bisco bayou interfaith shared community organizing 406 west second street thibodaux, la 70301...
TRANSCRIPT
BISCOBayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing406 West Second StreetThibodaux, LA [email protected]
Bayou History Center, Inc.Thibodaux, LA [email protected]
Presented at the HBCU Climate Change Conference
Dillard University
April 5, 2013New Orleans, Louisiana
Climate Change in Coastal Louisiana
from a Community Perspective
Patty Whitney - BISCO
Coastal Louisiana is unique !
Our landscape is stunning !
Our wildlife is unusual !
Our people are diverse !
Our Celebrations are Varied !
Our houses are different !
And have been for centuries !
Our food is delicious !
Our Symbols Are Famous !
The Symbol of Louisiana
The River Built the Land !
The land is sinking
The Sea is Rising !
Storms are Stronger
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Rita
And Occur More OftenHurricane Gustav
Hurricane Ike
Pollution Abounds
BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster
River Flooding
Mississippi River Spring Flooding
Our population has culturally and historically been voiceless.
Ancestors who settled in this hostile
environment centuries ago were people
who had been kicked out, starved out,
sold out or cheated out of many other
places around the world.
Native Americans displaced farther and farther south
Acadians expelled from their country by force
Africans sold into slavery and shipped to America
People of multiple ethnicities populated the
area:
•Native Americans
•French peasants and orphans
•Canary Islanders “Islenos”
•African slaves
•German peasants
•Acadian exiles “Cajuns”
Wealthier, more powerful people settled on the high lands next to
the waterways.Poorer, less powerful people were
pushed farther away from the waterways and into the wetter,
lower lands and nearer the coast.
Coastal Louisianais a
“Regional EnvironmentalJustice Community”
TYPES OF E J COMMUNITIES
FENCE LINE REGIONAL
Environmental Justice isthe fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
What Makes An E J Community?
• A unique physical environment• Natural Resources that make the area ripe for
exploitation and abuse• An unsophisticated and voiceless population
via:– Minority Ethnicity Status– Lack of Wealth– Lack of Education– Government corruption and/or ineffectiveness
E J Communities shoulder a bigger share of dangers and damages in the exploitation of shared natural
resources than other communities.
Education for these populations was either forbidden, insufficient
and poorly funded, or not significantly valued by cultures or
governmental leaders.
Those who could read and write
ended up with most of the assets,
while those who could not read
and write ended up with little or
nothing.
E J Communities usually develop
laws designed to keep the general
public, especially the poor and
disenfranchised, from receiving a
quality education.
Wealth and/or Education Affects…• An individual’s or family’s ability to prepare
for, respond to, or recover from a disaster; i.e.,– Evacuate– Secure food, shelter, supplies, transportation…– Clean up– Rebuild or rehabilitate– Mitigate for future disasters
• A community’s ability to protect themselves from environmental injustices
Location affects impacts from climate changes. Poorer
communities are more vulnerable to changes because in a delta they are located closer to the coast and
in wetlands.
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
What Must Be Done ?
• EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE…– Learn more about what is happening around you– Learn more about how to go about changing
things– Learn more about searching for “the big picture”– Attend public and governmental meetings– Read, read, read– Teach your family and friends what you’ve learned– GET INVOLVED !! It’s our grandchildren’s futures!
For More Information Contact Us At
Bayou History Center, Inc.Patricia Whitney, Executive Director
BISCOBayou Interfaith Shared Community OrganizingSharon Gauthe, Executive [email protected]