6/7/16 ideas

After reading an article titled, "The impact of Race on Environmental Quality" by Raquel Pinderhughes,  the idea that people in poverty receive a greater economic burden than people of higher socioeconomic status was reinforced. This was not a surprise to me, but I was interested in the fact that there are professional studies addressing the subject. I am aware of the project involving mercury samples that the this program has done in the past and is repeating, and realize it is a reinforcement of knowledge that is already agreed on.

Today, the greatest benefit I received today was a clarification of what environmental justice truly is. After watching a khan academy video on the subject, a benefit vs. burden analysis is necessary before fully resolving the issues in a community. In general, there is a trend showing greater environmental benefits (parks, less air pollution, etc.), increases with the socioeconomic status of a community. Likewise, the burdens (greater air pollution, dirty water, greater number of brownfield sites, etc.) that arise from the environment are often skewed in favor of harming those in poverty. Based on the videos we watched and activities we did, I realized how large of an issue environmental justice is, and how it can affect several parts of a person's life. While these environmental issues are usually one of the last problems concerning a person in poverty, it is important to understand how much of an affect it can truly have, and what we can do to resolve something so complex.

After our discussion and activities today, I am interested in learning more about specific people/programs whom are currently doing work involving environmental justice. Although this is not an issue that necessarily that affects me directly, it is something that I am strongly interested in, and want to discover community activities that I can become involved in. This summer, my current internship is projected to be in a lab, working on some critical environmental research. While this is obviously not going to be community-involved, I hope to learn some valuable information that I can bring back to the Environmental Leadership Program - in turn becoming a informed citizen of the environment and an effective community leader.

Dante Frazer

Dante Frazer
6/7/16
Environmental Justice


Environmental justice as a whole is very fascinating to me because the same people who are facing injustice in regards of there environment is also facing injustice in the world. Majority of people who experience environmental injustice are lower income,Hispanic or African American people. These American citizens who for whatever reason don't have a lot of money and because of that they have to live in a unsanitary environment. When American people are poisoned, neglected, and feel as if they are experiencing injustice then the only person it hurts is the government because its hard for people to wake up and go to work every morning if they are sick and if they cant work and sick then they wont be able to pay their medical bills or monthly expenses which leaves the people who are fit to work and pay bills left to pay the other peoples expenses. Environmental Science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. I’d like to get the opportunity to be able to achieve or learn these qualities this summer. Diversity is a crucial component of the public leadership. Environmental leaders must themselves reflect the diversity of the country and have skills to work across difference. I hope to learn more about how the diversity in environmental science, and how it affects more than just the minority living there. Diversity isn't the only thing about environmental science because it brings everything together like the science and the political aspects. Environmental science focuses on a lot but one of may is the interaction the environment has between organisms. Another thing i’d like to learn this summer revolving this subject is the understanding of their earth processes, evaluating alternative energy systems, and pollution control. There's a lot I cant take from this fellowship and I know I'd learn a lot perhaps more than i just mentioned and that's all i want is to be able to expand my knowledge and educate myself.

Aisha Sharhan

June 7, 2016

Environmental justice based off of a video shared by Cindy and an article "environmental Interns:article discussion"

• knowledge - awareness
• education
• collectivize
• government: local state federal
• regulation 
• trade off 
• sustainability 
• cultural sensitivity 
• fairness 
• multi-step 
• compromise 
• cost/social analysis
• equity not equality

I want to learn more especially after watching the video Cindy shared about environmental justice

• rich - poor
• white - minority
• benefits - burdens
• parks - factories
• green space - transportation

I want to make sure I make a difference to some one throughout this summer.  to make it aware to other people that are being affected that don't know the harm the environment is causing them. Something new I learned was how badly China's rives were i never knew how bad they become but after watching another video it dawned on me how critically their situation was and how it was the cause of the government. In the video a guy discussed about how people well have to worry about 3 types of cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, and stomach cancer. I would also like to learn more about diveristy and how the politial aspects of the wolrd affect the environment or the enivornment to the people. I'm interested in seeing how this internship will interacts with every other topic in the world and how everything is a cause and effect. like  a domino affect and that by changing one thing could stop the movement/ problem from expanding and making problems worse.

Alice Introduction

Hi my name is Alice Li. I am a rising senior at West Haven High School. This summer, I will be involved in the Environmental Leadership Internship Program. This is a great opportunity for me as I have always been interested in the science field from a really young age. I am particularly interested in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Microbiology. Recently, I learned about how much of an impact environment has on human health. There has been research that indicates a connection of what we are exposed to, such as harmful chemicals and carcinogens, and how our body responds to it. By studying the environment, these environmental-based diseases can be prevented and we can help produce a health-supportive community.

This summer, we are working on a project that tackles every aspect and disciplinary of environmental science. We are analyzing to see the correlation of mercury levels to the location in relation to power plants. Last year, a group of students found that mercury level is highest in locations closest to the power plants. This year, we are confirming the data found last year and we are going to further the study by analyzing the effect of mercury on marine life, particularly the fish. This is a huge issue today because it involves environmental justice. I was just reading an article about the concentration of power plants in minority and poor areas. The accumulation of mercury will lead to severe consequences such as disease and cancers which will affect more minorities than whites. Environmental science is a subject that should definitely be investigated and studied more, especially since it affects me and all the people around me worldwide. In the past, I never knew how important of a role environment plays in human health. In the future, I want to be able to investigate more environmental factors and prevent diseases. 

Aisha Sharhan (Lynne Bonnett)

Hi, my name is Aisha Sharhan and i am a raising senior at Co-op high school.

Lynne Bonnett article

•  fair haven communities with latino, black and immigrant residents cast fishing lines along the river downstream from the power plant.
• People of color are disproportionately harmed by neglected environmental issues. 
• Blacks and latinos are more likely than whites to live dangerously close to environmental hazards.
• While majority white, middle- income and wealthy communities enjoy relative insulation from the risks of living near hazardous facilities, a lack of political representation on environmental issues makes it more difficult for racial minorities in poorer neighborhoods to combat injustices
• how it doesn't matter what state you live in the least percentage of the population to live in chemically hazardous zones are whites.

Introducing Me!

Ashley Ceravone
Environmental Leaders
May 24th, 2016

To introduce myself: my name is Ashley Ceravone, I am a rising senior at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven Connecticut, and I am enrolled in the Evolutions Program at the Peabody Museum.  But, more importantly, I recently joined the Environmental Leaders internship for this summer with the Peabody.

When I joined EVO, I honestly had no interest in any science career.  Being a sophomore at a completely new school, (I had started my freshman year at Derby High School and got enrolled to attend Co-op my sophomore year) I had no idea what I wanted my future to look like.  Being immersed into a science based program that provided excellent resources (not to brag, but EVO's pretty amazing) guided me into an internship that just may lead me into a possible career.

When I found out about the Environmental Leaders internship, it immediately sparked my interest.  Not only over the course of my EVO years have I grown an interest to the topic, but, once I found out the interdisciplinary aspect of the research that involves politics, I knew this was right up my alley.

I have always been aware of social inequality; and taking an American Politics and Government AP class this year helped me narrow down my career path in politics.  But, what I never knew could have a correlation to politics is Environmental Science.  Not only am I grateful for my internship opportunity EVO has given me, I am excited to bring a topic that I love and a topic I am relatively new to, together to conduct research that can have an impact on not only my life, but the community in which I live in.

"Beyond Flint: Poor Blacks, Latinos Endure Oversized Burden Of America’s Industrial Waste And Hazards" Article and Discussion- Reflection

The article about which the B & P Fellows discussed during our last meeting really opened my eyes to the interconnectedness of a few of the issues we see in current news today.

 It is a known fact that often times, when it comes to living spaces in the U.S., racial minority groups are much more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards. A major example of this that is currently being highlighted in the news is the Flint water crisis. Flint officials, in an attempt to save funds, decided to begin drawing the town’s water supply from the Flint River, which was heavily contaminated and polluted. Prior to this, water had been coming from a supplier in Detroit who took the correct measures in ridding the water of contamination. This meant that for a long time, the town’s residents were drinking, bathing in, and cooking with water with dangerous levels of lead and E. coli.

A major aspect of the entire situation that really stood out to me was the fact that such an occurrence would never be seen in richer, suburban towns.   Looking into both the Flint crisis and the situation with the English Station right here in CT (and in fact, just minutes away from the Peabody) has introduced me to the phrase “environmental racism”, which is clearly present not only in these two areas but also in less-wealthy, urban communities all over the nation (whether or not it may be necessarily intentional). The worst part about it is the fact that no one really says anything about it until it is too late- Flint’s children and other residents are now suffering from hair loss, vision loss, depression, and a number of other complications. I believe that everyone is entitled to access to clean water, especially when they are paying monthly bills for it.

Similarly, the English Station has still not been cleaned up after many years, even though it has been named a brownfield site and is known to be contaminated with PCB’s, which cause cancer. We all  have schoolmates who live in the area, and knowing that the problem is so close to home is, needless to say, very worrying.  These two issues- the Flint Water Crisis and the failure to deal with the English Station- show that often times, the right voices aren’t being listened to by the right people.

One thing, however, that has been very inspiring to me is the role that young people have taken recently in speaking out against the issue. Social media is often times the biggest weapon that the youth can use to get our voices heard. All over the internet, you can see blogs being written, GoFundMe pages being started to raise money for Flint residents, and teens using sites such as Twitter and Facebook to voice their opinions. This has definitely opened the eyes of the people in charge, which shows that a difference actually can be made if enough people are encouraged to participate and speak out about the injustices we see around us. That is part of what we are here for; to educate the community on issues that many may not know about, so that the right actions can be taken to prevent or alleviate them.