“Extreme heat is no longer simply an inconvenience. It is one of the fastest growing public health threats facing our country.”
Kareem Scales is Chair of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP Environmental Justice Committee.
“For decades, discriminatory housing policies, redlining, industrial zoning and chronic disinvestment have left many Black, Latino, immigrant and low-income neighborhoods with fewer trees, more pavement, less greenspace, poor air quality and significantly higher temperatures…communities that contribute the least to climate change, are often the communities experiencing the consequences first and most severely.”
“Today we are asking this administration to fully fund the EPA and environmental justice programs.”
Sergio Cira-Reyes is Climate Justice Catalyst with Urban Core Collective.
“Locally, we need to expand tree canopy and neighborhood cooling infrastructure.”
Equity priorities found within the City of Grand Rapids Climate Action & Adaptation Plan focusing on environmental justice, energy democracy and affordable housing energy efficiency.