The bogus concept was actually brought to EPA in 1990 (during the administration of George H.W. Bush) in the form of the Workgroup on Environmental Equity and expanded into an office of its own in 1992.
From LJ’s interview with Mom’s Clean Air Force:
MCAF: You had a very successful tenure as the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. What accomplishments make you most proud? What do you hope the next Administrator will accomplish?
Lisa Jackson: I’m particularly proud of three achievements…
The third is my favorite. I’m very proud of the fact that I was the first African-American to run the EPA. I believe it is truly important to expand the conversation on the environment to include environmental justice. Addressing pockets of polluted air and water is still the unfinished business of the environmental movement as a whole, and that often needs to be done in low-income communities. Bringing new voices – moms, people of color, tribal nations – into the conversation felt good. No one ever said, “I’m willing to sacrifice clean air or water for my kids.” It was gratifying to see so many people realize that we don’t need to choose between the environment and the economy.
“Bringing new voices – moms, people of color, tribal nations – into the conversation felt good.”
That reminds me of the story of the rabbit in the classroom. When the teacher was asked whether it was a boy bunny or a girl bunny, one child said “I know how we can tell. We can vote on it.”
The first African-American to run the EPA? Only if, like Obama, she denies most of her ancestry. Nor has she grown up in a Jim Crow environment.
It is true that environmental problems will, to a degree, affect the poor more than the wealthy. Housing costs are lower in less desirable areas near traffic congestion or industrial sites. Environmental stewardship does benefit all and perhaps the poor more than the wealthy. Low-cost food and consumer goods are also beneficial for all and especially for the poor. Increasing the costs of necessities and conveniences through regulations that have no benefits is worse for the low-income people than for the wealthy or for me. There’s the real environmental injustice.
But the poor who vote overwhelmingly vote Democratic, thus harming themselves.