Engaging with The Frontline Ahead: A Fresh Start
In the fight for a cleaner, safer world, environmental justice takes center stage. For individuals working towards establishing justice in their neighborhoods, it's about more than just breathing clean air and drinking clean water. It's about kicking law-breaking polluters out, increasing access to green spaces, and feeling safe to go outside.
This movement is a response to environmental racism, a disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color. Yessenia Funes, the climate editor at Atmos, has been covering the intersection of environment and race for about half a decade, and her latest venture, "The Frontline," is no exception.
The newsletter will focus on frontline communities, including low-income communities, communities of color, tribal nations, immigrant bordertowns, nations in the Global South, and predominantly Black middle-class communities. These are the communities that often witness the cycle of climate catastrophe first and are last to receive help from leaders.
Funes defines environmental justice in a holistic way, considering pollution as anything harmful to our environment, to our homes, and to our bodies. She doesn't just aim to redistribute environmental harms, but to abolish them.
The climate crisis is the most urgent issue of our time, affecting people directly, not just the birds or the bees. The West Coast, Arctic, Gulf, and world are experiencing extreme environmental conditions - burning, melting, flooding, heating. And it's not always an orange ash-laden sky that poses a threat. Sometimes, it's the cop posted up on the block.
The frontline communities are fighting for their right to thrive, not just survive, and for justice. Funes offers a complimentary subscription to Atmos Magazine for members of the membership community, providing a platform for these voices to be heard.
Government agencies, like the EPA, have been co-opting the environmental justice movement by redefining it as "fair treatment and meaningful involvement." However, the movement, as defined by Funes and established at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, is about the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people — regardless of race, color, national origin, or income — with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
The environmental justice movement seeks to ensure equitable environmental protection and benefits for all, highlighting how marginalized communities often suffer disproportionately from environmental hazards. The Frontline will draw all the lines connecting these issues, shedding light on the interconnected nature of the climate crisis and environmental justice.
[1] Yessenia Funes, "The Frontline: A Daily Newsletter About Environmental Justice," Atmos, [date], [link] [2] "First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit," United States Environmental Protection Agency, [date], [link] [3] "Environmental Justice," United States Environmental Protection Agency, [date], [link]
- Yessenia Funes, the climate editor at Atmos, addresses environmental justice by launching "The Frontline," a daily newsletter focusing on frontline communities affected by environmental hazards, including low-income communities, communities of color, tribal nations, and border towns.
- Funes' definition of environmental justice encompasses the holistic protection of the environment, homes, and bodies, aiming to abolish harmful pollution rather than simply redistributing it.
- The climate crisis, with its severe environmental impact on various regions like the West Coast, Arctic, Gulf, and the world, poses an immediate threat to people's lives, not just wildlife.
- Recognizing that frontline communities are often the first to experience climate catastrophe and last to receive help from leaders, Funes offers complimentary subscriptions to Atmos Magazine, providing a platform for these voices to be heard.
- Government agencies, like the EPA, have redefined environmental justice as "fair treatment and meaningful involvement," but the movement, as established by Funes and other advocates in 1991, includes equitable environmental protection and benefits for all, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income.
- By shedding light on the interconnected nature of the climate crisis and environmental justice, The Frontline newsletter aims to draw all the lines connecting these issues, emphasizing the shared fight for a cleaner, safer world and equitable treatment for all communities.
[1] Yessenia Funes, "The Frontline: A Daily Newsletter About Environmental Justice," Atmos, [date], [link][2] "First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit," United States Environmental Protection Agency, [date], [link][3] "Environmental Justice," United States Environmental Protection Agency, [date], [link]
