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Environmental Justice

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Birds fly over the Salton Sea near Calipatria, California.
Many view the Salton Sea as an ecological disaster, or a wasteland. This public perception, which is bound up in environmental racism, continues to undermine conservation efforts.
Rally in support of SB 1486 to shut the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon storage facility
Legislation that would have streamlined the closure of the Aliso Canyon, the underground gas storage facility responsible for the biggest gas leak in U.S. history, was gutted by the California Senate last Thursday.
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From California’s citrus heyday in the 1800s to Cold War military expansion, the Inland Empire has been a center of shipping and distribution. Today’s warehouses boom, linked to ongoing environmental degradation and job insecurity, has its roots in the science of war and in long histories of land and labor exploitation.
Well cars carrying shipping containers line the rails of the BNSF intermodal facility in San Bernardino, California.
Photographer Noé Montes was commissioned by the California Air Resources Board to travel through the Inland Empire and document the impacts of air pollution. In this personal photo essay, he shows how the goods movement industry is changing the landscape and affecting residents' quality of life.
fontana 2013 aerial image of homes and warehouses
In Bloomington, a controversial warehouse proposal seeks to rezone residential land for industrial use. While residents fight to protect their neighborhood, a recent legal settlement in Fontana allows a warehouse to go up right next door to a school.
Youth climate activists participate in Youth Climate Strike LA outside City Hall on March 25, 2022. Students protested at youth climate strikes across the country, calling for government action on climate change.
When it comes to taking action on climate change, perception matters. We often see the problem is large and insurmountable, but the field of climate action can be as small as our own bodies. And small steps, coming from a place of joy, can be more powerful than we think.
 Diesel trucks passing through Van Buren Boulevard and Etiwanda Avenue in Mira Loma.
The American Lung Association (ALA) just released its annual State of the Air Report and San Bernardino and Riverside counties ranked first and second for the worst ozone pollution in the country. Despite challenges, a "glimmer of hope" remains for some residents.
Old Santa Ana City Hall
On Wednesday, the Santa Ana City Council approved a General Plan Update that addresses lead contamination and other land use issues that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. A law called SB1000 has been key in helping community advocates lobby city officials to incorporate environmental justice into land use planning in order to reduce health risks.
A large drilling rig stands on the south side of the Salton Sea.
Companies progress towards commercial lithium drilling at the Salton Sea, while teams of researchers explore questions about effective extraction methods and environmental impacts.
A sea of warehouses extend across Redlands
Warehouse moratoriums have come up for vote at numerous city council meetings across the Inland Empire, the region with the worst air pollution in the country. Advocates argue for temporary pauses in development to analyze health impacts of facilities and implement regulations.
Aerial of an inland port in Stockton, CA
California’s environmental justice law is supposed to clean the air for 15 hot spot communities, home to almost 4 million people. But after more than four years and one billion dollars, it’s still impossible to say whether it’s worked.
A oil pump jack pumps crude oil near homes in the Signal Hill neighborhood of L.A.
A year after the L.A. Board of Supervisors voted to ban new oil and gas wells in the city, the City Council approved a plan to prohibit new wells while beginning to phase out existing ones.
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