Environmental Justice in the San Francisco Bay Area
Pittsburg, California and the pollution burden forced upon this community
Where is Pittsburg?
"Black Diamonds" are Discovered
Coal Mining in the 1800's laid the foundation for a continued burdening of Pittsburg for generations to come.
Coal mine railroad map from the 1800s (Gusano, 1988)
Pittsburg and mining, 1800's
In the mid 1800's, affluent businessmen from the East Coast caught word of coal reserves in California. Black Diamond Mines would soon become the most extensively mined coal deposit in the state of California. Mining companies extracted bout 4 million tons of coal.
You can read more about the coal mining industry in the 1800s from The Great American Stations .
(Gusano, 1988)
Coal mining moves out - Polluting industry remains
Polluting Industry in Pittsburg
Pittsburg now is "home" to four large polluting plants.
click on the point for more information.
West to East: Pittsburg Power Plant , USS-POSCO Steel Plant, Dow Chemical , Delta Energy Center
Socioeconomic Factors
Pittsburg, California is a predominantly brown and black community. Poverty and education attainment also make this community vulnerable.
Hazardous Waste and Oil Pipelines
Pipelines carrying oil run underneath the city of Pittsburg.
Energy Information Administration , Petroleum Pipeline Map
Hazardous waste sites scatter throughout much of the city.
US EPA Cleanups in My Community Map
Pollution Exposure in Pittsburg
Explore the CalEnviroScreen Maps below to better understand the pollution burden in Pittsburg.
Impaired Water
"When water is contaminated by pollutants, the water bodies are considered impaired. These impairments are related to the amount of pollution that has occurred in or near the water body."
Hazardous Waste
"Waste created by different commercial or industrial activity contains chemicals that may be dangerous or harmful to health"
Cleanup Sites
"Cleanup sites are places that are contaminated with harmful chemicals and need to be cleaned up by the property owners or government. People living near these sites are more likely to be exposed to chemicals from the sites than people living further away"
Health Outcomes Pittsburg
Explore the maps below to piece together the health impacts facing the community of Pittsburg.
Environmental Racism
Read it in its' entirety here .
Robert D. Bullard explains why vulnerable communities are targeted by polluting industry.
"Environmental racism....places the burden of proof on the 'victims' rather than the polluters...and fails to develop pollution prevention and precaution processes as the overarching and dominant strategy."
Environmental Justice Legislation
Now that we understand the pollution burden in the vulnerable community of Pittsburg, learn about various environmental justice legislation recently enacted.
Environmental Justice legislation is now being proposed and enacted in local and federal governments. AB1628 requires "coastal development permit process[es]" including environmental justice impact assessments for all new permits.
National Research Council Health Impact Assessment offers guidelines for including environmental justice impacts.
New Jersey set a "gold standard" in Environmental Justice legislation . Permitting regulations for vulnerable communities are now taking shape.
Community-Based Organizations Take on the Battle for Environmental Justice in Pittsburg
Top row: Grid Alternatives , Environmental Integrity Project Bottom Row: Communities for a Better Environment , Common Dreams
Laura Diaz is the Founder and Director of the Educator Collective for Environmental Justice . She is an Educator Collaborator with Science Friday and an MPH candidate at UC Berkeley.
Her work with her non-profit centers around empowering and supporting educators to drive social change towards environmental justice.
Laura’s research interests lie in the intersection between data collection and mapping, environmental racism, health related outcomes from polluting industry, and community-based participatory research.
