Toxic Communities

Toxic Communities

Adult nonfiction
"Hence, minority communities with gargantuan waste disposal
facilities in their midst are in the unenviable position of hosting
these facilities for the greater good of the nation, yet as the courts
have signalled, these communities have little hope of enacting
stringent regulations that can protect residents, compensate them for
the risks they are undertaking, help them to deal with disasters if
and when they occur, or stop the wastes from entering their
communities in the first place. This line of reasoning has left
minority communities shouldering a big share of the nation's solid
waste disposal problem."
In the years leading up to and following the publication of
Dorceta E. Taylor's Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism,
Industrial Pollution, And Residential Mobility there has been a
growing acknowledgement that some communities in America are unfit for
human habitation due to the presence of so many toxic facilities and
dumping grounds. Not surprisingly they tend to have high
concentrations of Black, Latinx, and indigenous people. As we cab see
on 2022, this lack of environmental justice has contributed to their
disproportionate COVID infection and mortality rates.
There are always people who say, "If it's so bad, why don't they
just move away?"
Taylor answers that question in 281 beautifully organized,
research packed pages. She untangles myriad strands of back story
including, but very much not limited to, siting, colonialism,
differential enforcement of environmental protections, zoning,
restrictive covenants, and the one two punch of eminent domain and
urban renewal.
Despite the book being eight years old, it is sadly still very
relevant. It gives people striving to achieve environmental justice a
wealth of background information in one quite modest sized volume.
On a purrrsonal note, I am sad to announce the loss of the two trees
that shaded my front porch. One had grown beside the trailer 29
years. They will really be missed, especially when it's time to put
out the wind chimes. Otherwise it's been a busy school, work, and
everything else week. It is a cold night and I am quite content to be
in our cozy warm house with Eugene and Tobago. I am planning on a
productive, quiet, no commuting weekend. (Jules)
Love the cozy warm house and the humans I share a bed with at night.
Even though one of them snores. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, as we move slowly
and sluggishly toward Spring.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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