Activists in the Pacific Northwest have warned for years that communities of color and other marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change, and less well-positioned to take advantage of jobs and other benefits likely to result as the region s economy moves away from fossil fuels.
For evidence, look no further than the fire that ripped through Southern Oregon last September. People in the relatively affluent town of Ashland received faster and clearer warnings to evacuate than people in less-well-off neighboring towns Talent and Phoenix, say grassroots-organizing groups in the area.
It was only in Ashland, a wealthier area five miles down Interstate 5 from Talent, that residents were told to evacuate, activists said after the fire. Jackson County’s emergency alert system left out many communities, they said, including Talent, a community with mobile home parks and other low-income housing and a median household income of $40,400. Ashla
InvestigateWest: Is NW poised to beat climate inequalities?
By IRIS M. CRAWFORDMarch 5, 2021 GMT
Activists in the Pacific Northwest have warned for years that communities of color and other marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change, and less well-positioned to take advantage of jobs and other benefits likely to result as the region’s economy moves away from fossil fuels.
For evidence, look no further than the fire that ripped through southern Oregon last September. People in the relatively affluent town of Ashland received faster and clearer warnings to evacuate than people in less-well-off towns nearby, say grassroots-organizing groups in the area.
Home » Environment » Decarbonizing Cascadia » Will race, income inequalities trip up Cascadia’s fight against climate change?
The heavy wind woke Niria Garcia about 5 a.m. It whipped against her home, leaving her restless as she fitfully tried to get a little more sleep.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Garcia thought to herself.
On that day last September, a devastating fire ripped through Southern Oregon, whipped by those very winds that woke Garcia, a Xicana climate activist based in Talent, a town of about 6,500 people. Three people would die and more than 2,800 homes and other buildings would be destroyed by the fire.