Panelists encourage environmental justice legislation

Environmental activists met with students last night in the Michigan Union to address what they see as a failure of the Michigan Legislature to enact effective environmental policy.

LSA senior Trisha Miller, who chairs The Environmental Clearinghouse that sponsored the panel, said the event was a chance to unite leaders working for environmental justice and students interested in learning how to affect the legislative process.

The Environmental Clearinghouse, part of the Michigan Student Assembly's Environmental Issues Commission, recently sent more than 50 University students to Lansing to lobby for environmental legislation.

"We are trying to mobilize students to promote environmental justice issues at the state level," Miller said. "There is a beginning of a movement within the state which is trying to get Michigan to follow the lead of the federal government in implementing environmental justice legislation."

Panelists said existing environmental policies do not adequately protect people's health and are not sufficiently enforced.

Tracy Easthope, who works at the Ann Arbor Ecology Center, said Michigan ranks among the top 10 states in the nation for the number of toxins released into the environment. Of the chemicals used, 71 percent lack toxicity data, and 90 percent have never been evaluated for the effect they have on children, she said.

Coupling this with declining rates of reported current law enforcement results in a "failure of current policy to protect us," Easthope said. There is also a significant disparity in the rate of enforcement based on race, she said.

"The result of this inadequate regulatory scheme and enforcement are health consequences - health consequences that are biased," said Easthope, citing the rates of cancer incidence among blacks as 6 percent higher than for whites.

Donele Wilkins said her organization, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, works to increase the "capacity of community people to build a voice" concerning the use of land and the quality of water and air in their neighborhoods. Her organization became incorporated in 1994 to combat what she determined was environmental injustice prevalent in Wayne County.

"One of the issues we are dealing with is apathy because people are so used to (environmental injustice) just being a natural part of their lives," Wilkins said.

Many people from low-income communities suffer from what Wilkins characterized as "quiet desperation." Instead of fighting unfair environmental burdens, such as disproportionate amounts of landfills in their neighborhoods, residents fear the economic consequences of protesting, she said.

"This is what we're up against - this should not be an issue of jobs versus the environment," Wilkins said. "They should be able to co-exist for a healthy economy and a healthy environment."

Public Health Prof. Sylvia Tesh said people should not be discouraged by the statistics or cynics who say it takes too much work to make change.

"If we take a long view, we can see there has been a substantial transformation into an environmental consciousness in a short time," Tesh said. "Today, (environmental legislation) has become a major part of the political agenda."

Public Health graduate student Amy Gildemeister said she is optimistic about future state environmental legislation. Her research studying mercury and trace medals in downtown Detroit has sparked discussions with city officials.

"They definitely are concerned and interested in meeting the currently required permits and potentially improving the situation in the downtown area," Gildermeister said.

04-17-98