With a civil rights complaint filed, I hoped to find that industry leaders, government officials, and grassroots organizations had addressed the injustice head on. But even today the lack of accessible information presents a grave problem to the community.
A grassroots organization in Chelsea is actively working to make Chelsea a greener, and therefore healthier place. And while we must give the organization props for their work thus far, we cannot become complacent. To achieve true EJ for Chelsea, we must set new guidelines for delivering proper information to stakeholders.
The Problem: A Lack of Accessible Information
When I began my research into Chelsea, most of the information on ongoing climate efforts was concentrated on the grassroots website. The website announces new projects and individual victories for Chelsea. I found that the website’s announcements lack detailed descriptions. In terms of ongoing projects, there is one paragraph or less, explaining the goals of the project as well as a tentative timeline.
For example...
"In summer 2020 we will do research on the heat experience of residents, and how people cope with the heat, and in 2021 we hope to test solutions to help reduce heat exposure."
Similarly, there is a lack of coverage in outside news sources. I worry about awareness of the organization in Boston and beyond if press coverage is difficult to find.
An Ongoing Effort
I reached out to a climate justice coordinator at the organization, hoping to find more information about the ongoing project. It took quite some time and several follow-ups to get in touch with the coordinator.
How can any community trust that real work is being done when accessing clear, yet detailed information is so difficult.
Additionally, I learned that despite continuous efforts from certain organizations to achieve true environmental justice (EJ), it is possible that communication may be lacking thanks to egocentric ideals.
"Cynically, I will say that the people most seemingly concerned about it are the ones who are just trying to push through their projects without much concern for these people"
I believe communication can be improved through substantive progress reports, procedures, and guidelines for disseminating data collection/results.
How Can We Increase Access? The Working Group
The quality of information made available to me from a phone call with a coordinator could more readily be available for all. I propose the creation of a working group. The working group could involve:
Local stakeholder representation (volunteer-basis)
Mass. Produce (one of the biggest industry leaders and polluters in Chelsea)
1 City Health Board Member
1 City Human Rights Commission Board Member
1 Member from Chelsea Collaborative
Local school districts (the voice for our children)
1 Grassroots Organization Representative
1 Member of Mass EPA
1 Northeastern Collaborative
1 Center for Climate Health at Harvard
To my knowledge, no existing working group includes the stakeholder perspectives and expertise levels that this proposal models. This working group would help ease the workload of the current grassroots organization by furthering efforts in an efficient and timely manner.
Furthermore, a working group could create guidelines for providing project updates to the greater community; residents can then hold the city accountable.
With this model, we hope to reveal how diverse stakeholder involvement fosters trust, stability, and peace of mind in a community undergoing the harmful effects of environmental injustice.
The CAC: An Exemplary Model
In a small town in Ohio, this working-group model was utilized and had extremely positive results.
The Main Takeaways:
In 2001, the small community of Little Hocking, Ohio was found to have been affected by a poisonous chemical known as PFOA. This chemical was present in both their water source and as particles in the air. Like residents of Chelsea, the community had originally lacked political power while simultaneously disadvantaged by a lack of technical capacity to generate information independent of the industry leaders. They were relying on toxic industry leaders to deliver truthful information.
Once resources were gathered to address the apparent lack of communication from industry leaders, the CAC was established. The CAC worked to:
Set predetermined guidelines to distribute information
Release results from scientific studies promptly
Inform participants FIRST
Inform the press in a timely matter
Answer questions from the community
With these guidelines set and followed, the CAC established a new sense of trust and credibility in Little Hocking, which helped to enable further community-based collaboration and partnership. Science can be confusing, and it helped re-build a sense of respect in the community with respect to scientific validity. .
Are There Any Consequences?
One potential consequence of instituting this working group model is that it may cost the grassroots organization money and time that is already strained. As well, it could be difficult to implement a meeting in person during COVID-19, however, there are ways to circumvent this through online meetings utilizing Zoom or Google Hangouts.
Goals
My goal is to rewrite the outcomes of the Little Hocking study in a way that is accessible to the average community member; the summary would be available in both Spanish and English and distributed widely. The residents of Chelsea would in turn gain a better understanding of the goals of the working group in practice (how it will be implemented and their individual role in the process). Finally, I will look to recruit a representative from Little Hocking to guide the implementation process.
We hope that with the creation of a group modeled off the CAC, we can work to increase access to information that is not readily available to residents of Chelsea. The working group will have a wide reach, opening up numerous opportunities for press coverage and new perspectives. The working group will create a standard for the distribution process, restoring trust within the community and giving a voice to the voiceless.
