a rapidly warming earth (looking at you, White Walkers). But sadly, it’s not the kind of thing any of us can choose to ignore.

Vice President Kamala Harris seems to have gotten that message loud and clear. On Thursday, the vice president hit the road with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss the climate crisis at the University of Michigan.

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When I think of the shoulders we stand on and where we’ve come to, Vice President Harris said, according to Michigan Live. I think we should all take note of the momentum we’ve achieved and our responsibility, now sitting in these chairs right now, to then carry on with this moment and lead, and not waste a minute because we we don’t have a free minute.

The administration has made tremendous strides in promoting policies to address climate change.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed the Cut Inflation Act, which provided $369 billion in funding to fight climate change and build climate-resilient infrastructure.

Harris, who is the first black vice president and the first South Asian vice president, also delved into the issue of environmental racism.

You can look, for example, at the data that tells us that some of the worst air quality areas in America are low-income communities and communities of color, Harris said, according to A4 News. When you look at asthma rates, you see correlations. When you look at which communities are suffering the most in terms of extreme weather and therefore need to evacuate, you can see a correlation.

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Harris isn’t pulling these concerns about climate change and environmental racism out of nowhere.

Experts like Catherine Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, have sounded the alarm about the disproportionate impact of climate change and environmental racism on black and brown communities.

We need to build resilience, but we also need to reduce our emissions. You have to do both, it’s not one or the other, Flowers said in an interview with The Root. Because either can lead to death for all of us.

We have already seen the impact of extreme weather events on under-resourced communities like Jackson, Mississippi, where extremely cold weather and flooding caused drinking water to be cut off for weeks.

Financial investments like those championed by the Biden-Harris administration in the Cut Inflation Act are vital right now, Waikinya Clanton told The Root:

Approval of federal funds could not have come at a more opportune and urgent time for the city, Clanton said. It is now up to local and state authorities to do their due diligence to ensure the people of Jackson get the help and support they need during this very difficult and uncertain time. We can’t stop the weather, but we can prepare for it.

Funding alone will not be enough. In her closing statement, Harris urged the public to continue pushing for community-wide change.

Help people get excited about all the opportunities this will open up amid the crisis, Harris said, according to Michigan Live. Even if this crisis didn’t happen, which it does, this is a commitment our nation and the world should always have to innovation and how we can be smarter.

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