The article “Toxic Soup Redux: Why Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Matter after Katrina”, is what first introduced me to the ideas of environmental racism and environmental justice. Even though I always see that racism is a concept embedded into our society, it was strange to see how it even seeps into environmental concerns. I can only say the idea makes me both shocked and concerned.

The most heartbreaking stories came from the articles “Law Enforcement Violence and Disaster” and “For Public Housing Residents After Sandy, ‘A Slow Motion Katrina’”. Both of these articles show the environmental racism that emerges from environmental disasters, specifically Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. The complete police brutality for the victims of Hurricane Katrina who could not escape from New Orleans in time is tragic, especially the emphasis on the abuse towards women and transgender individuals of color. The events in response to Hurricane Sandy also mimic this idea of environmental racism when houses in places like Cobble Hill and Park Slope, generally wealthy areas, quickly got back their utilities while houses in Gowanus and Red Hook were left without power for eleven days which causes problems for disabled individuals that lived in these establishments.

The question is, how do we bring about awareness to the idea of environmental racism and further educate individuals on this topic so there could be a larger rally to fix the environmental injustice in certain areas over others?