California Marks 10 Years of CalEnviroScreen, the Map That Guides Pollution Cleanup
State officials and advocates say the environmental data tool has helped direct limited resources to disadvantaged communities such as Barrio Logan and the Imperial Valley.
By Xiaoyu Wang ·
California officials and environmental justice advocates are marking a decade of CalEnviroScreen, a data tool that tracks environmental burdens across the state. They say it has helped steer cleanup efforts toward many of California's disadvantaged communities.
The tool brings together environmental, health and community indicators to gauge how heavily pollution and related pressures weigh on a given area. It covers every census district in the state, assigning each a color on a map. Green marks a light environmental burden, while red signals a heavy one.
Yana Garcia, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), said the tool shows how people experience their surroundings in everyday life. She said it puts relevant information in the hands of community advocates and public officials pushing for change.
The database organizes seemingly unrelated data, including housing costs, emergency room visits and air pollution, into a single picture of environmental risk in a specific region. CalEPA can use the visual results to identify parts of the state in need and direct limited resources there. Garcia said this lets the state, local governments and community-based organizations understand the layers of impact affecting neighborhoods.
San Diego's port-side communities have benefited greatly over the past decade, and Barrio Logan is one example. The neighborhood mixes industry and homes and consistently ranks among the state's most polluted, meaning residents carry some of California's heaviest health burdens. On the CalEnviroScreen map it appears as a dark red.
Residents have long struggled with air pollution linked to diesel trucks and have fought for decades to route traffic away from residential streets. The tool also reflects other problems in the area, including high asthma rates, high housing prices and a large number of toxic spills. Several census tracts in the city carry some of the highest pollution burdens in California.
José Franco García, executive director of the National City-based Environmental Health Coalition, said the map shows the cumulative effect on the neighborhoods suffering the most from different factors. He said it helps policy makers decide which neighborhoods should come first when investments become available.
The tool has also made a difference in the Imperial Valley, which has some of the state's highest asthma rates. High unemployment, pesticide pollution and particulate pollution complicate efforts to protect residents there. Luis Olmedo, executive director of Comite Civico del Valle, called CalEnviroScreen "a vital instrument in providing real data-driven science behind the human toll of pollution." He said it has been equally important in finding solutions and investments for communities.
State lawmakers are using the tool to send resources to the hardest-hit areas. California is already directing money from its greenhouse gas reduction fund to census tracts the screening tool identifies as disadvantaged, giving places like Barrio Logan resources to improve conditions.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: KPBS
