An article by Janet Wilson in the Christian Science Monitor highlights the environmental justice work of residents of Maywood:

Across the country, studies have increasingly shown that low-income, minority communities endure a disproportionate share of poor living conditions and contamination. A 2007 study by four universities found that nonwhites are far more likely to live near hazardous waste than whites. Greater Los Angeles led the nation with 1.2 million people living less than two miles from such waste, 91 percent of them minorities.

Maywood, the state’s most densely populated community, is a textbook case. Eight miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, it sits at the crossroads of an American manufacturing and freight-hauling juggernaut with a legacy of industrial pollution. Nearly 50,000 residents – 98 percent Latino – are squeezed into aging apartment blocks and tidy tract houses between diesel-truck-clogged Interstate 710 and “exclusively industrial” Vernon, home to 1,200 factories and sprawling freight rail yards…

“The idea is not to be stuck in those little regulatory boxes,” says Steven John, head of the EPA’s southern California division. Toward that end, the agencies are also wrestling with bringing together bitterly divided factions in Maywood. At the first meeting of the joint agency initiative with the community in August, a water district manager and an activist ended up in a screaming match over a single mercury testing sample as a translator struggled to keep up with hurled insults.

The manager ultimately apologized. At least the two sides were talking, many said.

Mr. John says Maywood’s activism, however fractious, was extraordinary. “[W]hat really for me has been the hallmark of Maywood,” he says, “is the commitment from the citizens.”

In November, EPA dministrator Lisa Jackson named Maywood and its neighbors along the 710 freeway “environmental justice showcase” communities. She awarded $100,000 to the EPA’s regional office to work with the cities, starting with Maywood. In addition, she sent $160,000 to the state DTSC to spearhead joint agency efforts.

Read the full article here.

In a series entitled Toxic Waters, the New York Times has been chronicling hazards to the nation’s drinking water supply:

Almost four decades after Congress passed the Clean Water Act, the rate of water pollution violations is rising steadily. In the past five years, companies and workplaces have violated pollution laws more than 500,000 times. But the vast majority of polluters have escaped punishment.

A map of Clean Water Act violators in California is available here.

Sparks of beauty or sparks of pollution?

Have you ever looked beyond the sparks? Because if you did you would have realized that you are creating more pollution. Last night while looking at the fireworks, I noticed the thick layer of smoke going into the air. People may think that the flashing lights and sparks are something great to see, but what are the consequences behind it?

You might not know that all those colorful explosives used to celebrate special occasions pose a serious environmental and health danger from heavy metals and other toxic firework fallout. For example, according to this site, the propellant that shoots the fireworks into the air uses  perchlorate, which can contaminate drinking waters and cause thyroid problems in humans and animals.  The brilliant whites use aluminum, which can cause contact dermatitis, and the disruption of our environment with bioaccumulation. Our theme parks are the biggest problem because they have huge displays of fireworks daily. As a solution I think we should have more theme parks like Disneyland that use air to shoot the fireworks.