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Catherine Coleman Flowers new book, Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope, was published a week into President Donald Trumps second term. Grounded in faith, the book weaves together stories about Flowers family, climate change and her work on sanitation rights and infrastructure in rural America. In the first essay, Thirty Pieces of Silver, she compares the infiltration of money into U.S. politics with Judas Iscariots biblical betrayal of Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Its not just a parable, however: Environmental injustice in the United States is deeply rooted in the ascension of profits over people in America. Flowers founded and leads the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and was vice chair of the Biden administrations White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, as well as a member of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force on Climate Change. Shes also a 2020 MacArthur Fellow for environmental health advocacy and, in 2011, worked with the United Nations special rapporteur to expose environmental injustices in Lowndes County, Alabama, where she grew up, and across the southern U.S. Now, she says, is a good time to read her book and work toward transformation. Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly announced 31 changes as part of the agencys greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history. In more than 20 different press releases issued on March 12 alone, the agency touted efficiency, blasted burdensome regulations, and slashed programs as part of the EPAs Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative. Zeldin proclaimed that the agency is driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion and cutting or changing long-standing regulations on air and water quality and industry oversight. He also terminated all environmental justice divisions with the EPAs 10 regional offices and its headquarters in Washington, D.C. For decades, environmental justice arms have funded and focused on improving public health, protecting drinking water and clean air, and remediating pollution within communities where poor people and people of color are targeted by industries and routinely and systematically exposed to unhealthy and unsafe living and working conditions. Flowers spoke to Capital & Main from the road on the day after Zeldins pronouncements. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Capital & Main: What are your top concerns about Zeldins announcement and the EPAs trajectory? Catherine Coleman Flowers: The people that are going to be impacted the most by this are people in rural communities, because its hidden. Most people dont see that people in rural communities sometimes are dealing with dirty air, dirty water, and no sanitation infrastructure. Theyre dealing with contamination from human waste because the sanitation systems dont work or sometimes [people are] simply straight piping because they dont have the funds to do any better. [Straight pipe septic systems funnel untreated waste directly from a home into the ground or surface waters.] When youre thinking about impacted rural communities, what jumps to your mind first and foremost? Appalachia. I think about Appalachia. I think about the Midwest. I think about the colonias in south Texas. I think about Alabama. I think about all these areas in need of sustainable economic development and the infrastructure thats needed to sustain a workforce. A lot of these rural communities are unincorporated, and theyre unincorporated because its hard for them to get the federal funding they need for infrastructure, and for the infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles, the American norm. In colonias, from California to Texas along the Mexican border, people are living in unincorporated communities, rural areas, but theyre not rural in the traditional sense. In one little community, you could have 1,000 homes there. Theyre all mobile homes, for the most part, and they dont have adequate sanitation, they dont have drainage for when it rains, they dont have, in some places, quality drinking water or access to electricity. Then, what Ive seen in Appalachia: I still saw a mobile home sitting on the side of hills with raw sewage running down the side because they were straight piping. In our study, [Flushed and Forgotten: Sanitation and Wastewater in Rural Communities in the United States in 2019], we found people had tropical parasites in their system because of the exposure to raw sewage. Im from Lowndes County, Alabama, where people existing in poverty are living in mobile homes that cannot withstand a storm. Alabama is one of those states that has a high incident of people dying during tornadoes. Thats because they live in mobile homes, and theyre not resilient, theyre not sustainable, and they dont help people develop wealth because they depreciate in value. Even in some of the more affluent and progressive states, in rural communities, where the poorer people tend to live, they dont have the type of infrastructure that they need in order to exist. Then in the poorer urban areas, they also will have failing systems, and we are starting to find that this is the case across the United States, that sanitation systems are failing. Zeldin, Trump, and others publicly say they dont believe in climate change, that climate change isnt real, but people in positions of power clearly know that climate change is happening and understand its effects. Why do you think that its so important for them to message that climate change isnt real? I think that most people on the ground do know that climate change is real, so I dont understand their position. Im still trying to wrap my mind around that. What does Zeldins phrase Powering the Great American Comeback mean to you, or signal to you? To me, what would be a Great American Comeback would be when everybody is guaranteed a living wage. When there is no more raw sewage on the ground, and we have sanitation systems that work. When we dont have people living on the street, when people have decent housing, and all children can have an opportunity for quality education. To me, that will be when we have the Great American Comeback. How can Americans, especially those in rural communities, have clean air and clean water without the EPA, the federal laws, the leadership and the funding? Is there hope for state or local action? I think there is hope for state and local action on these issues because the people on the ground can see the damage before the federal government even gets involved. We also still have to push for federal involvement and engagement. But maybe some states can become exemplary of what it really looks like to have the type of environmental regulations that protect everybody. Thereis so much fear in the country right now. Do you feel or see that in the communities where you work? I dont really see a lot of fear because a lot of the communities that I work in have been through hard times before. I grew up poor, in a rural community without access to a lot of things that we take advantage of today, and that are being threatened. I was around before we had all these things. We survived. And I believe that were going to survive again. We know that this is only short term. Ultimately, all of us believed in what America is and what the American ideal is. We still support that, and we think were going to get back to that. To be fearful and do nothing is just to succumb. Is there anything that people need to think about right now in terms of action, protecting communities that have systematically been deprived of access to resources? People still need to stay engaged. They need to lift up stories of folks who are suffering and also examples of what success looks like. I think thats very important. We also need to look to the midterms. We need to vote. And some of these people who are fearful need to run for office so they can change things. Laura Paskus, Capital & Main This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.
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E-Commerce
Billionaire businessman, investor, former shark, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows a bit about running a company and leading employees. The serial entrepreneur has founded and invested in successful businesses from food brands to tech startups and pretty much everything in between. Cuban often shares his insights about sweat equity and staying involved in running one’s own business. Here are three of the most actionable pearls of leadership wisdom from Mark Cubanand how you can put these quotes into action in your own leadership. 1. Embrace Sweat Equity “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” Put simply, sweat equity is the value you create through your own hard work. This might be the unpaid work you put into researching your competitors products, perfecting your public-speaking skills, getting to know your customers, or recruiting the best employees for your company. Your time and your effort don’t cost you anything, and pouring both into your work can make all the difference. As a leader, you should also encourage your employees to contribute their sweat equity. This doesnt mean forcing unpaid overtime, of course. According to Cuban, the key to leadership is knowing your employees and finding out how their goals and the businesss goals align. Maybe you have an employee who wants to get into videography and your companys marketing could benefit from some custom videos. Perhaps someone wants to move into management in the future, and theres a cross-functional project they could manage. Mark Cuban isnt the only successful leader who embraces the idea of sweat equity. Other business leaders who have spoken on the value of hard work are: Warren Buffett, CEO and chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway (aka the “Oracle of Omaha”) Dan Graham, cofounder and CEO of BuildASign.com Justin Gray, founder and CEO of five successful companies 2. Be the Expert in Your Field “Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world.” There are countless ways to boost your knowledge through effort rather than financial investment, making learning one of the most valuable ways to build sweat equity. The more you know about your business and industry, the more you, as a leader, will be ready for any problem or decision that comes your way. “What I’ve learned is that if you really want to be successful at something, you’ll find that you put the time in, Cuban said at the 2017 Inc. 5000 Conference. You won’t just ask somebody if it’s a good idea, you’ll go figure out if it’s a good idea.” You can work continuous learning into your life by: Keeping a running list of any new ideas or concepts you come across so you know which topics you want to learn Breaking new topics down into subtopics that you can learn in small bursts when you have the time Scheduling regular learning timewhether its a scheduled course, a set hour a day, or a few hours each weekend Continuous learning is also an important practice for staying ahead of industry trends. You could: Follow others in your industry on social media and pay attention to new topics Attend industry events and network regularly Use frequent customer and employee surveys Invite your employees to share new trends they come across 3. Lead with Passion and Purpose “Love what you do or don’t do it.” If youre truly passionate about your work, putting in the sweat equity will be a lot easier. If youre bored every time you read about a new development in your fieldits not the field for you, and its going to be hard to put in the work you need to really thrive. Think about your values. What truly drives you? Are you living out those values in your work? For example, if you value helping others, are you consistently soliciting customer and employee feedback and acting on it? If you value recognition, are you going after awards in your field? Not everyone will be as excited about your passions as you are, of course, but passionate leaders can inspire employees. Speak openly with your employees about your vision and youre more likely to get their buy-in. Check in with those you lead to find out where their passions lie and see how they align with your goals. Leadership is having a vision, Cuban said on The Draymond Green Show. Whats my goal? Part two is getting to know the people who are working with me, and what their goals are. And then the real definition of leadership is making those two merge. Conclusion: The Cuban Formula for Success Cubans advice can be boiled down to three key principles: Hard work Constant learning Passion Living out these principles will not only make you more effective at your job, but inspire your employees to do the sameas long as you give them the tools and support they need.
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E-Commerce
On a gray March afternoon at the Port of Los Angeles, the largest in the U.S., powerful electric top-handlers whir, beep, and grind as they motor back and forth, grabbing trailers from truck beds and stacking them as they move on or off the mighty container ships that ferry goods across the Pacific. Some of the ships, rather than burning diesel to sustain operations as they sit in harbor, plug into electricity instead. The shift to electricity is part of efforts to clean up the air around America’s ports, which have long struggled with pollution that chokes nearby neighborhoods and jeopardizes the health of people living there. The landmark climate law championed by former President Joe Biden earmarked $3 billion to boost those efforts. Some of the people who live near U.S. hubs now worry that President Donald Trump’s administration could seek to cancel or claw back some of that money. Our area is disproportionately affected by pollution directly related to the ports activity, said Theral Golden, whos lived in the West Long Beach area for more than 50 years. He pointed to the rivers of trucks moving back and forth on nearby highways and overpasses. Its all part of the same goods movement effort, and it has to be cleaned up. The Biden money aims to slash three million metric tons of carbon pollution across 55 ports in more than two dozen states, through cleaner equipment and vehicles, plus infrastructure and community engagement resources. Some ports say they have already spent hundreds of millions to replace older, dirtier equipment. Members of the American Association of Port Authorities, representing more than 130 public port authorities in the U.S. and beyond, are planning at least $50 billion more of decarbonization projects. Many are easy: for example, drayage truckswhich drive short distances between ports and nearby warehousesare good candidates for electrification since they don’t have to go far between charges. The Biden money wasnt enough to completely solve the problemproject requests alone topped $8 billion, per the Environmental Protection Agencybut it was a substantial investment that many experts, including Sue Gander, a director at the research nonprofit World Resources Institute, said would have a real impact. They also said it was the biggest outlay of federal funding they’d seen toward the problem. But Trump, from his first day back in the White House, has attacked much of his predecessors climate policies in the name of energy dominance. He’s sought to roll back clean energy, air, water and environmental justice policies and frozen federal funding, disrupting community organizations and groups planning on the funds for everything from new solar projects to electric school buses to other programs. EPA spokesperson Shayla Powell said the agency has worked to enable payment accounts for infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act grant recipients, so funding is now accessible. While one port said the program was set to be active, others were waiting for the federal grant funding review process to be completed or were monitoring the situation. Decades of pollution The nations 300 public and private shipping ports have been centers of pollution for decades. There, the goods Americans wantfrom cars to building materials to orange juiceare moved by mostly diesel-fueled cranes, trucks, and locomotives that emit planet-warming carbon dioxide and cancerous toxins that contribute to heart disease, asthma, and shorter life spans. In addition to thousands of longshoremen, truckers, and other workers, port operations affect some 31 million Americans living nearby, according to the EPA, often in largely Black, Latino, and low-income communities. Some ports have managed to get a little cleaner through state regulation, diesel pollution reduction efforts, international maritime requirements to cut emissions, and private investment. In voluntary emissions reporting, hubs including the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York and New Jersey say some aspects of their operations have significantly improved over the past two decades. But by many of the ports own accounts, they are still releasing tons of sulfur oxides, particulate matters, nitrogen oxides, and more. Certain emissions have grown. Independent groups confirm this. The South Coast Air Quality Management Districta regulatory agency for parts of the Los Angeles regionsaid that while San Pedro emissions have dropped with more reduction efforts, that pace has slowed. The ports still contribute significantly to local emissions. Communities nearby are still going to be vulnerable,” said Houston resident Erandi Trevio, cofounder of outreach group the Raíces Collab Project. Local advocates and frontline groups like hers think Trump’s attack on pollution regulation will harm further efforts. Trevio takes several medications and uses an inhaler to manage fatigue, stomachaches, headaches, and body pain that she blames on pollution from the Port of Houston. The port itself said pollutants dropped from 2013 to 2019, but some emissions from more vessel activity increased. Houston itself has been flagged by the American Lung Association as one of America’s dirtiest cities based on ozone and year-round particle pollution, though the ALA didn’t detail the sources of pollution. Ed Avol, a University of Southern California professor emeritus in clinical medicine, said the motivation to clean up air pollution to protect human and environmental health is clear. But the whipsaw back-and-forth of the current administration’s decision-making process makes it hard to move forward, he said. In the previous administration, billions of dollars were provided to work towards zero air emissions,” he said. “In the current Trump administration, the clear intent seems to be to move away from electrification. And that will mean for the millions of people that live around the ports and downwind of the ports, poor air quality, more health effects. Efforts with mixed results Despite being major contributors to U.S. economic activity, ports say they are financially stretched by pressure to automate operations and by contentious labor issues. And moving to electric equipment or vehicles might not be the best option, said ports association government relations director Ian Gansler. Electric equipment is more expensive than diesel-fueled, ports might need more of it due to charging time requirements and it might take up more room in a port. Meanwhile, upgrading electrical service at a port could cost more than $20 million per berth, and some ports have dozens of berths. Ports, too, have to work with utilities to make sure they have enough power. All this comes as imports have grown. Freight activity could rise 50% by 2050. according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Meanwhile, multiple agencies govern, operate in and regulate ports, said Fern Uennatornwaranggoon, climate campaign director for ports at environmental organization Pacific Environment, making it difficult to track how many pieces of equipment are still diesel, how many pieces have been transitioned, how many more we need to go. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Alexa St. John, Associated Press climate reporter
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E-Commerce
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