Earth Day is a Reminder that to Fight the Climate Crisis, We Must Prioritize Environmental Justice

Wanted to be sure you saw this Medium post by Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) published on Earth Day. In his post, Congressman Hoyer details his visit to Eagle Harbor - the only historically Black waterfront community left on the Chesapeake - and Democrats' commitment to making equity a central component to addressing the climate crisis. To read the post, click here or see below:

Medium

Earth Day is a Reminder that to Fight the Climate Crisis, We Must Prioritize Environmental Justice

By Congressman Steny H. Hoyer

April 22, 2024

Congressman Hoyer with Mayor Waters and Eagle Harbor leaders on April 4, 2024.

When I visited Eagle Harbor, Maryland, this month, I reflected on how the town's story encapsulates America's story - one teeming with challenges and triumphs.

Trueman Point juts into the Patuxent River immediately north of the small waterfront town. Centuries ago, that small strip of land was the point of debarkation for slave ships carrying human cargo from West Africa.

Six decades after the Civil War, however, Black Americans bought the same land and established the town of Eagle Harbor. The community served as a vacation enclave for Black families at a time when most Maryland beaches were segregated. Today, Eagle Harbor is the only historically Black waterfront community left on the Chesapeake, and one of the only ones remaining nationwide.

If Eagle Harbor is a symbol of America's progress, the stacks of the Chalk Point Generating Station that loom over the town's southern horizon serve as a reminder of the inequities that persist in American life, including the environment.

For nearly fifty years, the power plant has burned oil, natural gas, and - until 2021 - coal, polluting the surrounding air and water. Eagle Harbor residents can still find traces of a 2000 oil spill in the sediment of the riverbed. They also watch their land slowly disappear into the Patuxent, eroded in part by water runoff from the power plant.

As we observe Earth Day, the environmental challenges in Eagle Harbor ought to remind us that while the climate crisis poses an existential threat to us all, its effects are often most acute and immediate for historically underserved communities.

Congressional Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration made equity a central component of our climate strategy not only because it's the right thing to do but also because it makes America's effort to address the climate crisis more effective. During his first week in office, President Biden established the Justice40 Initiative, a commitment to direct 40 percent of certain federal investments toward historically disadvantaged communities. I was proud to help Democrats deliver on that promise in the 117th Congress.

As House Majority Leader, I brought the Inflation Reduction Act to the Floor and helped secure its passage. The largest investment any nation has made to combat the climate crisis in history, the Inflation Reduction Act funded a variety of new and existing programs and grants designed to advance environmental justice. Now, as Chair of House Democrats' Regional Leadership Council, I work to implement these policies and the rest of our Investing in America agenda in every corner of the country.

That mission brought me to Eagle Harbor last month. Working with Mayor Dr. Noah Waters, other local leaders, the Ridge to Reefs environmental organization, and community members, we secured a $370,775 federal grant through the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving program, funded by the IRA, to test pollution levels in Eagle Harbor.

During my visit, I was deeply moved by the pride that Mayor Waters and the people of Eagle Harbor have for their town. They know their community is defined not by its challenges - whether it was slavery centuries ago or pollution today - but by the perseverance of its people. They have great hope and tremendous determination to bring about a better future for Eagle Harbor. The grant simply gives them some of the tools necessary to do so.

Just as Eagle Harbor's Coleman Creek converges with countless other tributaries to form the Patuxent River, Eagle Harbor's grant is one of thousands of projects nationwide that make up the Investing in America agenda. I will continue to do my part to keep those investments flowing to every community in Maryland, especially those that have long been overlooked and overburdened. Together, these projects will help wash away the inequities that lead to a stagnant society and economy.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.