In the News
News Media Coverage of Coming Clean and our affiliates
July 26, 2021
A path to climate, economic and environmental justice is finally on the horizon
In the next few weeks, congressional leaders have a critical opportunity to join forces with President Joe Biden to turn the tide against climate change, economic inequality, and environmental injustice.
[Op-Ed in The Hill by John Podesta, Center for American Progress and Michele Roberts, Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform.] Read More
June 23, 2021
Prenatal exposure to ultra-fine particles increases a child’s risk of asthma, study finds
When Rosalind Wright started analyzing data on prenatal exposure to air pollution in mothers and children in Boston, she had a notion that ultra-fine particles could be even more harmful than the slightly larger particles she’d studied before. Read More
June 5, 2021
Environmental justice: From our ancestors to our children
"The fight for a livable planet and the fight for social justice are one and the same. The struggle for a stable climate, for clean air and water must begin in places like South Valley that have long paid the price for others’ wealth and comfort. And its success depends on building the power and prosperity of people in marginalized communities — so that no one’s home is a dumping ground."
- Richard Moore (co-coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, co-coordinator of Los Jardines Institute (The Gardens Institute) in Albuquerque, N.M., and co-chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council) Read More
April 6, 2021
Dollar stores offer bargain prices - and toxic products.
When dollar stores sell products containing toxic chemicals, that expose only adds to the multiple sources of toxic pollution felt in communities like Mossville, LA, and other communities of color and low-income communities where chemical hazards and pollution are concentrated. These communities - which often must rely on dollar stores - need more action from these chains. Read More
April 5, 2021
Discount stores often sell products with hazardous chemicals. Low-income shoppers deserve better.
In the latest Retailer Report Card on chemical management policies, Dollar Tree and Dollar General improved their grades, but 99 Cents Only Stores once again received an F. If discount retailers care at all about the health and well-being of the communities they operate in, or the environmental racism that they are perpetuating, they should reallocate resources and start cleaning up their supply chains immediately. Read More
December 9, 2020
What a Republican-controlled Senate means for Biden's climate agenda
President-elect Joe Biden has made fighting climate change more of a priority in both his policy agenda and political appointments than any previous US president. But many climate advocates are bracing themselves for a reality check if Democrats don't win both Senate runoff elections in Georgia in January, which would leave the chamber under Republican control. With a divided Congress, there's almost no chance the Biden administration can push through it's most aggressive climate proposals. Read More
October 22, 2020
News: There's A Lot At Stake For The Climate In The 2020 Election
Despite the cascade of other crises this year, climate change has emerged as a key election issue. Two-thirds of Americans want the government to do more about it, and the same share of Biden supporters say it's very important to their vote. While not many Trump supporters overall agree, there's more concern among younger Republicans. The stakes are high as more Americans experience record heat, wildfires, hurricanes and flooding, and the two candidates could not be further apart. Joe Biden calls climate change an existential threat to our health, economy and national security. President Trump continues to question climate science. Here are six takeaways from Trump's first term on climate and energy, and the challenges he or Biden would face if elected. Read More
September 17, 2020
News: The EPA cut back enforcement during COVID. These researchers are assessing the damage
Six months after the agency announced its temporary enforcement policy, a picture of its effects is slowly beginning to emerge. Self-reported data from industrial polluters collected by the EPA shows that these facilities conducted 40 percent fewer emission tests at smokestacks in March and April this year compared to the same period last year. Also, while only 325 facilities notified the EPA that they would be unable to submit water quality reports as required during those two months, more than 16,500 facilities simply did not submit them — that’s the fourth-highest amount of noncompliance in the last 20 years, according to an analysis of the agency’s own data. Read More
August 24, 2020
News: The Rise of Environmental Justice
For all the hardships it delivered, 2020 may be remembered as an awakening for America. The outpouring of protest under the banner of Black Lives Matter this summer fostered a discussion of systemic racism that touches on all aspects of economic and social life. Environmental racism, characterized by the disproportionate impact of pollution on people of color, came to the fore as another reason for the cry of “I can’t breathe.” And a nearly 40-year-old civil rights movement for environmental justice found new momentum. But life for people at the industrial fenceline, as evidenced by three communities profiled in this article, continues to be a constant battle. Read More
August 5, 2020
News: Bridging the Water Access Gap Through COVID-19 Relief
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb, guidance around how to control the virus’s spread has become a steady drumbeat: Wash your hands, wipe down surfaces, and stay home. Implicit in these recommendations is the assumption that households have safe and clean running water and indoor plumbing. But for more than 2 million people across the United States, that basic human right remains out of reach. Read More
August 1, 2020
News: How Joe Biden’s surprisingly ambitious climate plan came together
This spring, with the Democratic nomination locked up, Biden’s campaign faced an imperative challenge: to demonstrate to the liberal wing of the party — including skeptical environmental activists — that he was their guy, that he understood the urgency of the problem and that he would craft a transformative plan to meet the moment.
Over three months, the campaign invited ideas from the young climate crusaders, union officials, environmental justice leaders and former Democratic rivals.
Read More
July 14, 2020
News: Minority Communities Hail Biden’s Plan for Environmental Justice
Environmental justice activists are applauding Joe Biden’s clean energy plan, unveiled Tuesday, because of how it focuses on communities of color that have long suffered from exposure to pollution. Read More
July 7, 2020
Op-Ed: Black lives should matter in the medicine cabinet, too
Written by M. Isabelle Chaudry, human rights advocate and senior policy manager for the National Women's Health Network, a member of Coming Clean.
For decades, the company has marketed a product in Black communities thought to cause cancer: Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. The company continues to do so today. For many Black women, including myself, the use of talcum powder — especially Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder — has long been a daily part of their self-care routine. Understanding these cultural norms, Johnson & Johnson engaged in aggressive, targeted marketing tactics among Black women for years, without disclosing the potential risks associated with use. Read More
July 9, 2020
News: Why the Larger Climate Movement Is Finally Embracing the Fight Against Environmental Racism
For decades, environmental-justice advocates in the U.S. have worked to bring attention to the heightened environmental risks faced by communities of color: higher levels of lead exposure, higher risks of facing catastrophic flooding, and poorer air quality, to name just a few. But progress has been slow on the national stage as the most powerful groups fighting for environmental rules, not to mention government leaders, have largely ignored them. Today, that conversation is changing. Read More
June 24, 2020
Op-Ed: Pandemic Is No Reason to Relax Environmental Oversight
The EPA recently gave temporary relief to facilities affected by the coronavirus pandemic through not seeking penalties for certain missed obligations. Michele Roberts, of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, and Mitchell Bernard, of Natural Resources Defense Council, say the agency’s move opens the door to abuse. Read More
June 21, 2020
News: Louisville’s 'Black Lives Matter' Demonstrations Continue a Long Quest for Environmental Justice
A month before thousands began marching here, day after day, to protest the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a woman here named Breonna Taylor, a professor at the University of Louisville was a co-author on a study that identified another killer targeting Black lives: toxic pollutants. Read More
June 16, 2020
News: Environmental justice in the spotlight
Unrest over police brutality, combined with the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on African Americans, Latinos and other minorities, has swiftly turned into a broader national reckoning over structural racism. That has elevated the perspectives of the environmental justice movement, a network of grassroots activists who push for climate change and sustainability policies that prioritize communities of color, which are exposed to greater levels of pollution and therefore are at greater risk of dying from the pandemic. Read More
May 29, 2020
News: Heroes Act Provision Aims to Fund Environmental Justice Efforts
This month, House Democrats passed the $3 trillion HEREOS Act. This act would give $50 million to Environmental Protection Agency grant programs aimed at alleviating environmental problems that disproportionately affect communities of color, including exacerbating susceptibility to COVID-19.
“We think that it is about high time that environmental justice communities are referenced and mentioned in this,” said Michele Roberts, national co-coordinator for the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform. Read More
April 16, 2020
News: Green groups sue after EPA suspends enforcement of pollution monitoring due to coronavirus
Environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a March memo signaling that the agency would not seek penalties against companies that do not monitor their pollution during the coronavirus outbreak. Read the full story on The Hill. Read More