24 Women and Non-Binary Environmentalists to Know in 2024

24 Women and Non-Binary Environmentalists to Know in 2024

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services would like to highlight these twenty-four champions of the environment in honor of Women’s History Month 2024. The Climate Crisis is not gender neutral—uplifting the voices of women and non-binary environmentalists is crucial to building sustainable environmental justice and conservation efforts. We want to take the time to celebrate the contributions of these amazing advocates and the inspiration they continue to provide us with to live in harmony with our planet and fiercely protect the places where we live, work, and play. 

Community Benefits Agreements: Now That They’re Here, What Do They Mean?

How Did We Get Here?

 

Community Benefit Agreements are beginning to be far more common than ever before. But what are Community Benefit Agreements? And why have they become more popular now? To answer these questions, we should look back on their not-so-distant origin to see how we got here.

Back in the late 1990s, Los Angeles began to see an increased presence of unions across the city and around wider California. This growth brought labor unions to a head against several major-scale development projects, namely the development of the LA Staples Center. The building of this arena had a significant impact on the community surrounding its site, displacing 200 households of a predominantly low-income Latino neighborhood, and resulting in a measured increase in traffic, pollution, parking problems, and crime. During Phase II of the project, the community banded together to ensure that those problems would be addressed through the remaining development. What followed was one of the most successful ever cases of establishing a Community Benefit Agreement.

            Now in 2024, Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are becoming increasingly more common across the country. But why has this relatively new practice begun to see such a quick rise to widespread use? And what benefits do they provide to justify this new found support not just from unions, but even corporate interests and the federal government?

            Let’s start simply but defining what exactly a CBA is. As defined by the Department of Energy (DoE), a Community Benefits Agreement is the result of negotiations between a developer proposing a particular land use and a coalition of community organizations that claims to represent the individuals and groups affected by the proposed development. In the simplest of terms, it is a contract that outlines the mutual interests of both sides of the negotiation and how those mutual interests are to be accomplished as the development comes to fruition. While simple on its face, the value of a CBA comes from the benefits it provides to both parties, often resulting in a more mutually beneficial arrangement overall. The developer usually agrees to provide some amenities for the community. In return, the community agrees to support, and perhaps more importantly to not oppose, any further applications the developer needs.

In recent years, the DoE has encouraged their use in the more developing energy sectors, such as solar or wind farms, and has outlined several common benefits to both developers and community members. Specifically, the DoE claims that having the community support offered by a CBA reduces risk for developers and encourages cooperation throughout a project’s life cycle. This can take the form of public subsidies or even the more reliable procurement of government approval. Simultaneously, community members can be offered guaranteed job formation and can verify the implementation of more local and diverse hiring commitments, as well as established living wages. These benefits often take the form of community-wide additions, supporting or encouraging the use of educational partnerships, support to local small businesses or providers, and investment into community spaces, either with local gardens and parks or to encourage affordable housing initiatives. These lists only showcase a few of the advantages a CBA can offer to a community.

 

Why It Matters

 

            On the surface, the increased frequency of these agreements appears beneficial. Their use is encouraged to provide transparency and commitment between two vast parties, oftentimes predicted to have benefits that last decades as the community and developers’ individual means fully come to fruition. In this way, the increase in their usage should be viewed optimistically given what end goals they seem to encourage.

            However, the reality of their use on a case-by-case basis is often hazier. Like any contract, a CBA can be weak or non-binding if not properly implemented. This means, whether intentionally or not, the years of work constructing or pushing for the use of a CBA can be wasted if the parties do not properly draft the agreement, typically leaving the affected community the ones worse for wear. These risks are not insignificant given that businesses are not usually required to formally engage in these types of negotiations. This can mean that a community that pushes hard for a CBA against a party that is not interested can waste a lot of time and finances. This is where the more social aspects of a CBA come into play, and why governments and nonprofits should continue to encourage their usage, even if implementation is challenging.

            A recent poll conducted by the group Data For Progress found that CBAs are overwhelmingly popular, finding that 59% of likely voters support the use of CBAs on development projects. These metrics even hold consistently on a partisan basis with Democrats shown to be 61% in favor, Republicans 63%, and independents holding around 53% in favor. The data referred to above can be found here. This level of popularity, found with most of the voting population, showcases one of the most important aspects of CBAs: social value. While hard to individually calculate, social value has a near-universal benefit to all parties involved in the CBA discussion. Not only does positive public perception often help or encourage the support of newly developed projects or businesses, but it often directly impacts the public value derived from the project. This can take the form of job and job loyalty, individual pride in the impacts of a project or group, and even just positive public perception, often resulting in fewer hurdles and fights over public outcry and discontentedness. These metrics are harder to formally captivate in a study but showcase the values of CBAs and why we should view their increased frequency of their usage in the past several decades s a  positive trend.

            Additionally, CBAs offer a platform for developers or groups to naturally accommodate policy or legislative requirements. For example, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was intended to help reduce redlining via banks and came out of the civil rights era of legislation. By using a CBA between a bank and an affected community, terms can be openly arranged and discussed amongst community members to ensure transparency and sustainable conditions, while also allowing the bank to meet its requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act.

 

How It’s Done

 

While each CBA is different by design, how they should be approached has thankfully become more formulaic as time has gone on. However, the conditions and goals of a CBA will vary wildly based on who is encouraging and seeking out the agreement. That being said, there are several trends to try to align with when establishing a CBA to make it fair and enforceable:

 

●       Negotiations should begin before a project developer has secured a land-use agreement with the government. A community can begin to be affected at the very beginning of a project’s life cycle. Establishing the expectations of both parties at the outset will result in the highest probability of success.

●       All community groups involved in the CBA drafting process and negotiations must communicate internally and with the community at large. When covering the interests of an entire community, it is important that all voices are readily available and can be heard. Having regular meetings or communications will help the core groups to inform the larger community about the progress of CBA negotiations, accept feedback, and allow room to address new issues that arise. If the scale of this communication becomes too large for a given community, organizations can be brought in with a specialty in CBAs to help keep parties organized.

●       Drafters should be targeting the benefits of the CBA to marginalized communities or those most affected by the development project. CBAs offer a prime opportunity to encourage restorative justice and to ensure the quality of life of marginalized groups does not come at the expense of project progress.

●       A successful CBA should be as widely encompassing as possible. Oftentimes the parties who have organized the community come from labor unions, environmental groups, faith organizations, and even local businesses. As a result, one must bear in mind that these disparate groups have a wide array of interests they are seeking to protect. Negotiators must be careful not to prioritize one of these at the expense of others.

●       While it may sound obvious, a CBA must offer a meaningful benefit to the community that it is targeted towards. A town with a noticeably low population may not need a developer to invest in 5 parks and may instead have a greater need for investment in its local education. While a CBA may lead to governmental and financial support for the developers, for a CBA to be meaningful negotiators must build it around the community it seeks to affect.

●       The goal of a CBA is to create an enforceable contract that binds the parties to their promised actions. Thus, a CBA needs to be both legally binding and enforceable, detailing how the measures enclosed are to be accomplished and pursued over the lifespan of the project. Specificity is key here and will allow the parties involved to hold each other accountable as investments continue to develop.

●       Finally, keeping community members informed of the development of negotiations allows for an increase in community morale and to incentivize involvement from the group. Oftentimes these negotiations can be time-consuming, so allowing all parties to be aware of progress and where certain bottlenecks might occur will help foster engagement.

 

While CBAs are still a relatively new phenomenon, this should not be viewed as a blemish on what they represent. While new in the legal world, they offer no shortage of opportunities for communities to bargain for their shared values and wellbeing.

Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

For over a century, our governments failed to regulate lead as it entered almost every facet of our consumer market and infrastructure. Despite long-standing knowledge of the risk of lead poisoning, lead was used for its versatility and low-cost. New studies estimate that at least half of the United States population was exposed to adverse lead levels during early childhood. While statutes and regulations have been put in place to prevent the continued use of lead in infrastructure and some products, few hold anyone responsible for affirmatively removing lead hazards. 

24 Black Environmentalists to Know in 2024

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services would like to highlight these twenty-four champions of the environment in honor of Black History Month 2024. As an organization dedicated to uplifting the voices of underserved communities, Fair Shake celebrates their contributions to the fight for environmental justice and conservation. Whether new to the fight for our environment like youth animal rights activist Genesis Butler or a cornerstone of the movement for decades like Dr. Robert Bullard, these advocates inspire us to live in harmony with our planet and to fiercely protect the places where we live, work, and play.

 

Alexis Nikole Nelson – Also known as the Black Forager on social media, Alexis has garnered the attention of millions for her tips on foraging and cooking with wild plants. Alexis is from Columbus, Ohio, and started her social media account during the pandemic to encourage people to take agency over the food that they eat and make the most out of the free food that was available in the wild. You can learn more about her work by following her on TikTok, instagram, or Patreaon! https://www.instagram.com/blackforager/

 

Yvonka Marie Hall, MPA and Lashale Pugh, PhD -- Ms. Hall and Dr. Pugh are the Executive Director and Asst. Executive Director/Research & Evaluation Director respectively of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition. Through this nonprofit, they serve on average serves 10,000 community members, have led advocacy efforts to enact Cleveland’s first ever Lead Safe Housing Ordinance, and organized a ballot initiative to pass the Cleveland Lead Safe Certificate Ordinance. To learn more about their upcoming programming, check the calendar on their website: https://www.neoblackhealthcoalition.org/community

 

Robert Bullard – Nicknamed the “Father of Environmental Justice,” Mr. Bullard helped craft the inception of the environmental justice movement and remains involved today as a Board member of National Black Environmental Justice Network. Mr. Bullard was a planner of the National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit which has been described as one of the most important events in the history of the environmental justice movement. This summit occurred over 4 days and established 17 principles of environmental justice. To learn more about the importance of these principles, please view the Young, Gifted, and Green Documentary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/younggiftedgreen/videos/700512711070786

 

Dr. Beverly Wright – Dr. Wright grew up near industrial operations and witnessed their polluting effects. As an environmental justice scholar and advocate, she created the first-ever environmental justice center in the United States, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), and developed the first environmental justice map between pollutants and race. To learn more about her many accolades and receive email updates from the DSCEJ, check out: https://www.dscej.org/our-story/our-team/beverly-l-wright-phd

 

Richard Diaz – Richard, who is described by his peers as someone who brings the best out in people, has spent years raising awareness and shaping policy around lead poisoning in his hometown of Milwaukee. Richard co-founded a non-profit called Coalition on Lead Emergency. The non-profits success and his work on civic engagement with the Blue Green Alliance, led Sierra Club to recognize him as the 2022 Environmental Hero. To learn more about Richard and his work, check out: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/12/29/milwaukees-richard-diaz-fights-lead-risks-with-environmental-justice/69689023007/

 

Karen Washington – Karen’s advocacy work began as she connected with other urban farmers in New York City. This coalition launched a farmers' market and organized to prevent the sale of farmers plots. This work was only the foundation of her enduring leadership and contributions to the food system; including co-founding the Black Urban Growers, co-founding the Farm School NYC, and the Black Farmer Fund. To learn more about her work, check out: https://www.karenthefarmer.com/about

 

Reverend Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll – Reverend Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll believes in the power of Black churches to build healthier communities. This led him to co-found and serve as the CEO of Green the Church, a nonprofit dedicated to educating congregations and faith leaders on how environmental justice issues affect their community and building power for change. To learn more about his work or enroll your congregation, visit: https://www.greenthechurch.org/

 

Eloris Speight – Ms. Speight has made significant contributions to building equity in agricultural law through her work as the Executive Director of The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) Policy Research Center located at Alcorn State University. As Executive Director, Ms. Speight oversees research and the development of policy recommendations while conducting strategic outreach to ensure farmers have a voice in the policies that affect them. To hear more from Ms. Speight about her work, check out an interview conducted on Ag+Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKiR2HUwWtQ

 

Lori Caldwell – Lori is a self-taught edible gardener that has built a professional company teaching sustainable gardening practices and transforming yards. As the Owner and Operater of CompostGal Consulting, Landscaping & Education, Lori’s mission is to “to connect people to the soil and all that it provides.” Follow her Facebook page to stay tuned for virtual events: https://www.facebook.com/LoriCaldwellConsultingEducation/

 

Leah Penniman – Leah pushes back against food apartheid through activism, education, and farming. Leah co-founded and operates Soul Fire Farm which utilizes Afro-indigenous methods to farm 80 acres, and then delivers that food on a weekly basis to the doorsteps of people living under food apartheid. Soul Fire Farm also manages an immersion program for new farms to share their growing skills in a supportive environment. To support her work and learn more, you can buy her book “Farming While Black—Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land” or check out the website for ways to get involved: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/get-involved/

 

Norrel Hemphill – A native to Flint and raised in Detroit, Norrel experienced firsthand water issues. In a powerful presentation, Norrel previously stated “We don’t wait for anybody to parachute in, we don’t wait for permission, we don’t wait for a door or somebody to offer us something. We make demands.” Today, she continues her work in the fight for water affordability by uplifting the experiences of her community and providing direct legal representation and policy advocacy in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes region. To learn more about her work, check out: https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/fellows/norrel-hemphill/

 

Leah Thomas is the Founder of Intersectional Environmentalist and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist:  How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.  All of this work serves to be a platform and resource hub to advocate for environmental justice, and provide educational resources surrounding intersectional environmental education. To learn more, check out: Intersectional Environmentalist.

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LaTricea Adams is the Founder + CEO, and president of Black Millennials 4 Flint (now Young, Gifted & Green), a national environmental justice and civil rights organization with the purpose of bringing like-minded organizations together to collectively take action and advocate against the crisis of lead exposure specifically in African American & Latinx communities throughout the nation. LaTricea, a proud HBCU graduate, is the youngest African American woman appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). She serves on the American Bar Association’s Environmental Justice Task Force and was a recent honoree of the Environment, Energy, & Resources Section’s Dedication to Diversity and Justice. Learn more by checking out: Young, Gifted, & Green

Instagram: Young, Gifted, & Green

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Jerome Foster Ⅱ: an Environmental Justice Advisory Council member and the youngest White House advisor ever. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Waic Up, a news and civic nonprofit empowering people to take meaningful action. Representing marginalized and working-class communities, Foster’s inspiring activism targets social, economic, and environmental justice.

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How Jerome Foster II Is Representing Gen Z in the White House (Video)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txO4svGd1pw

 

Corina Newsome: a wildlife conservation scientist at the National Wildlife Federation dedicated to integrating environmental justice and conservation science. She co-organized Black Birders Week to connect marginalized communities with nature and increase the representation and visibility of Black conservationists.

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Corina Newsome on Ornithology: Faces of Change (Video)

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The Zero Sum of it All with Corina Newsome (Podcast)

 

Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru is a Kenyan-American climate storyteller passionate about bringing empathetic and accessible climate communication to the mainstream. Harnessing her academic background as a Rhodes Scholar and her work as a youth climate activist, Wawa’s life goal is to help create a climate movement made in the image of all of us. She is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a national organization dedicated to empowering Black girls, women and non-binary people across the climate sector.

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 Rue Mapp is the founder and CEO of OutdoorAfro, a not-for-profit organization on a mission to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. With over 100 leaders in 56 cities across the country, OutdoorAfro is committed to connecting people to nature experiences. Also a recipient of the 24th Heinz Award for the Environment, Jefferson Award, and National Conservation Achievement Award for Communications, Mapp is a well-respected public land advocate, author, and inspirational speaker.

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Mikaela Loach is a climate justice advocate based in Scotland. She has been nominated for the Global Citizen Prize, the U.K.’s Hero Award. Loach is the co-producer, writer, and presenter of the Yikes podcast which talks about climate change, social justice, and human rights. She is one of the claimants who took the U.K. government to court, challenging the Oil & Gas Association’s policy and the government subsidies it received for work in the North Sea.

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The YIKES Podcast

 

Nyeema Harris is the Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation at the Yale School of the Environment. She received her PhD from North Carolina State University studying the biogeography of carnivores and their parasites. Currently, her research explores carnivore behavior and movement, ecology, and conservation in urban systems.

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Genesis Butler is a young environmental and animal rights activist. She is one of the youngest people to ever give a TEDx talk. Butler’s TEDx talk “A 10 year old’s vision for healing the planet” explores the negative impact of animal agriculture on the environment.

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TEDx Talk

 

John Francis known as the Planetwalker, is a pioneering environmentalist. After helping to clean up an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay in the early seventies Mr. Francis disavowed motor vehicles and began travelling on foot. Mr. Francis walked for over twenty years, crossing the continental United States, and walking to South America before using a motor vehicle again in the early nineties. He has written several books about his experience and currently teaches environmental studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. https://planetwalk.org/about-john/

 

Jerome Ringo is an environmental advocate with a focus on clean energy and quality jobs. After working for years in the petro-chemical industry, Mr. Ringo saw firsthand the impacts of pollution from the industry on surrounding communities and began educating communities on how to redress harms from the industry. Mr. Ringo was the first African American to chair a major conservation advocacy group, the National Wildlife Federation, and currently leads the renewable energy developer Zoetic Global. https://www.zoeticglobal.com

 

Maya Penn – Gen Z climate activist who, at 8 years old, created Maya’s Ideas, which is her sustainable fashion brand. She also founded the nonprofit Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet, which fights for environmental justice, diversity in STEM, and mental and well-being support for climate anxiety. Additionally, she is a professional animator and directed an environmental animated short film titled Asali: Power of the Pollinators.

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Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson – marine biologist and co-founder of the policy think tank Urban Ocean Lab which focuses on the future of coastal cities. She is also the co-founder of the All We Can Save Project which helps build deeper and sustained climate engagement, and edited the bestseller All We Can Save anthology. Furthermore, she is the co-creator and co-host of How to Save a Planet, which is a podcast that features inspiring stories about combatting climate change.

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