Activists See Biden’s Day One Focus on Environmental Justice as a Critical Campaign Promise Kept The new president signed executive orders on inauguration day aimed at embedding equity across the government and rolling back Trump’s anti-environment legacy. January 24, 2021 Chemical plants and factories line the roads and suburbs of the area known as 'Cancer Alley' along the Mississippi River in Louisiana on Oct. 15, 2013. Credit: Giles Clarke/Getty Images Related Share this article Catherine Flowers remembers the moment she realized the environmental justice movement had entered a new era of acceptance and recognition. It came last spring, the environmental justice activist said, when then-candidate Joe Biden snatched the Democratic nomination from Sen. Bernie Sanders and shortly afterward announced the creation of a joint task force to shape climate change policy. “He talked about environmental justice,” said Flowers, recalling her sense of amazement.